If you are an engraving enthusiast, after daily use of engraving tool, metal shavings, grease, oxides and other residues may accumulate, which will affect the accuracy of cutting and the smoothness of engraving, and will lead to the damage of engraving tools if not cleaned regularly. Effective cleaning of engraving tools can ensure the engraving effect, prolong the service life of the tools and improve the work efficiency, therefore, regular cleaning and maintenance is very important.
Why is it important to clean your engraving tools regularly?
1. Improve engraving quality
During the engraving process, the surface of the tool will accumulate metal shavings, dust, grease and other impurities, resulting in the fineness and smoothness of the engraving is affected. So you need to clean the engraving tools regularly, keep the tools clean, the cutting will be smooth, to achieve clear and delicate engraving effect.
2. Extend the service life
If you don’t clean your engraving tools regularly, the dirt that accumulates will make the tools blunt, not smooth cutting, and also cause corrosion, wear and tear, or oxidation and other problems. Especially with the complex internal structure of tools such as electric and pneumatic engraving machines, dirt may affect the normal operation of the parts.
3. Improve work efficiency
Long-term dirt accumulation, not regularly cleaned will lead to internal clogging of the tool, or cutting stuttering situation. And good cleaning habits can keep the tool clean, you will be able to reduce the time to complete the carving, improve work efficiency. In addition, if the tool is worn out, maintenance measures should be taken in time.
4. Increase safety
Grease or dust accumulation will lead to carving tools become slippery, easy to lose hands or accidents in the use of the process, increasing the risk of injury. Regularly cleaned tools not only hold firmly, the operation will be safer, the carving process will be smoother.
What do I need to clean my engraving tools?
- Cleaning agent
- Soft cloth or cotton swab
- Ultrasonic cleaner
- Wire brush
- Rust preventive oil or lubricant
What are the different cleaning methods for different types of engraving tools?
There are many different types of engraving tools, which include electric engravers, pneumatic engravers, hand engraving knives, and more. A variety of engraving tools with different materials and construction, of course, need to use different cleaning methods, we have to use the corresponding cleaning methods according to the specific engraving tools.
1. Electric engraving machine
First of all, before cleaning the electric engraving machine, you have to make sure that the power supply of the engraving machine has been disconnected, to prevent leakage of electricity in the cleaning process. Using a soft cloth or brush, gently wipe the engraving machine’s shell, control panel and handle to initially remove surface dust and dirt. Then go on to clean the metal shavings and residue on the engraving head, being careful not to use a soft cloth that is too wet to avoid moisture from seeping into the interior and causing rust or damage to the engraving machine.
Then check the vents of the electric engraving machine, if there is dust accumulation, use a small brush or compressed air to clean the vents, keep the vents smooth and do not affect the heat dissipation. Finally after cleaning, you need to add lubricant to the moving parts of the electric engraving machine to keep the internal parts running smoothly.
2.Pneumatic engraving machine
First of all, or first cut off the power supply, and then use a soft cloth or a small brush to clean up the dust and stains on the engraving machine shell, as well as clean the engraving machine head of metal shavings, chips and oil stains, etc., the details should not be forgotten. Also check and clean the air pipe interface and air filter to see if it is tight and dust accumulation, timely cleaning or replacement of the filter to ensure smooth airflow. Pneumatic engraving machine also need to check the lubricating oil, if the lubricating oil is not enough, you must add enough lubricating oil for the pneumatic system, in order to make the system operate smoothly.
3. Hand engraving knife
Hand engraving knife and the previous two engraving machine is different, it does not need to cut off the power supply, first use a soft brush to gently brush off the engraving knife on the metal shavings, wood shavings or other impurities, and then use a soft cloth or clean cloth to wipe the engraving knife blade, but do not use a wet cloth, to prevent moisture from seeping into the blade, the blade of the knife rust. In the face of stubborn stains, you can use a small amount of alcohol or mild detergent wipe. After cleaning, you can use a whetstone to gently polish the blade to improve its sharpness. Finally, to prevent the blade from rusting, you can apply a small amount of rust inhibiting oil or lubricant on the blade to keep the knife smooth and durable.
4. Stereo microscope
Stereoscopic microscope is also the need to disconnect the power supply to prevent leakage or electric shock, and then use the air blow to clean the dust on the lens and objective lens, and for oil or fingerprints, you need to use lens paper and fiber cloth to gently wipe the eyepieces are also required to wipe the fiber paper, to avoid contacting the mirror with the hand, leaving fingerprints. Then use a clean cloth to wipe the stereo microscope shell, clean and complete the microscope in a dry and ventilated environment, not easy to accumulate dust.
Precautions for cleaning carving tools
1. Don’t use too much water
Some tools are made of materials that are highly reactive to water, so if you use too much water when cleaning, it can cause the tool to rust.
2. Use the right cleaner
Different materials of engraving tools should choose the corresponding cleaning agent, for example, metal materials can use alcohol, while plastic or rubber materials need to avoid the use of strong acid and alkali cleaning agent.
3. Choose the right environment for storage
After cleaning the engraving tools should be placed in a cool and dry place to avoid rusting of metal materials, and should also avoid high temperature environment to avoid deformation of the material at high temperature or volatilization of the lubricant.
