The Art of Laser Craft: Glass Engraving from Miao Xu's blog

Speaking of glass engraving, many people will think of the process of glass engraving "laser engraving technology". Laser engraving technology refers to the use of computer control technology as the basis of laser micro-processing medium to make the physical deformation of glass instantaneously melted and gasified under laser irradiation, so as to achieve the purpose of engraving patterns. A laser engraver is an implementation of this technology, and we recommend the Sculpfun laser engraver for a personal hobby or small business.

In daily life, we often see beautiful engraving on some cups, which are basically all made by laser engraving. The Sculpfun S10 laser engraver will introduce the art of laser technology in detail: glass engraving.

Glass is brittle and can easily break during engraving, so glass engraving must be done with great care. Different types of glass have different amounts of lead and are engraved in different ways.

Glass Laser Engraving

With the increase of lead content, the hardness and high-temperature viscosity of the glass decrease, and the glass is more easily broken. Ordinary glass is usually easier to engrave than crystal glass, because crystal glass has a high lead content, reduces hardness and viscosity, and increases the difficulty of laser engraving. Leaded crystals have a different coefficient of expansion than regular crystals, which can cause the crystal to crack or shatter when engraved.

Glass Laser Engraving Process

When the laser beam hits the glass surface, the glass surface is heated and the glass molecules are scattered. In general, the laser can form a frosting or shattering effect on the glass surface.

Crystal Laser Engraving

 In order to get a good laser engraving effect, the glass is usually pre-treated: 1. Wet the glass surface, take wet newspaper to cover the glass surface; 2. Use protective foil or tape to cover the glass surface. Pretreatment prevents the glass from being unable to cool due to laser irradiation.

Glass Sandblasting Engraving:

An engraving template can be made, the protective coating is applied directly to the glass, and the pattern is traced with a Sculpfun S30 Pro Max laser engraver.

Domed Glass Engraving:

A longer focusing wavelength should be selected, because the longer the focusing wavelength, the larger the working area. Then position the focus point at the very center, so that a good engraving effect can be obtained on the periphery of the focus point.

Glass Engraving Coloring:

The surface can be cleaned with a damp cloth after engraving and colored with acrylic paint.

Compared with the traditional glass production process, laser engraving technology can solve the production cost and time cost to a great extent, and there are many kinds of engraved patterns and strong design.

HTPOW Lasers has been focusing on laser equipment management for 20 years: laser engravers and 3D printers of various brands.