Glowforge Spark and CerMark Ultra Laser Marking Aerosol

[moncedesign]

I have a Glowforge spark, and I want to be able to engrave/mark stainless steel. I see a lot of people here have used the CerMark Ultra Laser Marking Aerosol. I was reading reviews on Amazon about this spray, and some people with diode printers said that it wasn’t working correctly. I’m wondering if this will only work with more powerful lasers?

[evansd2]

There have been previous discussions about this, maybe they’ll help?

https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=Aura%20cermark

[deirdrebeth]

AFAIK, and scanning the links @evansd2 provided, I don’t think anyone has posted with proof positive for the diode lasers.

You might try some of the home options before springing for Cermark, or reach out to their customer service specifically “does this work with a diode laser?” and see what they say.

Home options:

Both Mustard & Straight Vinegar INDEED etch stainless..perfectly! See ya Ceramark

OK. I had to try it, but it still needs refining and testing. I know you guys will pick up where I left off! I read about people using Ceramark and the like (and how expensive it is) to etch steel. I also saw the people joking about mustard and the youtube video of him doing it. I had to try it… and it worked! I dabbed mustard (plain ole yellow) and also soaked a cheap paper towel in cleaning strength white vinegar since I assumed that is what is creating the reaction in mustard to start wit…

Etch Steel with... apparently you only need a wet paper towel. No mustard or vinegar. lol

After posting about Vinegar and Mustard (Both Mustard & Straight Vinegar INDEED etch stainless..perfectly! See ya Ceramark) etching steel we made a rather amusing discovery. Seems my use of the paper towel was actually more of a discovery than the acids. Thanks to @jgf making the simple attempt to use a plain water soaked paper towel as a control, he found that the results were JUST as good as with vinegar… no acid needed! I guess it prohibits the reflection and maybe the moisture helps… Anyon…

You’re not going to damage metal, so while the settings linked are for CO2 models, go with full power/low speed.

[moncedesign]

Thank you all! I’m not sure what I’m going to try yet, but I’ll let you know if I have any luck with anything! I was also trying to etch on white ceramic tile, and no luck there either! I’m beginning to wish I had gotten one of the higher-end models!

[tjones]

@moncedesign

white ceramic tile,

Yeah, I think white is one of the no-go colors for the diode lasers. I engrave white tile all the time on my GF Pro. You still have to find something to fill the engrave with to be visible. Fortunately, Sharpies work fairly well for that.

[Xabbess]

You are correct, however oddly enough…you can cut and engrave on white paper…either regular printer paper or white card stock. I don’t understand it, either.

[tjones]

@Xabbess

white paper

Oh yeah…I didn’t even think of that. Wonder what the deal is.

[evansd2]

I think it’s because the paper is not fully reflective of the blue light and it has very low thermal mass, so even partial laser power is enough to carbonize the paper.