Laser cut acrylic trophy in bike gear shape, layered for a 3D motion effect

Award and trophy making

Discover how to make a trophy, a medal or a personalised award for your events!

Are you looking to push the boundaries of trophy personalisation? Create trophies, make awards, and provide a tangible memento of an event, a competition, or your company. Generate additional sales or offer them as gifts to promote your shop.

Colours, shapes, materials… Design and assemble all the components of an award according to the celebrated occasion. “Wow” effect guaranteed!

Gravotech trophy making machines and materials allow you to reach the pinnacle of creativity, without requiring any specific training or manual skills.

How to make a trophy or an award?

Laser is the ideal technology for manufacturing trophies in acrylic, wood, or plastic, combining the cutting of custom shapes and engraving of texts or visuals. This solution offers precision, speed, and flexibility for the production of custom-made trophies, in small or medium series.

  • LS100: Compact and versatile, perfect for cutting and engraving acrylic or wood trophies with a high level of detail.
  • LS100 EX: Suitable for larger formats, allows the production of trophies of various sizes with a clean finish.
  • LS900: Designed for intensive production, this machine offers a large working area for serial trophy manufacturing while ensuring speed and execution quality.

Feel free to check out our comparison guide of mechanical and laser technologies in signage!

Mechanical engraving is essential for manufacturing trophies in metal or brass, requiring marking depth and durable finishing. Ideal for producing engraved plates, bases, and volumetric elements, this technology ensures perfect machining quality on rigid materials.

  • IS400: Versatile machine, ideal for engraving and machining metal or plastic plates intended for trophy and award manufacturing.
  • ISx000: Designed for manufacturing large trophies or intensive production, this industrial solution offers power and precision on hard materials like metal or brass.

Feel free to check out our comparison guide of mechanical and laser technologies in signage!

Gravotech offers an extensive range of engraving materials to make an award and create a trophy:

  • Laser Wood is our wooden material, available in various wood types and thicknesses.
  • Acrylics, our acrylic range, can be combined with Laser Wood to create trendy, personalised trophies, awards and medals for all occasions: sports, businesses, various events.
  • Gravobrass™ Exterior is a brass material compatible with mechanical engraving machines, perfect to create trophies that will be heavier, with an authentic appearance.
  • Lastly, Gravostral™ is a two-ply material, ideal for medal making. Engravings are naturally contrasted thanks to the black base colour.

Starting in trophy making with acrylic

Make awards that are classic-shaped by assembling a horizontal base and a vertical plaque using a slot on the base. Often made of acrylic to mimic glass or crystal, this type of trophy is simple to create and custom in terms of shapes, colours, and engraving.

Once your two plaque models are created, they can be easily reproduced and customised on the fly.

Personalized acrylic trophy for employee recognition made with laser engraving

Easy to customise awards

Start by designing your personalised trophies and awards using a single material. We recommend choosing acrylic combined with laser technology, an easy to work with material that is available in various finishes and colours. This will immediately provide you with a wide range of creative possibilities without being limited by the complexity of your trophy and medal making machine settings.

Add the finishing touch to your personalised trophy with colour or a logo using a UV printer. Acrylic is a particularly suitable material for printing. Our materials are perfectly suited for these processes.

Trophy made with clear acrylic

Perfect glass imitation

Acrylic-based trophies offer all the benefits of glass trophies without the inconvenience. They are lightweight and elegant, making them extremely easy to create and custom. Our laser trophy and medal making machines can cut any shape, regardless of the thickness of your acrylic sheet.
 

(The maximum cutting thickness depends on the laser source power of your machine: approximatively 10 mm (0,39'') for a 40W CO2 laser.)

Complex trophy making

Do you already know how to make a trophy? Take it to the next level by combining multiple materials, colours and shapes. Replicate items, play with depth and transparency or simulate motion, and create a “Wow” effect that will leave a lasting impression.

The more complex your awards are, the higher the perceived value and quality become.

Acrylic trophy featuring bike gear, made with CO2 laser engraver

Wood and acrylic:

A high-quality trendy result

Making a trophy using a combination of wood and acrylic is now prevalent in all fields where awards are presented: sports, science and research, intellectual achievement, corporate events, artistic distinction, and more.

Sturdy and lighter than traditional glass or metal awards, wood and acrylic trophy making is also more straightforward thanks to laser engraving and cutting technologies. Wood and acrylic are particularly suited for this creative process.

The wide range of colours, thicknesses, and different finishes available in both materials opens up endless creative possibilities. The contrasting blend of wood grain and the shine of acrylic provides a sense of quality. You can also introduce contrast to your engravings on acrylic with our range of gilding waxes.

Metallex™ - Engraving material - Gravograph

Metal:

Guaranteed high added value

Create trophies and make awards with metal to create heavy and sturdy awards. Weight is often perceived as a mark of quality.

Brass and aluminium can be engraved and cut using a mechanical trophy and medal making machine, or marked with a CO2 or Fiber laser. A colouring product like Metal Marker G can highlight a text, a name or the distinction when engraved with a CO2 laser.

Simple medal making

Just like trophies and awards, medals are evolving and are now available in various materials and material combinations. Create trendy medals using wood or acrylic, maintain a more traditional style by working with metal, or stand out by offering medals that combine multiple materials.

Laser engraving and cutting of wooden medals with personalized text and graphics

Simple medal making

Medals made from a single material are the easiest to create. Simply cut the desired shape, include a slot for attaching a ribbon, and engrave text, logos, or any other element.

Trendy and modern, acrylic, wood, and brass are the most suitable materials for beginners in medal creation because they are the easiest to engrave and cut with a medal making machine.

Medals made from a single material can be produced quickly, in large quantities and series, allowing you to sell them at a reasonable price while maintaining a good profit margin.

Medal engraving for a custom wood gift with a personal message

Combine materials

for sophisticated medals

Using multiple materials to create a medal adds value. Combine various finishes, colours, thicknesses and textures to create relief and give them a unique personality.

Adding sophistication to a medal is simpler than for a personalised trophy because its shape or assembly is less complex.

Here again the combination of wood and acrylic works perfectly, but using fine and flexible engraving materials like Flexilase™ adds colour and highlights the individual's name or the prize won.

By offering original personalised medals composed of two materials, colours, or finishes, you enhance the perceived value of your products, arouse your customers' interest, and stand out from your competitors.

Interested in laser tables for your projects? Discover our 3 eBooks:

Mockup of Gravotech's eBook : Laser table 1

DISCOVER

All you need to know about laser tables


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Mockup of Gravotech's eBook : Laser table 2

CHOOSE

Choosing THE right laser table for your needs


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Mockup of Gravotech's eBook : Laser table 3

MASTER

Mastering your laser table
 


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