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Here is a rundown of the different types of Engraving Machines:
 
Laser Engraving Machine
 
Laser Engraving Machine is the most commonly used type of engraving tool, and has exploded with popularity over the past few years. If you go to any theme park or tourist attraction in the world, you will see 3D laser engraved souvenirs with everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Sea World Shamus etched into a 3D image inside of a crystal block or area.
 
Laser Engraving Machine are very sophisticated, and very precise. It leaves a very clean cut, with little to no cleaning having to be done after the etching process is finished. It is computer controlled and thus the possibility of human error is lowered significantly.
 
Also with a laser engraver there is the advantage of not having to replace parts nearly as often as with a manual engraver. Manual engravers use drills and bits, which wear down after time or sometimes break.
 
Manual Engraving Machines
 
A manual engraving tool may not be as clean-cut and efficient as a laser cutter, but it is better suited to an engraving task where a lot more material has to be cut away. A laser is usually only powerful enough to slightly "dig" into the surface, while a manual engraver will just cut away at it.
 
There are many different types of manual engraving machines, since these have been around for more than a century now. I remember in my machine shop we would have an engraving machine which has a rod connected to a template of different letters to choose from. Basically you would sort of have this pencil, trace over a letter with the pencil, and the corresponding rod would create a clone "pencil" that was actually a drill etching your every movement into whatever material you put into it. This is an example of a lower cost manual engraving machine.
 
CNC Engraving Machine
 
These are still very popular today and used by many machine shops. A lot of custom or personalized car parts use these machines. The great thing with CNC engraving machines is that you can take a 3D drawing from a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program and just plug it into the CNC machine, provide the raw material, and it will automatically etch out the part for you. http://www.unilasertec.com