FAQs – Laser My Wheels

Frequently Asked Questions

Additional FAQs will be added and updated as we are asked, so check back from time to time!

General

Where Is Laser My Wheels Located?

Our base of operation is located in Vancouver, WA.

Why Choose Laser My Wheels?

Simply put, we are the one and only company in the world that has succeeded in developing a working process specifically designed to process automotive wheels in a laser engraving application (for decorative/aesthetic purposes)!

Looking back at the journey to get here, it is entirely obvious to us as to why it did not happen until we came along:

No laser equipment manufacturer had any machine that was designed, or engineered with this use case in mind.
There are no online tutorials, white papers, or other similar information on how to approach the file handling and development to be able to process wheels in laser equipment.
The entire process had to be developed from scratch.
This means we (quite literally) wrote the book on laser engraving wheels!

Our Gen. 1 Workstation gives Wheel Manufacturers, and businesses in the Wheel & Tire Industries a new, and affordable value-added service to offer their clients that was previously unavailable!

Does LMW Manufacture Laser Equipment?

Our Laser Workstation solution has been specifically engineered to handle and process automotive wheels in a laser engraving application!

We anticipate that prototyping and testing will be complete sometime in Q4 2024, or Q1 2025.

Immediately after that we will begin marketing, and open pre-orders for our machines with projected delivery to begin in Q2/Q3 2025!

Do These Lasers Engrave More Than Wheels?

Absolutely!

The rotary device can be moved away from the workspace, and with an optional table insert (availability TBA), you can set the laser system up to conduct flat work.

Clients who are interested in custom engraving on automotive parts will find a lot of versatility in this class of laser marking/engraving equipment!

How Quickly Can We Be Up and Running?

Our Laser Workstations are currently in the prototyping phase.

Once we have entered our manufacturing phase, we anticipate a 1-2 month manufacturing lead time on our workstations.

There is some degree of training that will be required for most first-time users, which will be available through a Video Training Series.

Does Laser My Wheels Offer Laser Engraving Services?

We have no plans to offer wheel engraving services to the public, for a number of very important reasons.

Reason #1: Doing so would put us in direct conflict with the manufacturers, retailers, and custom builders that we are setting up with our process.

It would be a conflict of interest, and we will never put ourself in the position of competing with our own clients.

Reason #2: Our production capabilities are not set up to be able to offer engraving services. We have shifted into manufacturing of our own equipment, and as such, even if we wanted to, we simply do not have the space to offer such services.

Reason #3: The logistics in shipping wheels back and forth for us to engrave make far less sense than bringing the capabilities to do this directly to businesses that already operate within the Automotive Customization and Wheel & Tire industries.

Because of these reasons, opening engraving services to the general public would minimize and take away the quality of services that we are offering to our customer base.

What Services Does Laser My Wheels Sell?

What we are offering is the manufacture, sales, training, support, and marketing assistance to our world-first process, and equipment, so that your company can bring these next-level customization services, in-house!

We have put together a simple, straightforward equipment and service options that will let us equip, train, and support your company, no matter where you are in the world, giving your company access to a totally brand new, and unique service that will absolutely give you an advantage over your competition!

Review our Equipment & Services page, or Contact us today for more information!

Laser vs. CNC Mill Engraving

Some companies have been able to offer engraved designs on wheels using CNC milling machines, but currently, virtually all of this type of customization is offered by businesses that do hand engraving work.

Laser engraving wheels has many distinct advantages over CNC milling:

Simpler setup
Simpler programming
Simpler fixturing
Zero contact with the part
More intricate designs
Faster throughput
No consumables
Lower operating cost (the primary laser system consumes only 1.4kwH)
Much smaller equipment footprint

How Much Can Laser Engraved Wheels Retail For?

That depends on a myriad of factors, which would be covered through a free consultation, but generally speaking, the main drivers of retail pricing for engraving services will be determined by:

The market you serve
Wheel dimensions
Complexity of design
The amount of surface area being engraved
Post-engraving finishes

You could be looking at a little as $300.00/wheel for some light-duty, fast turnaround type work, or as much as $10,000.00+/wheel for some much more intensive custom work.

