[diarmaid]

Hi. Could anyone tell me how effective cnc laser is for engraving glass. I dont know much about laser but was going to buy a manual kit for glass engraving.
I imagine that manual engraving is a delicate skill that will take a long time to become proficient at and would not be conducive to production therefore Im looking for alternatives. The engraving will be on single pane household window glass.

Would the STDK-4028 machine be suitable at the following link?

http://www.chinaoptronics.com/engraver.htm

Thankyou

[diarmaid]

I forgot to mention, I also wish to engrave mirrors....would the laser machine above be suitable for that?

Thanks.

[diarmaid]

.

[paulC]

Be careful and find out as much as you can about these lasers.
I was looking at buying one (not this manufacturer) then found it had no interlocks, so some major safety issues. There was no second optically safe laser for aligning the machine. You needed to do any alignment with the CO2 laser running. I'm sort of attached to my eyes and fingers and would like to keep things that way. The water cooling was a pond pump sitting in a bucket by the machine.
Get more information and ask specific questions.
Paul

[sidi_steve]

Hey Diarmaid-
got your message from the other thread...

I have one of these little 40w machines from China.
I got mine from here:
http://www.iehk.net/Products/IE300.html
though something similar is sold from here:
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/products/chapter.htm

-
What paulC says is true. There are few safety features.

But, will it work for glass? I just went out to my garage and put a piece of glass in it and tried. Came out pretty good. I did put on 3 pair of saftey glasses (really) because I like my eyes, too. But I am also a bit of a calculated risk taker.

Will it work for mirrors? Hmmm. I certainly would NOT try a front surface mirror, as I wouldn't want to redirect the beam...But I back surface mirror? I dunno. It just might work.

Ask lots of questions and be sure that the company you buy from can answer them in a way you feel comfortable with.

And yeah, the water cooling really is from a pond pump! But it works and is easily replaced...

And as for alignment, you can always start with paper. Once things are cutting where you expect, then just put your glass down on top of the paper. Align. And then engrave on glass. Not elegant, but it works.

Steve

[sidi_steve]

Oh yeah...

What depth are you trying to engrave to? I was able to clearly read my name that I engraved in the glass, but it was shallow. I could feel it, but I would have no way of measuring the depth.

I have felt engraved wine bottles and those were MUCH deeper.

Later, after work, I can try to tell you what the laser was outputting at. Perhaps if I give it more juice, it will go a little deeper...

Steve

[diarmaid]

Thanks steve. I'll check those two links. Im not sure about depth, Im only trying to cost suitable equipment at the moment. Once it will engrave decorative pictures that can be clearly seen I'll be happy.

[diarmaid]

Hi Steve,
I visited your link in the other thread for the the InkExpress IE300 engraver you bought.
On their site it says: "Engraving material size: 200 x 100 x 80mm (8" x 4" x 3.2" inches) / 300 x 200 x 5mm (12" x 8" x 0.2" inches)"

Can you confirm that material 300x200 can be engraved ok with it?

Thanks.

[sidi_steve]

Hello Diarmaid,

Sorry for the delay...that pesky job thing...

So, I tried to locate a tape measure, but only found an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. I laid that down in the machine and it fit with room to spare. However, it doesn't look like that whole area is engraveable area.

I am willing to do 2 things for ya:
if you send me a file (bmp or jpg), I will try to find a sheet of glass and engrave it for you with your image, then I can send you a picture of it.
I will also try to determine the actual engraving area and the maximum size piece that will fit in the bed of the device.

[PedroS]

Hi Diarmaid

I´ve already engraved images & text on glass and also in mirror.

On plain glass you have to place a layer of wet newspapper for optimal results and less reflection of the beam.

You can engrave in the back of the mirror, but you have to try on several mirrors because they are not all the same, so you have to find one with the back layer as thin and regular as possible, then try engraving at many settings to find the depth you want to engrave on that layer.
I never tried to engrave on top surface but i dont think it´s advisible due to the risk it may carry.

[ViperTX]

Sure would like to see some pics of what you all have engraved. Thanks, Paul

[diarmaid]

Thanks steve,
I dont think theres any need for you to go to the trouble of trying an engraving for me after Pedro's message, but the offer is much appreciated.
If you can determine the max engraving area and size of piece to fit in though, please post it here for us/me to see.

