Etching Clear Acrylics With A Diode Laser: Part Deux
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- Опубликовано: 29 окт 2022
- Etching clear acrylic with the XTool D1 10W Diode laser. This is the second part of clear acrylic etching. Today we will pit round one winner, Enduramark Charcoal Glass, against Tempera paint and chalkboard paint and see who the winner is.
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Quick tip. I use tempera paint thinned with water in a Preval Sprayer when etching onto glass products. Applies easy and evenly with no brush strokes.
Hi. How do you prepare the acrylic before sparing it?
I've never tried it with the painted side down. I use a 10w 30 mm/s at 35% power and they come out awesome... If you are going to do Larger pieces, cool your laser down, and run 2 passes. The first one focuses on the tempura, the second pass can focus on the etching... Does really nice and you don't get the bubbling.
Thanks for the tip!
Hi friend, do you use the Tempera on the front side of the acrylic and, make two laser passes, one after the other?
Thank you very much. I will try it on my F1 Xtool.
Tempera seems to be the one to use. Thank you for sharing. Everyone stay safe, warm, happy and healthy. From Henrico County schools
Wonderful video thanks you for them greetings from Belgium
Appreciate the time and effort to let us know the settings! My machine will be delivered next week! So much to learn and so much fun to have! 😂🎉
Best of luck!
Great Video, keep up the good work. This is what i want to do when i retire.
Hell, I wish I could retire now. Lol
I have found that my 10w laser must be a little more powerful as I used your settings and I litrally cook the acrylic so I used 20% power and came out perfect thank you keep up the good work
Yes! I suggest always running speed power tests. That's always an issue with watching videos and using those settings. The exact same laser modules are usually slightly more or less powerful. If I bought another 10w today, most of my settings would be incorrect. Glad you got it to work!!
Thanks. I got the paint and will try it on glass and acrylic. Jim Bell (Australia)
instead of using image i would convert to svg in lightburn (trace image) and set it to fill instead of using dither
From 300 subscribers to 1.25k in a few months... great job. New subscriber here - off to catch more of your other videos! 👊
Thank you. I hope you find the content useful!
How do you take the chalkboard paint off
You can put 2 of the thin ones in the base.
How about burning a candle under the glass and use the black soot rather than paint? Try it.
How did you clean off the Tempura paint?
Greta video, thanks, Wanting to do this exact thing for my grandsons.
Warm water and a soft sponge works great.
If you could do another video of you trying the steel sheet with primer I would love to see that!
I"ll be doing one with the primer mentioned and a few other coatings as well.
What do you use to clean the paint off the acrylic? And how do you keep from scratching the acrylic during paint removal? I etch a lot of glass with good results, and use acetone and plastic blade to remove spray paint. I'm just now starting to practice on acrylic and plexi. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and ideas in your videos!
If you use tempera paint, just water to clean and a soft cotton cloth to dry.
What is your procedure for etching on glass?
Running water and gently rub with your fingers. Comes off very easily. ( I love to turn my wife's laundry tub black... LOL )
great tutorials
are you using air assist with acrylics? or glass in your other tutorial for glass engraving?
No air assist used for either.
Thanks for making a video..I have the acrylic sheets in the garage and may try some engraving today. Question: What 5w Ortur laser speed and power settings do I use when CUTTING out 1/8" acrylic sheet? Where do I focus? Bottom? Do I paint the back side of the plastic when cutting through it? # of passes? thanks.
I'm doing 5w tests this weekend. But if you're looking to cut clear acrylic with a diode laser, you will not be able to, no matter the wattage of the laser.
@@LaserNoob Ok. So folks buy acrylic already cut out to different shapes then engrave. What laser cuts acrylic? CO2?
That's correct. Only a co2 will cut clear.
@@LaserNoob I made some "OK" designs on thin clear, also melted some designs! On to black acrylic! At first I just melted an image on the 1/8th "black plastic, It has some relief to it but hard to see. Next attempt I turned the image into carbon. HA HA..oops! Finally, I succeeded in cutting out squares of 1/8th black acrylic, smooth edges with a 5 w diode laser. 200 speed, 100 power, 6 passes and air. Pieces just pop out. Focused on top.
