Laser Sub Surface engraving of Glass -bubblegram

Hi all,

Has been a while, I’m sure you did not miss me!

I am working on a project to 3D engrave glass blocks (K9 quality)- sub surface that is
The blocks themsleves are not that expensive
Commercial sub surface engraving machines are expensive, and 3rd party services the same

Is possible to add a 50w CO2 laser to a 3D printer?- if yes, how?
Usually the focus of the laser beam is controlled by a focussing lens, but can this be replaced by a fixed focus and using the
the Z axis to determine the depth

The CO2 lasers are fragile, direct mount?
endurance laser in the US provides schematics for hook up to RAMPS, but max is 10W diode laser

Appreciate any ideas, concerns, links etc etc
Please bear with me, I am just a simple mind ))
Attached an example glass block

Thx!

Coolerooney

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2018 12:03PM by Coolerooney.

... the CO2-laserbeam with 10640nm wavelength won't pass the glass surface! - this is normally done with frequency doubled NdYAG or fiberlasers (1064nm doubled to 532nm) ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Interesting. Subsurface, huh?
Well I'll give the little I know on the subject which isn't that much.

A 50W CO2 laser could totally be added but it takes some upgrades. All the tubes I know of are pretty big and cannot be directly mounted. Instead, you need a mirror system for arranging the beam along your axes and a lens where your extruder would normally go.

All that being said, subsurface engraving uses a special laser type that focuses on a very particular point in the cube to distort the glass. I don't believe an ordinary 50W tube would cut it. Secondly, keep in mind that there is refraction to deal with in a glass bock as well as the more complicated programming. I'm confident it could be done with enough patience but it may be a little more expensive that you first thought.

Good luck!

... read again - 10640nm of the CO2 laserbeam will only engrave the surface of glass or transparent plastics ... no "sub-surface" actions

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Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]