Laser Cutting Champagne Flute

Laser
#1

Hi everyone,

New member here! I finished the online Laser training, but have a particular project in mind to cut names into champagne flutes for my upcoming wedding. Would be appreciative of anyone offering to have an in-person class/tutorial with me to assist in the process for cutting onto a curved surface. I will be OOO until June 25, but the following week thereafter, I will be available.

I will work on the design on Lightburn in the meantime - I want to try one before I move forward on the rest (we are inviting about 100 people). Any guidance/tips would be appreciated!

Best,
Julieta

#2

I can help you with the rotary tool which is part of the fusion (I donā€™t think Iā€™m authorized to teach it, but can work with you).

As a note, champagne flutes might be super hard to laser etch:

  • they tend to be very fragile/thin
  • the may not fit in the rotary tool nicely
#3

Thank you so much for offering! The one I have has withstood hand engraving, so I figured I would give the laser a try to make them look more professional and to be faster. If it doesnā€™t work, itā€™s good to know now while I still have time to pivot to another idea :slight_smile:

Let me know what availability you have the week of June 26 - I appreciate it!

Best,
Julieta

#4

Iā€™m usually available on Sundays, and then Wednesdays through Fridays.

The concern with the laser can be the heat buildup causing them to crack/break. It may still be possible to do it a much lower power and do a couple of passes - I think it will likely all depend on exactly how thin they are/their compositeā€¦ But itā€™s worth testing, and it certainly will be way faster than doing them by hand :slight_smile:

#5

The three issues to consider are heat, glass type (crystal or glass), and glass shape.

1. Heat

Three things about this:

  • Limit your engraving size/density (see below).
  • Epilog suggests NOT using black as the engraving color because it ablates too much glass. They suggest ā€œ80% greyā€, which is #333333. I have used this with a large, high density engraving with very good success. My glass was much thicker but I got crisp clean engraving without ā€œtearoutā€.
  • A laser artist recommends painting the glass with cheap black acrylic paint and washing it off after engraving as another way to reduce ablation. I have not tried this but itā€™s easy enough to experiment.

EDIT:

Iā€™d be surprised if a second rotation of the glass is in precisely the same location as the first rotation because the rotary attachment depends on rubber wheels that may or may not give you exact repeatability. Buy some cheapo dollar store glasses and definitely experiment with this before committing a good glass.

2. Glass Type
Higher lead contents increase the risk that heat will build up from the laser engraving process and crack the crystal as it cools down (i.e., if youā€™re considering leaded crystal for all these glasses it increases the chance that it will crack). I have read that you should only engrave small text and logos on crystal - large surface engravings are more likely to crack it (so that engagement photo youā€™re thinking about might not be the best choice of engraving :wink: )

3. Glass Shape
The shape of your glass is a significant factor to consider. The two issues are holding the glass so the engraving surface is level (i.e., always equidistant to the laser head) and correcting your artwork so it isnā€™t warped when it is engraved on the glass.

A linear taper is easy to deal with. You can level it in the laserā€™s rotary tool and you can correct your artwork easily. Watch this YouTube video, paying particular attention to the instructions at ~8:50 to pre-warp (unwarp?) your artwork. (This is the artist who recommends using the black paint). If itā€™s a gentle taper and a short piece of artwork (like a line of text) you probably donā€™t have to warp your artwork but itā€™s very easy to do using Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

If your glass has a curved profile (not just round), that could be a challenge. Different parts of it will be different distances from the laser. That means that parts of the image will be blurry. Blurry translates to more ablation and a higher risk of breaking the glass. If itā€™s a very gentle curve and youā€™re engraving short artwork in a spot that can be held linearly you may be OK. If you figure out how to pre-warp your artwork to correct for a curved surface, please share that. Iā€™d love to know how.

2 Likes
#6

hello! I returned from my work conference and got hit with a terrible sinus infection that kept me at home for weeks. Am now starting to get back into my routine and would love to pick up the conversation. Do you have availability to walk me through the laser cutter and see if this is worth putting time and effort into? Would love your guidance!

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!

Best,
Julieta

#7

In my experience the cheaper the glassware, the better it engraves. Higher lead content in more expensive glass can, and does, cause spots to not engrave at all. I have some champagne flutes with vertical lines through the design that are bare. I bought less expensive glasses from a restaurant supply, and the engraved beautifully.

2 Likes
#8

The champagne flute I bought to try this out on is from the Dollar General! Would you be willing to talk me through the process for the first one (assuming you have capacity)? Would be grateful for your time and expertise!

Best,
Julieta

#9

I have my own laser at home, and am not familiar with the rotary attachment for the Fusion laser at the 'Space.

#10

I can help you with this, send me a PM. My schedule has been pretty overwhelming so please bear with me but Iā€™ll do my best. If someone else wants to jump in feel free. :slight_smile:

#11

I will also be in for ā€˜office hoursā€™ and maintenance tomorrow (Sun) afternoon, and could potentially help then.

1 Like
#12

@jsnowfreedman hello! I was traveling today for wedding prep so I was unable to make it to your office hours. Is there a standard office hours schedule and if so, where may I find it? If you have office hours after next weekend (Iā€™ll be out of town) I will try my best to make it!

Best,
Julieta

#13

There is not currently a regular office hours schedule, although Iā€™m going to try to plan for weekly, alternating Sunday late afternoon and Thursday afternoons if I can manage it.

In the meantime - if you let me know a couple dates/times where you should be free I can probably arrange something.

#14

Hello! I return in town this upcoming Sunday. My availability next week will be open every day after 5:00 p.m. as well as Saturday (08/05) in the morning. I have availability the following week every day after 5 pm as well as Saturday (08/12) and Sunday (08/13 - morning preferably as I usually see my family around 3 p.m.).

Let me know your thoughts - feel free to direct message me.

#15

Hey Josh!

Hope youā€™re doing well! Iā€™m trying out the champagne glasses tonight and am doing okay! One of the names was a bit bigger than the class so the first letter didnā€™t engrave. Is there a feature to have the glass rotate while the engraving occurs or did I make that up in my head? I am making the name smaller now so it can capture all the letters, but thought I would ask :slight_smile:

Thanks for your guidance!

Best,
Julieta

#16

Iā€™m going to tag @jsnowfreedman so that it pings him. Iā€™ve always heard that thereā€™s a rotary tool for the lasers, but I Know Nothing about the lasers.

#17

goodness, I donā€™t know what happened, but I thought I was messaging Josh! haha my bad!

#18

Well, he is on the thread. Mentioning him by his username just brings his attention to it a little sooner. Some of the busy, busy people (like Josh) donā€™t read every thread that theyā€™ve been part of the next time it pops up.

#19

Yes, depending on the orientation of the text and how much you stretch it, it should rotate the rotary tool/glass.

I believe itā€™s the vertical axis in the fusion software will rotate around the curve of the glass.

#20

figured it out! after some trial and error of course :sweat_smile: