Trying to nail down my method and settings. These were done on an XTool D1 Pro 10W. 3500mm/min, 75% power, 0.1 interval, stucki. TiO2 powder mixed in 91% IPA and sprayed onto white tile.
I apologize for the crap pictures, I’m not a photographer and can never get the glare and white balance right.
Those look pretty good. Was it your YouTube video I watched this morning? First time I’ve ever seen TiO2 used. I’ve got some on order now with Amazon.
I assume it is best to turn off Air Assist (I have a K40), as I am thinking this would just blow the powder off the tile while engraving.
Thoughts?
Jim
I’ve not done any youtube videos on it, no. From what I’ve read, air assist off, not because of blowing the dust away, but actually from the cooling the air brings. It cools off reaction too quickly, before it can fuse with the glaze.
It was this video here,
I just thought it was odd to have two conversations going about this unique technique so close together. Didn’t mean to assume. Anxious to give it a try though.
Jim
Ha. Even the same type of bottle, mine just holds more (taller bottle). I don’t 1:1 ratio though, closer 1:4. I use 4 tablespoons of tiO2 and 8oz or 1 cup of alcohol.
Me and many others have tried variations of the TiO2 power with different mixtures. I moved away from paint because of the toxic nature of solvents…
I initially tried Ethanol and Isopropyl alcohols. I live in a warm and dry climate (Arizona), so it dried up way to fast to be useful. It also didn’t dissolve… it would end up separated from the alcohols and sitting on the bottom of the bottle.
I have an air brush that I haven’t been able to unplug it…
Thanks for posting your work… we always enjoy seeing other people accomplishments.
Might check out this method…
Here’s a couple, done with a fiber…
This is done on aluminum card size stock and it’s got some kind of black coating, like this from Amazon…
I think you could get better resolution, but I don’t know your setup. There is a laser everything video that has great graphics and shows you how to get the best dpi/lpi for any laser with any material… It has a bonus of one of the Lightburn developers explaining how to use the dot width adjustment.
If you haven’t watched it, it’s very beneficial.
Good luck
Outstanding video, especially the section on DPI.
That part of the video caused me to go out and buy a Desktop USB Microscope.
Very interesting to look at engravings very, very close up.
Jim
I coughed up the $80 for one with a display and stand… same as your link, I believe…
A friend gave me a microscope a few years back and I find myself using it when I can’t see the details with the Amazon model…
It’s quite different, looking at metal, after all the time I spent with the co2 and natural materials…
This is great, thanks for sharing the video with us!
Really great results, thanks for sharing.
Oh man, while I don’t think it deserves it’s own thread 'cause I borked the alignment… Measured the top, and aligned from the bottom. For being a punched piece, it trapezoids out. 
My dumb.
I found out that satin white is king for titanium dioxide. This was done on a 2" x 4" tile, satin white glaze. (51.3mm x 102.5mm by caliper measure)
I can’t catch in a picture how it looks in person, but dracula’s cape is almost a pure black, and the gradients really come out.
I just started messing around with white tiles, there is some banding.
How do you get rid of the banding? I have not noticed it on wood etc?
40w lasertree diode laser head, 250mm/s 20% power, 0.08 resolution
I’m going to assume you meant 250mm/min, as 250mm/s is 15000mm/min. Pretty fast for a 5W optical laser running at 1W. Try messing with your resolution a little, make it a bit wider to account for any possible overburn that could be creating the banding. Maybe between 0.1 to 0.15
The banding is called curtains .There are many causes but the main one is jerking or vibration of the axis. do a search for "curtains " its a common issue with lasers. With many different cures but belts and pulleys are at the center of it.
I don’t think this is curtains… at least the way Sadler describes it…
Mainly because the banding is not consistent and close together like a toothed belt would be… The gap, marked in red is not the same size as the gap marked in green.
If you hold this up to the belt, is there an identical pattern?
I don’t think its a moire pattern either…
I’ll have to think about it…
Maybe too much information, but this was the solution to the curtains problem… what Russ calls his rack and pinion drive…
Works like this…
Good luck…
Thanks guys, think its a issue with the belts there new (ish) think they have streatched a tad will have a look tomorrow
Thank you for your responces.
I it was the interval was to small and double baking like sugested above.
It seems like anything ondet 1.0 produces banding.
Thank you again for your help.
Think its time to re-tile my bathroom and kitchen lol…
Glad you got it figured out, now you get to plan big projects.
It may be silly buy quite excited about tiling my kitchen and bathroom now lol
I have had some awesome results tile with black paint but sealing it is an issue for me and what to buy, I have tried auto lacquer and its still scratches away easily, I have ordered some 2 pack lacquer to see how that goes, hoping it will do a better job.
Back to white tiles.
Does anyone know if an engraved (NWT method) tile is more porous?
Was thinking with it been bonded to the tile when engraved would it allow the transmitting of moisture.
In actuality you are not engraving on the tile. The laser heats the TiO2 so it molecularly bonds with the glass… So there is no permeability changes with the tiles surface from the ntm method.
