Tiny letters on a 3D crystal peice

[John Noell]

I was just given a 3D Crystal piece where the client wants an inscription engraved (in 5pt Lucida Calligraphy - white filled) on the back of the crstal behind the tiny clock. I have only done basic glass before. Dare I try this one-of-a-kind irreplaceable piece???

[Bruce Volden]

I just did a dozen 24% Pb goblets for a wedding that I didn't think would turn out very well (they didn't by my standards) the customer was very appreciative. Of course these goblets were el cheapos and readily replaceable at the Shopko. Give it a whirl-just mind your power settings (keep low) and hit them twice if you have to. The goblets I did were 30P/35S 300DPI w/35 watt machine.

Bruce

[John Noell]

Trying to get 5 point cursive type to come out clean on glass is just too scary to me.

[Gary Hair]

I would use photo resist and sandcarve them. I doubt a laser would get that detail on glass/crystal. I could easily laser acrylic, anodized aluminum, stainless with Cermark, etc., with that fine detail, but not glass. I would still try it on a scrap of glass, but don't expect much.

Gary

[John Noell]

This was a bit sticky as it came to me not direct from the client but through a middleman. Afraid of complications, I decided that I'd just make a tiny flexibrass circle with the inscription, stick it on right behind the clock (so it's not really visible from the front). Tiny fast and simple. Then I put the crystal piece right back on the airplane to the other island from whence it had come. (There was a big rush to get it back.) I added a letter explaining why we were not able to engrave the glass the way they wanted and said the flexibrass was free (and that it could be peeled off if they did not like it). If I wasn't completely booked this week I might have tried something else but there wasn't really time to even think about very much. Better paying clients with bigger jobs get my primary attention!

[Rodne Gold]

The big problem with high quality glass and crystal is that the laser works by superheating impurities in the glass and causes fracturing as these expand , the higher quality glass has less impurities and trapped moisture than cheap glass and actually engraves WORSE than the cheap stuff.

[Frank Corker]

If it were me (and I do realise not many will agree) I would get a piece of local newspaper, soak it in dish washing soap and then engrave it at 1200dpi 30 speed and 100 power. But that's me.... I know I'd get a good result and I too have a 45w Epilog.

[Dan Hintz]

The big problem with high quality glass and crystal is that the laser works by superheating impurities in the glass and causes fracturing as these expand , the higher quality glass has less impurities and trapped moisture than cheap glass and actually engraves WORSE than the cheap stuff.
I once thought this was the method (impurities) in which glass was marked, but after running a number of tests I seriously questioned it. The higher the quality of glass, the better my marks get. I can make some really detailed designs in a quality glass. After some research I have a much better understanding of what's going on between the amorphous/crystalline structure, and I now believe impurities only play a small (i.e., unnecessary) role in marking glass. I'm still researching though, so I leave open the possibility to change my mind :)

There should be no trapped moisture in any typical glass panel though, even the cheap stuff... moisture at the temperature levels glass is worked at initially would cause an explosion, and as it is cooled the amount of moisture in the air is highly controlled (not that a lot of moisture in the air would matter to such a cooling process anyway).



John, I think you may be better off having played it safe on that one. I could probably do 5 point of that font if the crystal was high enough quality (using the 2" lens), but I wouldn't guarantee the qualilty of the ascenders/descenders without trying it first... Lucida Calligraphy has some thin lines, so proper tuning (not just power/speed, but definition, contrast, etc.) for that material would be necessary. I've done 8 point without blinking, but by the time you get to 5-6 point, things get very touchy very fast. The peel-n-stick was probably a wise save...

[Martin Boekers]

Just a thought, what if you remove the clock and with the thin piece of acrylic engrave what you want.
Then cut the circle to fit in back and replace the clock.


Marty

[Chris DeGerolamo]

that's a great idea assuming there would not be an issue with the clock not sitting flush against the crystal. I would not have considered that..

[Norberto Coutinho]

I found this site on google. Maybe this help you in future. www dot glass-etching-kits.com/glass_etching_instructions.htm