[diarmaid]

Im going to change the name of this thread to 'Post your Engraving Pictures', might start an interesting show.

[mcmmach]

Hey Diarmaid-
What paulC says is true. There are few safety features.

But, will it work for glass? I just went out to my garage and put a piece of glass in it and tried. Came out pretty good. I did put on 3 pair of saftey glasses (really) because I like my eyes, too. But I am also a bit of a calculated risk taker.
Steve

Steve, regular safety glasses will not protect your eyes. You must have a special pair that filters out the CO2 beam wavelength, even these might not stop a direct exposure to the beam.
Dean

[sidi_steve]

Thanks Dean -

That is a VERY good point and something we all need to remember. These lasers are NOT just another toy in the shop.

Consider these on order!

Thanks again,

Steve

[diarmaid]

Hi again steve,
Any info yet on the max engraving size? Thanks. :-)

[sidi_steve]

Hi Diarmaid-

The bed dimensions are large enough to allow an 8.5x11 sheet of paper fit in with room to spare. The cutting area, however is a little smaller. 10" x 8.6"

Hopefully you can see the red lines that I have added to the attached photo.

Basically, you get full use of the Y dimension, but X doesn't go all the way to the right.

Steve

[ViperTX]

I gather that this machine is not capable of doing engraving on round obects?? Does anyone have any pics of what they have been able to engrave??

[smparkinson]

I'm getting ready to order one of these IE300 laser engravers. The only reason I'm ordering it from Ink Express is the fact that they are located in Hong Kong rather than mainland China. I've been to Hong Kong a few times, and even though the companies there sell mostly products made in China, they are a little more in tune with western business practices, and are sometimes easier to comunicate with. Thats the hope anyway.
A few years ago I owned GCC Mercury 25 watt full sized laser engraver, and I have to say it was a nice machine and I enjoyed working with. But I'm a lousy business person, and I had to give it up for lack of funds. I'm one of these guys who becomes excited about the technology and capability of equipment, but who hasn't a clue about making money with it. My little garage shop has a mini lathe, a drill/mill, grinders, polishing wheels, etc. So it seems if I'm not going to make any money with my equipment, I might as well have a laser to go with my other money making (NOT) machines.
My experience with Chinese tools, is that most of them have the ability to be really pretty good. You just have to take the time to set them up properly. My mini lathe for example is rated at an accuracy of plus or minus .005", but I can get accuracy to plus or minus .001 if I take my time. My point is that if you set these machines up properly, they can often do quite good work.
The reason I relate my experience with Chinese machine tools here, is because I think (at least I hope) that the same rules may apply to their little laser engraver. Now, My GCC unit that I had cost about $25,000. a few years ago. But Ink Express has quoted me a price of $999., plus about $270. for Fed Ex Air shipment, for a total of less than $1300., and up until I found this equipment on the web, the least expensive unit I could find was about $5,000. for a table top model. And that unit wouldn't do vector jobs, only bitmap raster mode.
Ink Express has told me that their unit is a little faster and more versital that the "Rabbit" the other guys are selling for $850. plus shipping form China. I hope thats the case, and I really hope that it does vector paths. But for $1,300. I'll be pleased as punch if it works as well as I think it will, after a little setup and tweaking. And for that price, when my wife asks me how much it cost, I can look her in the eye and tell her that it cost less than 10% of the price I paid for the car I bought her for Christmas.
I know I got a little carried away with my explanations above, so please forgive me. And please, if anyone has had experience with this company and this particular desktop laser unit, please let me hear about your experiences with them. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
SMPARKINSON

[diarmaid]

Hi all,

Thanks steve. Those measurements should be fine for me initially so I think I'll go with one of these. I won't be buying for a few months so plenty of time to get feedback on its performance. Please keep us updated, especially if you can post pics of engravings. If you could keep us updated aswell smparkinson it would be much appreciated. Sounds like a good excuse to give to my better half aswell!
Does anyone know if this machine can be hooked up to run PhotoVCarve as seen at http://www.vectric.com/ ?
Viper, do you mean 'round' as in 'spherical', or as in flat and 'circular'. It doesnt look like it can carve sphere's/cylinders such as wine glasses. Can someone clarify its capabilities....steve...? Thankyou.
l8rs.