Success! Well done. It's always a great feeling when you actually succeed instead of f'ing up product. Lol
How many lines I tried the paint and it came out ok but the lines were too far apart
In some countries (such as mine) tempura paint is known as "poster paint"
Great video! I’m attempting the tempera but am having a hard time getting the paint to adhere. I’ve tried washing w dish soap, dish soap plus IPA, not washing and in every case the paint just sheets off the acrylic when it dries.
How do you apply it, and have you had similar issues?
Using a VERY soft cloth, remove one side of the protective paper/plastic, rub thoroughly with alcohol, then with glass cleaner. That is how I prep mine and I have no issues with the paint falling off. Hope that helps!
@@LaserNoob I’ve done every iteration of surface prep imaginable. Water beads up like crazy, so I’m not surprised this water based paint is doing the same. The acrylic came in a set with bases, so I’m going to grab some from an alternate source and try that.
Keep up the good work, I really have enjoyed your vids!
If I engrave in my garage, do I still need air ventilation fan?
Do you use air assist while engraving? Thanks
Even if the garage door is up, I would at least have a box fan to keep fresh air moving into the garage. As far as air assist, I use it on wood (unfinished). Paint and wood finishes tend to glob up on the nozzle.
How did you fix the problem you had with the iron man engraving. I've encountered the same problem but don't know the direction to go in next to fix this issue. thank you for your time and GREAT content!!
I have another few tests to try and solve that issue. Hopefully I'll have a video for that soon!
If you increase speed a little that will help instead of lowering power to give it the good color.
@@usafdummy thanks bro 💯
@@LaserNoob When will you admit that there might be a good case to be made for using Air Assist with acrylic? (Early on, you commented there is no need, but clearly there is.) Thanks for making instructional videos!
I won't, as I don't etch the top side of the acrylic. Unless you're suggesting air assist can somehow cool the bottom side of an acrylic sheet. If you can show that, I will gladly accept it.
What are the settings for the Tempura on glass (not acrylic). I have an Ortur Laser Master 2 using Lightburn. Thanks for the videos!
I have 2 glass videos. One with a 10w and one done with a 5w.
@@LaserNoob ok, thanks
i have a 20 watt atoms stack i have notices thaat if i use the air ass i dont get any blowouts hope that works for you i really enjoy your pages and topics please keep up the great work
How much air do you go with?
Cool I’m having trouble with it, what best power settings and do I take tape off both sides? Thanks
You'll have to mess with the settings. I'd run a low power, speed/power test grid. The protective film comes off both sides before etching.
I also tried engraving with tempura paint. Unfortunately, my acrylic becomes dull after washing and it is very difficult if not impossible to get the black out of the lasered areas. Do you have any advice for me?
If it's dull, I'd recommend doing a speed power test. I have not had any issues getting any of the paint off. Warm water and a clean, soft sponge does the trick for me.
@@LaserNoob Thanks for your quick reply. I will try again.
interesting video. I have an Ortur Maester 2 and still learning. So far I have engraved slate & wood. Couple of questions. Would it not be quicker to just trace the image? Also, what about just putting the acrylic on top of the black paper? Cheers
Yes, you can just trace the image. I was looking for the fill look though.
@lasernoob can you cut the acrylic sheet with the tempera paint on it? Or only etch on it?
Only etch. Cutting clear acrylic with a blue diode laser isn't possible, sadly.
I have a question about LightBurn. I noticed my speed setting is mm/minute. How would I change that particular setting to mm/second?
On the top tool bar, click the gear icons next to the wrench and screw driver icon. On the left side middle you will see mm/s. Click that and you are all set!
@@LaserNoob got it! Thank you , good sir!!!
Slow speed but not too much heat is the way to go? I have the TwoTrees 5.5 watt laser/engraver.
That works best for me.
Do you have the painted side at the top or underneath? and do you flip the image?
Hey Mark. I put the painted side down. I like my etching on the back side of the acrylic so I don't mirror the image. If you want the etching to end up on the front side after being etched, then you should mirror it.
