So a few weeks ago, I posted about trying a new concoction for engraving tiles on the xTool 20w diode laser. I’ve done tiles with marking spray and other items, but never gotten the results I really wanted. I had also tried using Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) powder with alcohol and water in a spray bottle, but that was a holy terror. If you looked at it sideways the powder would flake off.
Then a few weeks ago while scrolling through Facebook, I saw a post where the person had gotten great results using TiO2 mixed with alcohol, water . . . AND Elmer’s Glue. DING DING DING DING!! I realized instantly that the glue would solve the problem of the TiO2 powder flaking off. It would also solve the problem of the spray bottle getting clogged as this would be brushed on. I was sold, and so I tried it. (See the first post for images and how to mix the concoction).
So, as with everything, it was time to dive in head first. In other words, testing be damned. I had a tile here that I had sprayed with marking spraying, so I figured going off those settings would be a great place to start. As you can see in the image below 25mm/sec with a power of about 40% looked like a good place to start. Also as you can tell from the second image, it wasn’t!!!
I decided not to cut corners again and sacrificed one of my painted tiles to run a test grid. This time using one I had found online that states it is a tile test. You can see how things turned out on that from the image below. So with that information in hand, I was ready to try another tile. Using a speed of 40mm/sec and power of 82.5%, I got the results I had been looking for as you can see from the second image. So while Trial and Error is the only way you’ll ever know if something works, don’t try to cut corners by using a test from a different material. Go ahead and always have extras on hand so you can run your own test for your machine.
Given everything, I consider all of this a very successful trial and error. I’ve yet to do the mug from the first post or the pint glass, but they are next on my list and will likely be part 3 & 4 or possibly just part 3. I’m looking forward to working with those objects soon. Below is a brief video of the engraving processing.
