K9 Optical Glass, laser

[John Ada]

Tips needed for laser engraving on K9 "Optical Glass".
Want to minimize the rough appearance, that happens with glass.

Should lens be in focus or out
1", 2" or 4" lens Best?
25W use low power?
Wetting the glass is not possible as larger area 4"x4"( dries out )

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

John

[Scott Shepherd]

Wetting the glass is not possible as larger area 4"x4"( dries out )

Don't turn on the exhaust and it won't dry out. No need to really, it's not like the byproduct of etching glass is smoke.

[Dan Hintz]

John,

What kind of look are you going for? "Roughing" the glass is what etching is all about... unless you're talking about chipout. If set properly, you should get no chipout, especially on a higher quality glass. Go for a lower resolution, set it to the lowest power you can while still getting a good drill with each pulse.

[John Ada]

Black and white 150 dpi picture ran @ 600 dpi, 15 Pw, 50 sp Yes, the chip out issue! Have tried photo setting, not that much difference

[John Noell]

...ran @ 600 dpi... WAY too high in my (limited) experience. Esp if pic is 150, that's what I would use for the engraving.

[Frank Corker]

I engrave small detail required glass at 1200 dpi. If the paper drying out is what is giving you grief, you take dishwashing soap over the workpiece, then you drop your piece of paper on the top of that. The paper soaks up all the soap but remains wet. I do that when I engrave stuff like mirrors at 300 dpi (18"x24") and it does work, paper remains wet too. When it's all done, take a piece of that nylon that they use for scrubbing food off china, or cleaning lino floors - sometimes it's green/red. This will remove the rough edges without damaging the engraved image.

[Dan Hintz]

John,

Try closer to 250dpi... if you go with Frank's suggestion of 1,200 dpi, prepare to crank the power down.