@@LaserNoob Thanks mate, will give it a try.
new sub...good stuff
Thank you kindly!
You are best, thx a lot...."popin" = hot, okey, nice 🤩👍....i must do "test card" on Acrilic 😇
Thank you! Cheers!
What are you using as the lighted base? You may have covered that in another video.
I get the bases and acrylics as a whole kit. amzn.to/3ttAPKw
The acrylics I use in the videos for testing are thinner, and have no base. amzn.to/3X3gt8f
@@LaserNoob thank you.
You're welcome. Glad to help.
@@LaserNoob So your product pieces are 4mm, but your test pieces are 2mm?
@@plosscrot yes. The thinner ones are cheap so I use those for testing. The thickness makes no difference.
I never about tempera paint in my whole life, and it doesn't seems that I can get it over there. Is this a specific kind of paint ? Could I get away with regular water based acrylic paint ?
I have not tried it with acrylic paint. Amazon carries tempera if you have Amazon in your region.
Dumb question. Did you peel the protective film off the side you applied the Tempera paint on? I am assuming yes?
Indeed I did.
@@LaserNoob Ok. What I thought. I forgot to on my last one and still can't get the smell out of my nostrils!!!!!
Lol! Bet you'll remember next time!
@@LaserNoob Yeah. Don't think the wife will let me forget! Also, I have seen in some of the other comments about speed. I just noticed yours was mm/sec and mine was set at mm/minute. It happens in the settings if you change it from CO2 to diode.
I started with mm/s and have just stuck with that. At some point in the future I will get a Co2 laser and the transition will be seamless.
What speed/power settings did you use for tempera
I give the settings in the video.
If it gets to hot can you do several passes?
I have heard of folks doing that, but with some testing, you'll get it to do it in one.
Is it possible using these methods on acrylic to engrave high quality pictures like portrait or vehicle pictures or similar photos using diode laser such as xtool d1 pro or similar? I am thinking to buy diode laser under 1000$ and start side business any recommendations?
Thank you :)
If you are going to consistently be doing acrylic, I'd suggest a co2 laser. But, I have done photos on acrylic with the diode laser that came out perfectly.
Do you ever try dry moly on clear acrylic?
Nope.
Can I just simply use acrylic with original brown sticker paper on it? Newbie here ..
I have tried blue painters tape and the results were crap. But it's worth a shot. Let me know how it turns out.
Is it cardboard paper that you put under the acrylic?
Black poster board
I tried a different way that I got from you tube it was using gray spray paint and a piece of sheet metal for my laser. You would spray paint the metal gray and etch acrylic that way also I had it at a low setting 15% power 35 Inches for speed. It came out good BUT, The engraving wiped right off Does anybody know why it did this? Do I do something wrong?
If it wiped off, either the coating is not good or the power was too low.
I have the longer ray5 10w. I have done a speed and power test but when I go to do the actual engrave it just pops and burns and I have ended up using a very low power very high speed and multiple passes to get it to work and if I use offset fill it I’d almost guaranteed it will pop and burn. I am using a flat black painted metal under tempura paint sprayed with hvlp tempura side down focus on the bottom side of the acrylic. Any ideas? If I ran 1200 at 25 it will just burn. Do I need to de-focus?
Have you tried it with black poster board? Also try painting the acrylic instead of the metal.
@@LaserNoob I paint the bottom side of the acrylic with tempura paint and I use the black metal instead of poster board ala hobo with wood. I’ll try the poster board and see if it changes things. I followed you method except the craft paper\poster board. Did the power test and then it all went south.
Ok.i have tried the painted metal with no luck. Doing the conversion, your running 20 mm/s. Try running faster speeds. I'd try starting at 40 mm/s or 2400 mm/m. I don't watch other people's videos so I can't speak to their methods.
actually before trying the poster board, which was a success, thank you, i was running at 6000mm/m at 15% power but i had to make 4 passes essentially doing it over 4 time to keep it from burning. poster board was 700mm/m at 45% and it came out great. going to do another speed/power test with the poster board. thanks for the help.
