Glass engraving

[chad shoemaker]

I have a 30w fiber laser.. Has anyone had success engraving glass or can it even be done without a UV lens? I put tinfoil inside the glass so the laser doesn't just penetrate through and it is engraving. But it engraves the inside of the glass!!! Its actually pretty cool...
Thanks in advance

[Trey Tull]

If its engraving the inside, then I would try putting the tinfoil in the area you want to engrave(outside of the glass), flip the image in your software and then rotate the glass so that the tinfoil is on the bottom. The light should go through both sides and hopefully engrave the side you want.

[jestes dupek]

I have a 30w fiber laser.. Has anyone had success engraving glass or can it even be done without a UV lens? I put tinfoil inside the glass so the laser doesn't just penetrate through and it is engraving. But it engraves the inside of the glass!!! Its actually pretty cool...
Thanks in advance

fiber laser is unable to mark glass, you need to have Co2 laser marker in order to mark on glass or UV laser but UV is very expensive. By the way you cannot put UV dedicated lens and think that you have changed your laser specs to UV marking. UV lasers have another name THG Third Harmonic Generation - by passing a standard wavelength 1064 nm laser through a non-linear crystal, the wavelength is reduced to 532 nm - green laser - and once more by passing it through another crystal, it is effectively reduced to 355 nm - UV laser. You don't get UV laser it by changing the lens.

[Bert Kemp]

fiber laser is unable to mark glass, you need to have Co2 laser marker in order to mark on glass or UV laser but UV is very expensive. By the way you cannot put UV dedicated lens and think that you have changed your laser specs to UV marking. UV lasers have another name THG Third Harmonic Generation - by passing a standard wavelength 1064 nm laser through a non-linear crystal, the wavelength is reduced to 532 nm - green laser - and once more by passing it through another crystal, it is effectively reduced to 355 nm - UV laser. You don't get UV laser it by changing the lens.

Im sorry didn't he just say his fiber is engraving the glass? But not on the right side. Yet you just said a fiber can't engrave glass so I'm confused can It? or can't It??

[Trey Tull]

Im sorry didn't he just say his fiber is engraving the glass? But not on the right side. Yet you just said a fiber can't engrave glass so I'm confused can It? or can't It??

I wasn't aware they could mark glass either but it wouldn't be the first time I've learned something off of the internet...

[Kev Williams]

I was reading the other day that by passing a 1,064nm beam thru certain crystals you can alter the wavelength clear down into 300nm territory... So, it may be possible that 'bending' the beam by passing it thru a couple of layers of curved glass could change the beam's wavelength enough to render it able to etch glass...? A fiber will mark plex, and burn the bageezus out of polycarb, so might not be such a stretch?

[Scott Shepherd]

A fiber will mark plex, and burn the bageezus out of polycarb, so might not be such a stretch?

Interesting because I've marked anodized aluminum THROUGH clear acrylic. Not a mark on the acrylic but engraved the anodizing under it very nicely.

It's a wavelength that's difficult to wrap your head around. How it goes through some items and doesn't others will give me an ice cream headache.

[jestes dupek]

fiber laser is unable to mark glass - UNABLE is clear enough.

[Kev Williams]

I engrave a lot of clear Lexan, and the laser will engrave it AND what's below it slightly.

"fiber laser is unable to mark glass"...
where there's a will, there's a way
fg2.jpgfg1.jpg

-ain't real pretty, but that can be fixed...

[Rob Damon]

I have a 100 w co2 so have no experience with fiber..yet.
The laser does not melt the glass and vaporize it like wood/plastics.
I shatters it because of the temperature differential at the surface.
It creates micro surface facturing of the surface glass leaving a ton of micro shardes of glass. Do not run you bare hand against the glass after "engraving" because you will end up with glass shardes. It is best to use a tooth brush and brush the shardes into a garbage can. When I do glass, I do the back of the glass so the face is smooth.

[Rob Damon]

https://sciencing.com/lexan-glass-5612189.html

[Scott Shepherd]

Jestes, it's me who is deleting your posts. I am deleting them because they violate the Terms of Service you agreed to when you signed up. One more negative comment about another member here and your account will be deleted. If you wish to post positive, helpful information then you are welcome to do so.

[Kev Williams]

For the record, the glass I 'etched' above WAS done using my newest 'fiber laser'-- but the beam itself didn't do the etching-- the reflected heat from the metal beneath being etched did the etching -- What was interesting and hard to tell from the pics, was that I engraved copper beneath, and the copper 'attached' itself to the glass, and it will not come off... but the burn was inconsistent. But figuring out a few settings could really do some neat things to glass...

[Gary Hair]

a long time ago I read about someone doing that with brass. I never took the time to try it out but it seemed pretty interesting.

For the record, the glass I 'etched' above WAS done using my newest 'fiber laser'-- but the beam itself didn't do the etching-- the reflected heat from the metal beneath being etched did the etching -- What was interesting and hard to tell from the pics, was that I engraved copper beneath, and the copper 'attached' itself to the glass, and it will not come off... but the burn was inconsistent. But figuring out a few settings could really do some neat things to glass...