co2 laser engraving machines?

[scootinbob]

Ok my graphics shop made a 360 after I started messing with engraving glasses for weddings and wine glasses for friends. My question is what is a good reliable glass engravign machine out there that isnt going to break my budget too much? I am engraving the old fashiond way by weeding the vinyl and acid etching the glasses, but the process per glass is about an hour because of the detail in every glass.

 

[jiarby]

champagne flutes take us about 8-ish minutes depending on layout on a 50w Co2 laser.

I like the smoothness of the etched ones better though... not all glass engraves well.

 

[CES020]

If you're doing glass for a business, laser engraving isn't the best method by any means. It takes a long time, it actually fractures the glass to make the pattern, and it's not the most uniform appearance by any means.

You'll want a sandblasting process with the mask. You simply expose the mask, wash it out, put it on the glass and blast it. You can do a large quanity very easy and they will look superior and take far less time.

I've messed with glass engraving a number of times and there's just no way to beat the sandblasting or chemical etching with a laser.

Visit Rayzist's website for some details.

 

[scootinbob]

the problemI have is that my champaigne flutes take me an hour per glass because of the weeding and acid steps. so your telling me that I can sandblast a champaigne flute a lot faster and get the same look of acid washing?

 

[CES020]

Yes. There is no weeding. You expose the film, wash it out, put it on the glass, blast away. I doubt it would take more than 5-6 minutes each once you got going, especially if you're doing the same thing on multiple glasses. You can print a number of masks at once, wash them all out and be blasting while the next batch is being exposed.

You really should contact someone that sells the stuff as mentioned earlier and get their professional advice. I've only looked at it as someone looking to purchase the equipment, so I can't give too many details. I'm only giving you times based on the demos I have seen multiple times. It's a very fast process. In fast, there are people that will expose the film for you and all you have to do it blast, and it's cheap.

No way you should ever be spending 1 hour on a glass. You'll go broke doing that. You need to be working in minutes, not hours. Sandblasting will allow that to happen, in my opinion.

 

[knucklehead]

I just bought a photo resist set-up from a guy on another forum, not Rayzist, but about the same. He used one sheet of resist film, and couldn't figure it out, so I'm gonna see if I can do it. I've been blasting for a year or so, and the weeding is a killer for any detail.
One question for anyone who has done any photo resist. Is the high pressure washout nozzle an absolute nessesity? With our new water tower right up the hi-way, we have 105-115 lbs. of water pressure now. My hose with a good nozzle, puts out a pretty strong stream of water. I don't think he has one with his set-up, at least he didn't mention it.
Can't wait to get this outfit and give it a go. Thanks Mike

 

[Do-Over]

Sandblasting

Yes, the high pressure nozzle is a must at a minimum. I use a 1500 psi powerwasher to wash out my films. There is also a HD film you can use that requires no washout (gets blsted out with the sand). I run 4 sanblasters depending on the substrate I'm cutting through ie. stone, granite, glass, wood, foam, etc.

Hope that helps

Kevin