Help with engraving Glass - Settings (new)

Hi i need Help engraving Glass i don’t find the glass settings and also help cutting upload pictures in wood because every picture the i upload i can’t cut only engrave and give me a message bitmaps can’t only be engraved

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Only Proofgrade materials have automatic settings. Settings for engraving glass would need to be manual. Maybe one of the people who have successfully engraved glass can point you to useful manual settings.

Bitmap pictures/images can only be engraved. Vector SVG files (line drawings) are needed for cutting material.

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Thank you i convert the jpg to svg using convertio.com and still the same i can’t still cut nothing

If the vector lines are filled with a color, they will default to engrave. You can convert to a cut in the user interface. Cutting is always a matter of a line or path in the design. You may have converted the outlines into shapes, but still have a file that processes as an engrave.

Describe or post the image you want to cut and not engrave, maybe we can give you some help.

Do you want to cut small details and curves and shapes? Do you want to cut an outline around some other shape that is engraved?

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I’m going to move this topic to Beyond the Manual.

@tapoutms3, you can try the settings below for Engraving on glass:

Power 100%
Speed 850
LPI 340

You cannot cut all the way through glass with a laser though. Make sure you use a film of liquid dish soap, masking tape or a damp paper towel secured over the glass to keep it from cracking when you are engraving it.

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Thank you so much

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I have some nice bits of glass that just arrived, in a rather precious quantity, so I also appreciate any tips and advice. I’m hoping to lean on others’ prior experimentation to minimize my destruction.

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I also have a can of cermark for glass, and I’m curious to find out how that changes the process. I’m thinking that putting that on and then a wet paper towel on top won’t produce the best results.

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Thank you so much the picture my baby cousin i want to make a small key chain and the only thing the i want to cut is the square shape of the key chain because I’m using a big piece of wood

I don’t think we can cut the shape from glass… but do you really want a glass keychain? Would you be ok with clear acrylic? Or maybe wood?

The best way to do this would be to use design software like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator: import the picture of your baby cousin, place a vector square around it and make that square a distinct color. Then save as an SVG or PDF. Open this file in the GFUI, set the picture to engrave, and set the square to cut.

A quick workaround, if you don’t have access to design software, would be to upload the picture by itself, and then use the Add Artwork button to upload a vector square. Line up the picture with the square. Run the picture as an engrave, and then run the square as a cut.

Here is a one-inch vector square that you could use. You can resize it in the GFUI if you want a larger or smaller square.
1InchSquare copy

Again, cutting the square from glass will result in failure. Plexiglass / perspex / clear acrylic would work quite well. If you do it from wood you could carefully lift it out and flip it over, then run the engrave part of the job a second time on the back for a two-sided keychain (for obvious reasons this would not work well on clear material)

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Thank you i don’t want to cut glass just engrave it but i don’t see nothing on the material tab about glass i just want to cut wood i got the picture in black & white just i need to cut around the wood

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Sorry, I was reading too quickly. My instructions above should work for you on wood. You can right-click on the red square that I posted and save it, it is a vector square with no fill and should automatically be turned into a cut operation when loaded into the GFUI. Line it up with the photo before you engrave, and then cut it afterwards. Let me know if it works for you.

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Thank you will try that thank you so much again

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I’ve seen a number of people claim great success using liquid soap to prevent cracking.

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Jules…you can always make me smile with your wisdom…thanks always.

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Can’t take credit for that bit of wisdom…that came from @jason.fuller0 and @johnwills…they’ve been doing some stunning work on glass. :grinning:

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Received this link in an email from Awards & Engraving Magazine about engraving glass.

https://a-e-mag.com/features/6-tips-achieve-best-engraving-results-glass

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Did you ever etch the tempered glass? How were the results and do you have settings?

Unfortunately it’s still in my to do pile.

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So as a complete newbie, is it possible to cut glass on the GF or just engrave?