It ultimately depends on your customers, and what they are looking for.

We generally advise our clients to develop a product catalog with a variety of design options that covers a wide range of prices, so that you can maximize the exposure of these services to your customer base.

We have developed an ROI calculator that can provide you with some assistance in determining potential profitability.

Does Laser My Wheels Sell Wheels & Tires?

No.

We are a small laser engraving company that is offering businesses in the Wheel & Tire industry a one-of-a-kind opportunity to add a brand new, cool, unique, and highly profitable service with incredible built-in marketing to their existing service portfolio!

With our unique, world first process, companies can easily add these services to their facilities to give themselves a competitive edge in the Automotive Customization industry.

Do You Have a Showroom?

No, but that is certainly a part of our early expansion plans, once we hit specific milestones.

We are simply a laser engraving company that had a crazy idea that we developed into a commercially viable solution for automotive wheel customization.

Can This Process Only Be Applied To Crazy Full Wrap Designs?

No, absolutely not!

We wanted to showcase designs that took advantage of the entire lip space, to give you an idea of what is absolutely possible when implementing our process.

Your designs can absolutely be scaled down to be more simple, subdued, or conservative.

You can do simple logos, full crazy wrap work, and everything in between!

This process is flexible, and very versatile, which means you will be able to serve the widest range of customers in your market.

Equipment & Services

What Training Will Be Provided?

In the run-up to retail release of our Laser Workstations, we will develop and publish a free familiarity training video series.

The videos contained in our training series will only be accessible to Registered Owners of our Wheel Engraving Workstations.

Video training will include information on topics like use procedures of the equipment and hardware, as well as basic graphic development and programming procedures.

Are There Plans For A Certified Training Program?

This is something that is being explored.

At this time, we cannot state whether or not a formal certification program will exist, however, it is something that we have an interest in developing.

Are There Any Financing, or Lease To Own Options?

No financing options are available at this time.

Is A Down Payment Required?

Yes.

A minimum 25% deposit is required before your machine can be manufactured.

Current anticipated manufacturing lead times are 1-2 months from the date of purchase.

Orders must be paid in full prior to any equipment shipping from our facility.

Why Did LMW's Equipment & Services Pricing Change?

We arrived at the conclusion (in recent months) that relying on 3rd party manufacturing partnerships was completely unworkable with regard to offering customers a viable out of the box solution for laser engraving wheels.

The pricing structures that we were able to put in front of our customers were directly impacted by the pricing that the 3rd party companies were quoting us, which resulted in some very outrageous pricing that was well outside of the realm of affordability for most small businesses.

This realization prompted us to go back to the drawing board, and rework our strategy, ultimately arriving at the conclusion that we just needed to make our own machines.

Now that we have a design approved for prototyping and testing, we are progressing through prototyping, and will be entering testing shortly thereafter.

What Are Some Equipment and Service Fees That Should I Expect?

The minimum required equipment to perform laser engraving of wheels is as follows:

$29,999.00 is the base MSRP for our Wheel Engraving Workstation
With the base model Workstation, you will need to provide your own laser engraving hardware, as well as your own rotary device hardware solution.
From there, customers can opt to have their workstations equipped with a full suite of hardware solutions that are designed for laser engraving wheels.

In addition to the included base-level Training Videos, we have plans to offer formal training through a Certified Training Program (details TBA).

Process

Does This Process Completely Eliminate Handwork?

Generally speaking, yes.

In most cases, our process eliminates most, if not all hand engraving work.

That being said, there are still some instances where some minor hand engraving may be required after the Primary engraving operation.

Users who are just starting out, and are not very experienced will more likely find themselves having to do some minor blending, and tie-in work, followed by some light surface etching on the laser through a secondary operation.

We advise all users to expect there to be some degree of light hand engraving as a part of their post-processing work.

How Quickly Can Wheels Be Engraved?

Laser engraving wheels can be done by orders of magnitude faster than can possibly be achieved by hand engraving alone.

