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Ted Liberty
01-24-2014, 6:24 AM
I will be doing some crystal awards and was wondering if anyone has any basic advice or tips. This is the first time I've used crystal so any advice would be helpful (speed, power settings, dpi, etc). I am using an 80W laser.

Also I would like to thank everyone for the incredible amount of information that gets shared on this forum. I started just last September and and have found so much help here that only comes from years of experience. Truly invaluable.

Thanks,

Ted

Ross Moshinsky
01-24-2014, 4:47 PM
I do crystal at 100 power. 30 speed. 600dpi. That is with a 30W machine. I use 100% black and soaking wet newspaper on the crystal. It's the only way I've found to get essentially no chipping and a good density image.

The other thing I will say is if you're doing crystal awards, monitor how consistent the products are. I've found they are manufactured and assembled with questionable quality control. If you don't watch it, you'll find one award that engraved perfectly and another that is 1/8-1/4" off center. I find anything over 1/16" off center is noticeable. Over 1/16" and it's questionable if you can hand it out. Especially when crystal awards are relatively small.

Tim Bateson
01-24-2014, 8:15 PM
I do a lot of crystal for a local Awards company. No need to waste time on soap or towels, just laser away. In fact the only time I use soap is on champagne flutes and some wine glasses.
However, insure you clean the crystal afterwards. The sharp glass dust left behind needs to be flushed away for a professional finish.
Repeatability is also important. Sometimes I cut jigs. Other times I just lay down painters tape & laser the outline.

Ted Liberty
01-25-2014, 3:11 PM
Thanks for the help, guys!