Well for what ever reason I was no able to reproduce my results at 700mm/m @ 45%
Hey what do you use to apply the tempera to the acrylic?
I dip the acrylic in the paint. If you watch my glass video, you will see the process.
@@LaserNoob okay thanks!
@Laser Noob for what its worth, I just had to do a 1x2 ft piece, taped the sides and just poured the paint, spread it around with a squegee and let it dry. Worked great!
Very nice. Great idea!
Have you tried making the black a 80% tint rather than 100%.
The tempera? If I thin it it does not stay on the acrylic very well. I do a 3 to 1 mixture for glass.
@@LaserNoob so don't use the 3 to 1 method on acrylic?
It does not work well for me.
You CAN buy the charcoal spray paint in the UK, I know, I just bought some. Yes it's VERY expensive, but it IS available. I am going to use it with my M1, but currently all I get are burns. It MAY be the acrylic, im not convinced the seller gave me extruded. its 3mm thick. Any comments? Having to use Xtool creative suite as Lightburn does not work with the M1.
What are you coating the acrylic with currently? The charcoal glass spray by Enduramark?
I have tried everything. All different settings, all the same results.
If you can give me an email address I will send a pic.
I have tried permanent marker, soap, grey paint on a metal base, and the enduramark. All same results.
I have tried altering the image on ImagR too. It’s either the acrylic the plastics guy sold me, or something really stupid, like me I guess :-)
Just need to crack it, I have some 2mm cast acrylic coming tomorrow from Amazon, will try that!
How do you get the tempura paint stick to the acrylic?
I clean the acrylic with dish soap, water and a sponge. Then again with isopropyl alcohol and cotton balls. Then I dip one side into the paint. My paint to water ratio is 3:1.
Thanks. I see you’re an lsu fan are you from Louisiana?
Lived near Baton Rouge for several years.
Oh cool we have a laser business here in Hammond about 45 minutes east of there
Been to Hammond many times. I drive through there going back and forth to B.R.
I am not sure what I am doing wrong. But my image I just made which is about 5 by 5 inches mostly outline is saying its going to take 117 hours @ 20mm/s
@Nate Nelson if you join my discord server at discord.gg/8KXpdnbfaA , you can post a photo of your settings and I can help you out. Or my facebook page at facebook.com/lasernoob .
Are you focusing on the top of acrylic or the bottom
Bottom.
Thank you I appreciate the help
Anytime!
que material é esse abaixo do acrílico?
Black poster board.
late to the party but, I liked and subscribed
How much time need to etching acrylic like that?
About 20-30 minutes.
Hi there. I'm a noon as well. I've made a few burns on wood but not on acrylic and have a customer that wants to order a few items and they will be somewhat big. Can we please talk on the side so I can pick your brains for a little bit? I'd appreciate it man. Thanks.
You can email me at ryan@panhandlelaser.com
how to cut Clear Acrylic
You can not cut clear acrylic with a Diode Laser. You will need a co2 laser for that.
For $70 a can it better do the dang engraving . I used tempera to engrave thin glass
I purchased one can of the Enduramark for testing. But at its price point and ridiculous shipping charge, I will never promote nor endorse their product. This was purely for testing purposes. I will not schill products just to make a few bucks.
@Laser Noob I get why you bought it, for testing and for the video I get that. I would never buy but I don't have a RUclips channel lol there's other sprays like that also that people use on metal and idk what that stuff is made of but it's just ridiculous really. I can't believe the tempra paint works good. You can even get it from the dollar tree. I do appreciate the video
On glass and acrylic, tempera is my go to hands down!
@Laser Noob so far I've only engraved 1 piece of glass and that's what I used . Wonder if it would work on metal ?
Screw charcoal stuff, $60 a can
Not including shipping!! Lol
What %
Speed and power are shown in the video. But I encourage you to do your own tests.
Tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.
Tempera is a type of paint.
No shit
@@LaserNoob Ok, I'm getting hungry!
Anyone else cringing that the dash was missing from "Spider-Man"? ;)
No