That being said, there are many variables that will directly impact how quickly any engraving project can be completed:

Wheel dimensions
Laser parameters
Laser power
Surface area engraved
Number of surfaces engraved
Surface marking, or deep engraving
Complexity of the design
Complexity of the program

The one thing you can be assured of though, is that you will be able to have your completed wheels on your customers' favorite ride in a matter of days, or even hours, compared to MANY weeks, or months (as is the case with 100% hand-engraved services).

Because of the high-turnaround that is offered through laser engraving, it is something that can easily be scaled up as your business demand increases.

What Type Of Wheels Can Be Laser Engraved?

Base Material: Aluminum wheels will be the easiest to work with, but alloys and steel wheels can be processed as well.

Finish: Painted or powder coated wheels, brushed finish, or polished chrome can all be laser engraved.

Wheel Structure or Build: monoblock, 2-, or 3-piece wheels can easily be laser engraved using this process. Wheels that are comprised of multiple components may require custom fixturing to attach to the rotary device.

Can These Machines Only Engrave Automotive Wheels?

No! These machines can engrave any large-diameter wheel (or other cylindrical-shaped object), including motorcycle wheels!

Does This Process Require A Background In Laser Equipment Operation To Succeed?

Absolutely not!

Between our planned training video series, Certified Training Services, and Support options, your company will have all of the required tools and training that will allow you to custom engrave wheels with ease!

We take all of the guesswork out so that you can focus on the rest of your operation with as little delay and interruption as possible.

What Type Of Software Is Required?

When equipped with a laser system, each Workstation that is purchased comes with a licensed copy of LightBurn.

With regard to graphic file development, we provide you with some ideas and solutions to fit those software needs in our Video Training Series.

Do We Have To Provide Our Own Graphic Software?

If you are purchasing a workstation with a Laser System, the control software is included with that purchase.

For your graphic design needs, you will need to provide your own graphic design software solution.

How User Friendly Is This Process?

After training is complete, your company will know how to set up engraving jobs, from start to finish (though we will still be a resource to assist if needed).

That being said, similar to CNC milling, the most involved and time intensive step in this process lies in the initial setup and programming.

Once the program has been developed, this process becomes as simple as loading the program at the work station, fixturing and positioning the part, and running the job.

After the part has been loaded, and the job has been executed, no further need for human input is required until the job is complete, and another part is to be loaded.

The following factors make this process very friendly in production environments, and even friendlier for companies who want to scale these services up:

Small physical footprint
Low energy cost
Low human input
High quality
High repeatability
High throughput

Can This Process Be Automated?

There are some required steps to properly, and safely fixture/position the wheel in the machine that also require human interaction to complete.

There is also a requirement for direct human involvement during the Detailing operation that there is currently no workaround for.

That is not to say that automation could not be a reality at some point in the future, but there are some Quality Control checks, and Process Steps that must be made by a human being at specific intervals throughout the entire process.

Once the primary operation is underway, and the machine is executing the program, there is no need for human interaction until the unloading/reloading step, so in a sense, that part of the production phase is inherently automated.

Are LMW's machines, or process under patent?

We will be pursuing a patent for our workstation.

Specifics, and details (including photos) of the prototype build will be disclosed, and made public once we have made our initial patent filing.

Equipment/Hardware

Is The Engraving Equipment Leased, or Owned?

The Wheel Engraving Workstations that are ordered from us are purchased, not leased.

They are yours to keep.

Can The Laser Engraving Machines Only Do Rotary Work?

Absolutely not!

The rotary device can be moved away from the work area to allow for flatwork engraving of other large automotive/motorcycle components.

Do The Engraving Systems Come With Fume Extractors?

Fume extractors are available as an optional purchase.

How Large Are The Machines?

The footprint for the Laser Workstation is 42in x 40in, and is 60in tall (when equipped with our 200W fiber laser).

Technical

Is Engraving Limited Only To The Outer Lip?

Absolutely not!

The rotary device can be fixtured at 0 to 90 degrees, or repositioned to allow for flat work.

There is a lot of versatility in this process which translates to a lot of creativity to make this process unique to your company/brand.

Can Powder Coated Wheels Be Laser Engraved?

Yes, but not all powders/paints are created equal.

The process of laser engraving does generate heat, and some formulations may not stand up so well when being laser engraved.

