Laser Etched Glass for tap and break laser/glass cutting

Has anybody tried to score glass pretty deep and then cut and tap out glass shapes?

I’ll give it a go. But if somebody has been here before any tips would be awesome.

Loving my Glowforge, 2 months into it.

KOHR

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This has been discussed several times previously and, it might be worth reviewing those threads. I found a few using the search feature (magnifying glass in the upper right):

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I did search the issue. Didn’t find this. Thanks. Seems un answered. I guess I’ll dive in to the pool!

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The laser micro-fractures the glass with thermal shock, but the line isn’t as sharp as a glass cutter, so the break isn’t as well defined.

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Being brand new to lasers I enjoyed testing different materials, it was like a treasure hunt. Don’t deny yourself the joy of discovery - test all the things!

Be sure to share your triumphs with us. :sunglasses:

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It would also be nice to include your failures as well. They teach as much as the success’s do.

I wonder if it would work to use the laser to etch the line, then the glass cutter to trace the etching before breaking. Would that give you the best of both worlds, or the worst of each? (I’ve never done glass work, but I watched one YouTube video on it once, so clearly I must be an expert, right?)

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@cynd11 responded to that suggestion in one of those threads I linked to. If I remember correctly, the issue is that the laser makes a score line by blasting/fracturing tiny bits of glass off with heat (as @PrintToLaser described above), while traditional glass scoring tools create a finer, smoother line by abrasion. Running the cutter over the rougher score line didn’t seem to help.

I definitely do not want to discourage anyone from trying things, though. I have come up with some pretty cool techniques for things that experts told me would never work.

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I doubt it. Under magnification, you can see the chips in the glass, and they can easily be picked out. I think the layer of chips would ‘insulate’ the glass under the chips from the score of a glass cutter.

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