Glass Laser Marking Engraving & Etching By dpss uv laser source

laser is a machine that produces a beam of light through an optical amplification process. Today, lasers have become critical components of the products we use in our daily lives, ranging from bar code scanners to DVD players.

In manufacturing, lasers are used for drilling, cutting, and engraving a wide range of materials. In glass manufacturing, for example, laser engraving and etching provide several possibilities for personalization without changing the characteristics of the glass.

Laser engraving cuts out a portion of the material, leaving a cavity that reveals a design, with the engraved part noticeable through sight and touch. Laser engraving is performed with a high-heat laser that vaporizes the material. Engraving depths typically vary between 0.02″ and 0.125″ for harder materials.

Laser etching, on the other hand, does not cut into the material but instead removes only the top layer using a less powerful machine. The depth of the “cut” is usually no more than 0.001″.

In fact, etching is a subset of engraving and is considered a chemical process, while engraving is regarded as a physical process. Both techniques have become popular for adding images, logos, and numbers on glass. In fact, an entire cottage industry has sprung up around creating novel or custom engravings for glass. Businesses like ClinksDrinks as well as a whole slew of Etsy retailers offer laser engraved glass products with pop culture references.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at both laser engraving and etching, including how they work, their benefits, and how they’re executed.

In a nutshell, the high-temperature laser beam vaporizes the material and physically cuts into it, leaving a cavity. With glass, this works because of its inner composition.

Glass is made by heating silicon, which melts at high temperatures and turns into a thick fluid. The molten material is then manipulated in various ways, causing it to trap air and moisture.

Whenever a laser beam hits the glass, the air and moisture between elements of silica and metal react, not the other glass elements like silicon. Specifically, they expand, and since the glass is rigid, this causes microscopic fractures on the surface of the material. It is the resulting fracturing and chipping that we see and feel as engraving.

Engraving Curved Glass

Lasers are generally easier to use on a flat surface, where there is a given focal length and distance between the lens and the surface of the material.

Engraving a curved surface (like bottles, vases, and steins) can pose a challenge, but there are workarounds allowing for some flexibility. For example, using a rotary attachment is an option. Plugged into a laser machine, it allows the glass object to rotate as the laser does its magic. Naturally, complex angles and variations in curvature can still cause problems.

Neatness & Cleaning

Although engraving glass comes down to fracturing and chipping the material, the goal is to produce a shard-free pattern as much as possible. To do this, most engravers place wet paper towel or newspaper over the glass.

Cleaning is always be required after engraving. For this, one can use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel or a nail brush if there are shards. Other processing options involve the use of application tape, which helps prevent the surface area from becoming rough.

How Does Etching Work?

Laser Engraving Photo on Glass

K40 laser cutters are capable of etching and engraving glass (Source: Stupid Circuit Board Repair via YouTube)

Laser etching is a subset of engraving and works the same way, except that the depth of the cut is usually no more than 0.001″. This does little more than alter the appearance of the surface, affecting properties like reflexivity. Laser etching is sometimes considered the sweet spot between laser marking and laser engraving, ideal for thin materials or jewelry.

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