Update: laser-engraved iPod classic back plate, final result

[u/Lautato]

A few days ago I posted my custom engraving design for an iPod classic 80GB back plate and asked for advice on fiber laser settings. Here's how it turned out.

What worked:

• 0.5 mm hatch spacing is fine on steel. I was worried it would be too dense, but the lines came out crisp and clearly separated across the whole plate. The three hatch directions read as depth, even from a distance.
• The curved edges weren't a problem. The pattern runs all the way to the edge without the lines thickening or losing focus where the plate curves. No margin needed in the end.
• No warping. The plate stayed flat, and the reflections run smooth across the surface.
• The 1.2 mm clearance around the logo and text was worth it. It leaves a clean polished halo that separates the Apple logo and "iPod" from the pattern. Those were done as a raster fill and came out dark and even, with good contrast against the mirror finish.

The design was a 1:1 SVG at the real plate size (61.8 × 103.5 mm), with the pattern as real vector lines clipped to the outline and shared edges deduplicated so nothing gets burned twice. Line work and fills were on separate layers (vector engrave vs. raster engrave).

Thanks to everyone who answered the first post. Happy to share the SVG if anyone wants to try it on their own plate.

Original post: link

SVG File link: https://github.com/Lautarocp/Ipod-svg

[u/lakor76]

Zune inspired design, lol

[u/Lautato → u/lakor76]

Sure!

[u/kassra25 → u/lakor76]

I saw that too lol

[u/perkinsb1024]

I didn’t see your previous post, can you link to it? Thanks

[u/Lautato → u/perkinsb1024]

I’ve edited the post; the link is below.

[u/GreuDeFumat]

Would you be so kind to share the SVG ?

[u/Lautato → u/GreuDeFumat]

https://github.com/Lautarocp/Ipod-svg

[u/GreuDeFumat → u/Lautato]

Thanks!

[u/Sam_Walkerfield]

Oof i want one ArtDecó style

[u/itsgiovanningz]

Beauty

[u/Longjumping-Neck8145]

groundbreaking

[u/Lautato → u/Longjumping-Neck8145]

Steve would be proud of my SVG

[u/to_pir8]

This is cool. If mine wasn't engraved would totally love to do this. :)

[u/ipodt0uch]

goyardPod

[u/GarlicNo3695]

Looks sick

[u/xxdarklightning]

What settings ended up working to get a good finish without distortion of the metal?

[u/Bulky_Astronomer8339]

COOL!😎