You will want to ensure that the paint/powder used on the wheels you are lasering will be a good candidate for being processed in a laser engraving application.

What Wheel Sizes Can Be Engraved?

The smallest wheel diameter that can be processed in our Laser Workstation is 14" (35.56cm).

The largest wheel diameter that can be processed in our Laser Workstation is currently 32" (381.28cm).

There are two components that have a direct effect on how small, or how large of a work piece your machine will be able to handle:

Rotary Devices:

Stage 1 Rotary (included) for handling 14" (35.56cm) through 18 (45.72cm) wheel diameters
Stage 2 Rotary for handling 14" (35.56cm) through 24 (60.96cm) wheel diameters
Stage 3 Rotary for handling 14" (35.56cm) through 32 (81.28cm) wheel diameters

All 3 rotary device options are capable of working with the smallest wheel size, but there are limits to the maximum size that the rotary devices will be able to handle.

Users who do work with larger diameter wheels will be advised to consider upgrading to the Stage 2, or Stage 3 rotary device option.

Focal Lenses:

The focal lenses have a focal heigh that determines how far off of the surface of the workpiece the scan head is required to be.

Wheels in the smaller diameter ranges will be limited to working with smaller lens work areas.

Both variables will be covered extensively in our video training series.

What Is The Deepest Lip Depth That Can Be Engraved?

Outer Lip depths up to 12" can be laser engraved with this process.

What Designs Can Be Laser Engraved?

Literally anything you want!

It can be artistic designs.

It can be logos.

It can be branding.

There really is no limitation on what can be engraved through this process.

The sky is the limit, and you have as much room in this process to be as creative as you want!

How Deep Can The Engraving Be?

That is simply a matter of programming, which is covered in the training for this service.

Generally speaking though, you can go as deep, or as shallow as you need to, based on the program settings.

In aluminum wheels, hitting depths of 0.007in-0.010in (0.1778mm-0.254mm) is very easy to do, but if you need to go deeper than that, then making adjustments in your program to hit the depth you are after is all that would be required.

Is The Laser Engraving Permanent?

Yes, absolutely!

Whether you are making a basic surface mark, or etching for depth, the mark is permanent, and will not come off!

Is Painting/Finishing Wheels Required?

That ultimately depends on your customers and the market you are serving.

There are a lot of ways that you can choose to finish laser engraved wheels, but that is mostly being driven by the base material of the wheel itself.

For example, you might sell polished aluminum wheels, in which case some time in a polishing tumbler may be all that is needed, or perhaps just a clearcoat to preserve the engraved vs. polished aesthetic.

Or, maybe you are engraving mild steel, in which case some form of coating protection will absolutely be required to prevent rust.

Support

What Are General Support Services?

General Support is available for any Registered Workstation Owner who:

Has a question about any topic that is covered in our training series
Run into a process or technical issue where advisement/remote support is required
Have a process idea or application you need tested
Requires remote troubleshooting assistance

General Support is included with each Workstation purchase.

Technical Bulletin access is only available with an annual subscription.

What Are Technical Services Agreements?

A Technical Services Agreement secures Laser My Wheels as a consultant, available for onsite support callouts to directly assist with the management, implementation, and execution of all aspects of our process at your facility, or place of business.

There are some restrictions and limitations with these services, as they are not intended to serve as LMW providing your company with a full-time employee to your facility for the full deployment of this process, however we can deploy technicians on a time-limited basis to provide onsite support, should you have a need.

Clients under a TSA are required to provide their own employees to implement and execute this process, however we do offer direct support services in the capacity of an onsite consultant under a Technical Services Agreement.

While under an active Technical Services Agreement, only travel and accommodations are billable for TS callouts, with no additional service fees.

By contrast, Technical Service callouts placed while not under an Agreement are fully billable, with a minimum per-incident service charge, plus travel and accommodations.

This is a much different program, and completely separate from the included General Support and Technical Bulletin Services that are included with each equipment order.

What Are Technical Bulletins?

Technical Bulletins are technical documents that provide users with information and data that may affect the usage of their Workstations.

Subjects that may be covered under a Technical Bulletin include:

Process improvements
Technology improvements
Hardware improvements
Fixturing improvements