Just a couple of questions:
(1) Does anyone know of a supplier of a pen holder (jig or vise) for lasering pens such as Cross? I’ve searched the web extensively and have only for jigs for rotary engraving of pens.
(2) Has anyone tried cutting Unisub sublimatable plastics on a laser? I ask this on two basis, will they cut satisfactorily and are they safe to do so, both on a fumes basis or a mechanical basis (gases coating optics)?
For pens, do you just need a jig to repeat engrave on multiple pens, or are you looking to use a cylindrical attachment to engrave ‘around’ the pen?
More than likely, you are not engraving around, but on just one side of the pen. If this is the case, you case easily create you own jig out of 1/8″ wood or laser engraving plastic. By simply laying out a rectangular box in Corel (or your design software), and cutting it out, you have created the ‘jig’. Size the rectangle so that the pen fits in it in the same place every time. This typically means sizing the rectangle slightly narrower than the pen in and either the exact length or slight longer than the pen. For multiple pens, duplicate this rectangle, cutting all of these locations. Now, using the same layout to cutout the slots, you can accurately place the text you wish to engrave in these boxes. After placing the pens, refocusing to the pen surface, and selecting the text to engrave (as opposed to the boxes this time), the relatively positioned text will fall exactly as expected on the pens.
We sometimes cut Unisub plastic sheet in a laser, but I don’t like doing it because of the time spent cleaning the pieces. The Unisub material cuts fine, but fairly sooty, and the cut edge is covered in soot, wiping the soot off still leaves a discoloured edge so I usually finish the edge with a light rub with sandpaper. As a result we will only do this for custom one off pieces, we have found it’s more cost effective to get our unisub supplier to precut for any bulk jobs.
In regard to the pen jig, what I do is cutout a slot in a piece of acrylic or wood, that the pen clip will fit into snug. This has worked well for me and you only need the clip end of the pen (not the whole pen). This process can be repeated in rows should you be needing to do more than one pen at a time.