Settings for ceramic tile?

[Keith Downing]

Been playing around with some of the black Cermark (LMC 6044) and some cheap ceramic tiles. Can't seem to find the sweet spot though. What are "normal" settings for this stuff on ceramic?

Also, are those the same settings you use just for getting a mark on the tile (without cermark)?

Thx in advance guys!

PS. I tried searching but so many threads mention cermark ceramic and settings that it seemed hopeless.

[Keith Downing]

Still need help on this if anyone has some info. I don't mind wasting wood testing settings, but wasting tiles AND cermark is annoying.

Also, do people paint fill tile engravings (instead of using cermark)? What type of paint sticks the best to ceramic if so?

[John Lifer]

i did a dozen to give away, plain glazed, no Cermark, it took about 65% power to cut thru at any depth. I used plain enamel spray to colorfill, turned out good, but more cleanup as some tile wasn't as smooth as it should have been. Haven't done Cermark on tile, got to try some

[Keith Downing]

i did a dozen to give away, plain glazed, no Cermark, it took about 65% power to cut thru at any depth. I used plain enamel spray to colorfill, turned out good, but more cleanup as some tile wasn't as smooth as it should have been. Haven't done Cermark on tile, got to try some

I tested some, and the results are pretty poor so far. I think I'm going too slow / too much power for the Cermark.

[Doug Fisher]

Did you go read the .pdfs at the Cermark site? From one of them:

Q. How much power should I use?
The power settings that the LMC Series products will work best at vary depending on the laser being used. For example, with a 35 watt CO2 laser, marking on ceramics requires the use of 50% power at a write speed of about 20% (8 inches per second). Marking on glass requires 20% power at a write speed of about 10% (4 inches per second) with the same laser. A more powerful laser will be able to make the same mark using less power or writing faster. Your power settings will vary depending on the laser used and the substrate being marked, so some experimentation will be necessary to achieve the best mark.

Another .pdf that basically tells you to test and then how to set up the test:

https://cermarksales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tech-Optimizing_Power_Settings_1-29-14.pdf


Slightly more specific information:

CO2: 18-30% power (35 watt laser)
10-25% speed
500 DPI / 500 PPI

https://www.cermarksales.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/LMC-6044-Premium-1-29-14.pdf

[Keith Downing]

I'll take a look at that, and so some calculations. Although from my experience if it's written with a US laser in mind, the settings don't usually trasnfer that well to our CO2 machines.

Also, why would you run at 20% power and 10-25% speed. What advantage does that give over equal increases in speed and power? Where you'd obviously finish your work 4 or 5 times faster?

[Doug Fisher]

I can't answer that but I do remember one of the more experienced guys here (maybe Kev?) talking about how he found out that a relatively longer burn time versus power was more effective at making marking fluid bond.

[John Lifer]

You have to NOT damage surface.... Higher power will have way higher potential to cut into the glass or ceramic. so I'd start at 20% and probably 150mm/s and slowly increase power to 30% max. Speed maybe to 200 mm/s max speed....

[Keith Downing]

You have to NOT damage surface.... Higher power will have way higher potential to cut into the glass or ceramic. so I'd start at 20% and probably 150mm/s and slowly increase power to 30% max. Speed maybe to 200 mm/s max speed....

Well, I think I'm WAY too high power and too low speed then. I'm definitely taking the glaze completely off these.

[John Lifer]

Well just fergit the cermark and do a color fill! :)

[Keith Downing]

Well just fergit the cermark and do a color fill! :)

That's what I'm thinking. When you do the colorfill; how deep do you try to go?

[John Lifer]

Not that much, I actually went over my tiles about 3 times as I wanted it rather deep, Best look was just about cut thru the glaze, maybe a thousandth.
Don't forget the mask! I did on one and it took me a WHILE to clean. Really detailed seal....

[Kev Williams]

I don't engrave much rock, but as for painting the black granite tiles I engraved, the best results I got was using Rub-n-buff, it seems to adhere to the etching better than any paint I tried, most of which wiped off the etching when trying to clean around it.

Tip: before engraving, regardless of which paint you may use, smear some car wax or plain ol' floor wax on the tile first, just leave it smeared. Engrave, apply color, let it dry good. The excess should come off much easier and cleaner from the waxed surface.

DNA should clean the excess nicely, but also try WD40, which is the ONLY stuff I've found that will clean the excess paint of the plastic-cased radios we engrave and paint...

[Keith Downing]

I don't engrave much rock, but as for painting the black granite tiles I engraved, the best results I got was using Rub-n-buff, it seems to adhere to the etching better than any paint I tried, most of which wiped off the etching when trying to clean around it.

Tip: before engraving, regardless of which paint you may use, smear some car wax or plain ol' floor wax on the tile first, just leave it smeared. Engrave, apply color, let it dry good. The excess should come off much easier and cleaner from the waxed surface.

DNA should clean the excess nicely, but also try WD40, which is the ONLY stuff I've found that will clean the excess paint of the plastic-cased radios we engrave and paint...

Thanks Kev! Sounds like a good tip.

When you colorfill with the Rub and buff, do you seal it with anything? Debating on whether it is better for the fill to be almost a matt finish or to try and give the whole tile a glazed look again.

[Terry Ong]

Hi
I did deep engraving for my ceramic tiles ,it took me hours depending on size.
My setting are
Scan GAP 0.07 or 0.09 depending how hard Are the coating of the ceramic tiles.
Speed 140 to 150
Power 100%

[Bill George]

I like carpet Capalaba (https://www.touchflooring.com.au/carpet) on tiles as they bring that good appearance and really slides well.

Huh. Troll alert.

[Jeff Watkins]

Another member here, Bert, turned me onto Run N Buff and I've had good results on tiles. I'll add something to Kev's mention of WD40, it will also remove Rub N Buff. I originally tried WD40 to clean the excess off tiles but once it got in the engraved ares it caused some of the run to flake off. I found if I flip the tile over, engraved side down, onto a flat rag with some alcohol the excess comes off and it doesn't interfere with the engraving. But WD40 will get it off anything you accidentally or purposefully get it on.

As for Cermark LMC-6044 I've had mixed results with it. I managed to get it to stick to some Lowes tiles but the same settings didn't work on HD's similar tiles. They looked good but the second I rubbed them in the kitchen sink it wiped off. I called Cermark tech support and they basically explained that different materials (tiles, metal, glass, etc) can vary and require testing. The guy I talked to said it's supposed to melt to the surface more than burn so I think running test grids is best way to find your settings. It seems to melt better with a little dwell time (running a medium speed) that way you're not running so fast that you ablate it or barely heat the surface.