Glass cutting

[gabi68]

Hi to all,

I just wondering - anyone try to cut glass with this machine (router). If you do, please tell me how you can do that (what spindel, how rpm, router bits ?).
Another word what is your router speccs.
THX

[dannystooblue]

are you trying to engrave? machine holes? profile through, or contour?

[gabi68]

I try to do all operation (engrave, machine holes, profile through, contour) to make a custom mirror. I have a small shop for furniture. My cnc have this speccs.: x=3000 mm, y=2500 mm, z=250mm. So, any idea ?!

[project5k]

well i've never tried to machine glass, but i would think that you would need a reall really fast spindle, some hard bits, and some kind of coolant....

[Barry_ward]

I've used a hand held dremel with a small (0.038") solid carbide PCB style drill. If you go slow and have some cush, it goes right through most glass. I tried it on a beer bottle first....(don't ask) No coolant. Dust is bad for your health.

It's a lot tougher with a machine. You need zero induced slop and lots of RPM.

Wait! I just did it again.

Credit goes to my old friend Bill who first suggested that it was possible.

[dbhyslop]

I don't have any machine-shop experience but I've made plenty of holes in glass for aquarium plumbing. Diamond-coated bits are available for Dremel-type tools that have ball-tips (for making decorative grooves) or tapered tips (for carving). Diamond hole-saws are also available on eBay for cheap.

I would trust diamond bits over carbide. Its important to keep water flowing over your work to carry away the glass dust and keep it cool--it gets pretty hot inside the hole as the bit grinds away the glass. My experiences working with a dremel by hand: first use a ball-tip to trace the shape of the cut, then find a spot to start tapping the bit in-and-out, in-and-out until you come all the way through the pane. Then switch to the taper and use it like you would a file, giving a little bit of pressure against one edge of the hole and pulling it in-and-out, in-and-out as you extend the hole along the outline you made. Remember to keep water flowing over the work and through the hole to keep it cool and take away the dust.

I'm sure you could do this with a CNC machine, but I would do a few test runs by hand on a thick piece of scrap glass so you understand the kind of motion to program the machine for.

Dan

[vid1900]

Water Jet cutting is generally how CNC is used to cut glass.

[ViperTX]

The problem you'll have when you use coolant, is how it will affect the mirror plating....which I suspect is aluminum. Carbide Tools will work....diamond will work better....but all require either coolant or air/vac system to remove the dust.