Glass plate engraving tip

[Michel Robillard]

Hi,
I am a newbie with laser and I will engrave my first glass plaque with a lot of letters on.
I know that I must put newspaper with water on the plaque before starting engraving.
What I don't know is if I need to have air assist ON or OFF.
Thanks for your help,
I really enjoy this Forum.

Best regards everyone
Michel,
Trotec Speedy 300, 60W

[Mike Null]

Michel

I am not one who shares the idea that wet paper is of any help. Air assist isn't either for glass.

Glad to have you on the forum. We hope to see a lot of input from you as you progress.

[Martin Boekers]

Some use paper, some use liquid soaps and others nothing at all :)

I use soap as it make the glass etched area smoother to the touch and a bit
whiter. Most the glass I do is Black Mirrors from JDS, although I just got in some
nice 8x10 beveled clear glass with acrylic stands from Prism/Topmost and will be
playing with that with color fills.

Bill Cunnigham here does amazing things with glass, so it is possible.

[Michel Robillard]

Thanks to both of you,
My job is a clear glass plaque and I must give a sandblast effect.
There's only letters on that plaque
Sixze of the letters are about 1/4" height in Times New Roman.
The size of my plaque is 8" X 12"
But I never saw on this forum before that you can use soap instead the wet paper
I really like what you said about soap Martin.
I guess that's soap for dishes???
hmmm, I think I will try that one or maybe someone has a better idea???
Thank you so much for your advice and thanks for air assist off...
For sure, if I find some good ideas, I will share it
I appreciate so much the help on this forum
Best regards everyone

Michel
Trotec Speedy 300 60W
CNC Gerber Dimension 200
Gerber Emboss Track 24"

[Chuck Stone]

I will agree that an exhaust fan is no help with glass, but for some lasers
(mine, especially) air assist is a must. If I don't use it, after a few pieces
I get a white 'dust' buildup on the lens bottom. The air assist blows the air out
through the nozzle and the glass dust doesn't get in there.

[Tony Lenkic]

Michel,

Some like to use 70-75% black in Corel setup instead of pure black image. Something to experiment on scrap piece, maybe.

[Tim Bateson]

I seldom do glass sheets, however I do dozens and dozens of Beer Mugs, Wine Glasses and Champagne Flutes every year:
Glass sheets - Liquid soap only - the paper got to be a pain! If not perfectly flat will leave marks - not engrave well where not perfectly flat. Why risk it if it's not needed?

Wine/beer or any other glasses the paper just does not work well as it rotates - use liquid soap only

I do 50-100 Crystal awards every month, so for Crystal - small - Liquid soap only - large - nothing, just engrave.

[Michel Robillard]

Thanks a lot to all of you guys,
Those tips should be very helpful for me.
I should receive the plaque from my customer today.
Now, I feel more confident.
And my customer will supply 1 extra plaque just in case.

Best regards,

Michel
Trotec Speedy 300 60W
CNC Gerber Dimension 200
Gerber Emboss Track 24"

[Scott Shepherd]

Have you tried the factory settings in your material database for glass?

I'd try them first.

I'm with Mike, I don't use paper. I also don't use soap. I have been down both those roads and finally found settings that do what I want. Now, it's just put the glass in, hit the button, take it out. Done.

[Michel Robillard]

Hi Scott,
Not yet, but I have 2 different settings
LEAD GLASS and PLATE GLASS
Lead is maximum power and lower speed P100, S50
Plate is P85 S100
When you are not sure what kind of glass, what should I try??
And I am surprise about engrave, that's it. What about chipping glass??
Also, Martin said it will look whiter with the soap. True???

Best regards,

Michel
Trotec Speedy 300 60W
CNC Gerber Dimension 200
Gerber Emboss Track 24"

[Tim Bateson]

...What about chipping glass??... Never an issue - don't over-power for regular glass.

...Martin said it will look whiter with the soap. True???... Never noticed any difference.

[Jeff Belany]

As far as chipping, no a big issue but I just buff lightly with Scotchbrite and smooths things out. I agree about using a % gray rather than 100% black -- I use about 80%.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[John Noell]

I think it depends on the glass to some extent. We just did water bottles for a resort and went with no soap or paper and 600DPI. The client liked it and that's all I care about!