METAZA in Education
METAZA transfers subtle graduations and fine details onto smooth, flat, metal and acrylic surfaces. Surfaces need to be finished but not necessarily polished – a satin finish can give equally rewarding results. This exciting tool is particularly effective for embellishing jewellery projects, where the unique and fascinating impression created is sophisticated and quite unlike anything else to be seen in student project work. More widely, METAZA is great for personalising and transforming all sorts of projects including phone charms, luggage tags, ID tags, awards, plaques, and badges. METAZA is an ideal resource for mini-enterprise activities - it is simple to use and adds significant value to quite mundane objects. On a more utilitarian note, the unique nature of a METAZA image makes it an ideal tool for permanent security marking.
Unique Technology
The remarkable METAZA MPX-90S is like no other machine for creating permanent images onto hard materials. Rather than etching, engraving or printing onto the material surface, METAZA uses innovative dot impact technology to create thousands of tiny facets that reflect light and produce an extraordinarily detailed 3D-effect. Images are almost holographic, impossible to produce by other means and because they are ‘in’ and not ‘on’ the surface, they are permanent. Because the technique does not cut the surface in any way, it is particularly suitable for plated metals where conventional engraving would break through to the base metal.
Designing for METAZA
2D Design is the ideal tool to generate original designs for METAZA and you could, of course, include photographs, text, patterns and shapes in your design. The design is then imported into METAZAStudio software which is used to ‘size’ the design to suit the machine and workpiece. Image controls let you adjust contrast and brightness which, in effect, are adjusting the depth and density of the facets which will impress into the surface. METAZAStudio software is supplied with the machine and includes basic tools for adding shapes and text, and for cropping or clipping images. If original design is not a priority, you could even import clipart or digital photographs directly into METAZAStudio.
Machine Set-Up
Output from METAZAStudio couldn’t be easier. Accurate previews give confidence about the outcome and ‘printing’ is completely safe (no dust or sharp cutters to worry about) - and remarkably swift. The workpiece is simply slotted or clamped onto the machine bed and a typical pendant design is likely to be finished in only a few minutes.
METAZA could well find a home in a creative and enterprising Design and Technology department.