Etching a ball style ornament

[Steve Kothig]

Hello everyone, With Christmas around the corner, new ideas begin to flow. I have a customer that wants me to laser etch the company logo and names on the traditional ball ornaments. I've seen how it's done with other lasers that use a head stock holder, but has anyone done it on the Epilog and what kind of jig did you use.

THanks
Steve
and Merry Christmas to the group

[Dan Hintz]

If it's a small logo, laser it straight on right on top of the bed (putty is an easy solution here... align once and you can do the rest on at a time. Otherwise, make an acrylic jig with holes to rest the balls in). If it's a larger logo, you'll need a rotary...

[Chuck Stone]

not even sure the rotary would work if it is a large logo
do they make 2 axis rotary attachments??

[Steve Kothig]

I have the std rotary tool that Epilog supplies.

[Kasey Maxwell]

this is pretty cool, not sure what there using, might be modified.......

http:// (www) .youtube. (com) /watch?v=gfC8oWtggJc

[Steve Kothig]

I saw that you tube clip before I ask my question, I just don't have that kind of head stock.

[Chuck Stone]

looks like a 3 jaw chuck for a Taig or Sherline type lathe.
Won't fit on my rotary either, but you still need to be careful
of the logo height or the top and bottom will be out of focus.

I've got all sorts of jigs for the rotary, some made of wood,
some steel and a LOT of them are made out of modeling clay.
(and several combinations )
It just needs to hold it stead enough for you to do your thing

[Bill Cunningham]

Did these 2 1/4" ones years ago.. Just cut a simple holding jig from plastic, and did a bunch at a time..

[Chuck Stone]

Bill, did you have any trouble at the bottom with the focus?

[Martin Boekers]

I have done these in the past, I set it up with just cuttin a few rings out of acrylic.
Then a set up a file with a series of 2pt rings nested and centered, this I did because
it made it easier to see the diameter of the engraving area after I lasered the test.
The last ring that engraved nicely I used that as my perimeter for the graphic.

Then it's manual focus time! Focus roughly I focus between the top and the outside ring
that shoud optimize the focus. It may take some playing and lining up similar sized
ornaments as they all aren't the same.

[matthew knott]

A stuipd as this sounds someone actually has a patent on doing this!! I know its nuts but its true, i guess you have to blame the us patient office for handing out such crazy patents but i read it and the guy did actually have a patent. I dont think anyone need worry as the company that held it (laserlight orniments) seems to be long gone and they where using a yag laser to remove the colour from glass balls then using a fairy light (dont know what you call them in the US) to light them from the inside. They looked pretty good to be fair, but how a patent could be issued is beyond me
This was them
http://www.pricegrabber.co.uk/p___Personalized_Christmas_Ornaments_Laser_Light_P hoto_Ornament,__51459897/
http://www.annsgiftcottage.com/browseproducts/Personalized-Merry-Christmas-Laser-Light-Ornament.html
As i say they seem to have vanished but they told me they could sue anyone that used a laser to mark a round christmas ornament.
Like to see them try!!!!

Here they are, i found them
Two U.S. patents guarantee exclusivity nationwide through the year 2012. U.S. Patent Nos. 5,266,771 and 5,378,512.
look like they are due to run out anyway !! laser away

[matthew knott]

My last thread doesnt really help but if you can find a card board/ plastic tube that is about the same diameter as the widest part of the ball, the ball can be inserted into the tube, hopefully it will stop just before its widest point, its could then be held with a few small peices of tape, now you can place the whole thing on your normall epilog rotary. you are limited in the height of the engrave due to laser focus but you could engrave the whole diameter.
Just a thought.

[Joe Hillmann]

Did these 2 1/4" ones years ago.. Just cut a simple holding jig from plastic, and did a bunch at a time..


What power settings did you used to do that? Every time I have tried engraving them directly in the laser they break, at the moment I do them by cutting a mask in the laser then sandblasting but would love to be able to put the ordainment directly in the laser to speed up the process. (I use ordainment form Krebbs)

[Bill Cunningham]

What power settings did you used to do that? Every time I have tried engraving them directly in the laser they break, at the moment I do them by cutting a mask in the laser then sandblasting but would love to be able to put the ordainment directly in the laser to speed up the process. (I use ordainment form Krebbs) These were done about 7 - 8 years ago, My original laser tube was pretty weak.. I would have had it set for about 20-30 speed, 100% power and 400 dpi..Focus would have been about 1/8" down from the surface.. I did about 100 of these, and not one broke.. The only glass I have ever had break on me was a oil lamp globe, it was a lot thicker than these balls, but I think I hit it too hard, and the heat just built up till it cracked.. But the clear balls were no problem at all.. The coloured ones seem to have the colour on the inside, so etching won't work.. Others have soluable colour on the outside that is ruined if it gets wet.. I found these clear ones at a craft store (lewiscraft) which has long since gone out of business..

[Joe Hillmann]

Bill,
Thanks. Did you use something for a heat sink? I just tried lasering the bulbs again after seeing the picture you posted. This time they didn't break but the engraved area had lots of chipping, whereas yours look almost as good as sandblasting.

[matthew knott]

Joe, have you tried the Sandblast effect Cermark for yag lasers? it works very well, same as for the CO2, spay, laser, wash. Still an extra process, the ones Bill did look fantastic, they look coated so did the laser react with the coating maybe?

[Bill Cunningham]

Those were just plain glass 2.25 or 2.5" balls, I probably wiped a little dish soap on the surface before etching. I know they were darn thin, and it surprised me that none broke at all.. To cut back on the chipping, you can try a 70% black.. But I'm pretty sure I did these using solid black.. It was one of the first jobs I did on the laser when I got it, so the black was probably CMY(K) and not RGB black because at the time, I had no use for RGB in any of my work, so Corel would have been set for CMYK output by default.. This may have attenuated the chipping a bit too, it was probably quite a while later before I set everything to RGB (I started at the creek on page 'one' and read for a week or more like many of the other nubies here do, or should be doing)..

[Joe Hillmann]

Matthew,

I have never heard of cermark for yags. How do you do it? And what type of cermark?

[matthew knott]

works the same as a co2,
http://www.ferro.com/Our+Products/ColorGlassPM/Glass/Products+and+Markets/CerMark/Materials/Laser+Marking+on+Glass.htm
we got some acid etch LMC 94, havent used it much as we need to get an airbrush but i hand painted some on ans the results where good.

[Joe Hillmann]

You wouldn't have any photos of projects you have done with it, would you?