on my FB page one member posted this…
My stock k40 I got good results with 75mm/s, 5ma or 13%ish, no air assist, and in meerk40t raster steps 2 over scan 0
Thanks for the very informative answer, I have found literally hundreds of videos and explanations of this process using diode lasers, however videos achieving the same results with a co2 laser lack any information (type of paint to use speed and power settings) nevermind finding any sort of article explaining the process for co2 lasers.
hank you I have a 100 watt W4 tube so I am not hopeful
I can pull this off
Using my xTool 10w Diode. Works great
What type of paint do you use, enamel or acrylic?
salut va voir ce lien
il grave au co2
I’ve tried this on 60w omtech. I used the lightburn material test pattern tool to create a matrix from 100-300 mm/s, 10%-60%, interval: 0.002. It worked great and I used that to vector engrave using fill at, I think, 200 mm/s and 50%. It created a beautiful tile with surprising detail. I was impressed that this worked on the first try.
I say I think though because I have not been able to recreate this. I can’t even recreate the test pattern using the same paint and tiles from the same box. My current results are either to light or I’m burning into the surface of the tile.
If you go slow enough and use enough power a co2 laser will start to melt the surface of the tile. It doesn’t take as much as you’d think.
So, you can do the norton tile method. I’ve got 1 tile that proves it. Now I just need to figure out why I can’t recreate it.
Is there a photo of the tile? It would be nice to see
My first try is on the left. I may be using to much paint? These are all with the Rust 2x. I’m going to switch to the Zinsser and see if that improves things.
Hello Chris, I’m a rank newbie and still trying to figure out this forum stuff, but I was just trying the NWT (or TiO2) method too. I have a 60w CO2 laser. When I tried a material array (very similar to your array
) I lased a line (actually a non-filled rectangle) and I also tried the same but filled. I’m still experimenting to see what I may be able to do. I watched a lot of videos but details were scarce. I checked the MSDS sheets on a variety of “white” spray paints. From what I could make out the Rustoleum Whites (but not their primers) were fairly high in TiO2; higher than the 1 2 3. What I did notice was that even with the same paint, same tiles, etc., then when I ran the file on the laser machine I noticed different scanning of the filled areas (all the way across versus a rectangle-at-a-time). I noticed a marked difference in how that worked. Perhaps Lightburns ‘Floodfill’ makes a difference too. I’ll keep experimenting, for a while. Have you found any better numbers (powers & speeds for line versus filled) ?
I have a China Blue 50 watt (44 measured) co2…
You have to check out the data to see how much TiO2 is in the paint. Some of these have a very low percentage of TiO2.
Another co2 option is LBT100, relatively expensive but it’s easy to work with - cleanup is easy with water and it’s non toxic.
I use this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N346U0B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It’s recommended to mix with ethanol, but I mix it with water and spray it on with an air brush. I put a couple drops of food coloring in it so I can tell how much coverage I’m getting. The food coloring doesn’t go into solution so you have to shake it. It just helps me ‘see’ an even coating.
I live in the sw desert, so water almost instantly evaporates. Probably a contributing issue I had with ethanol, that mixture always clogged the air brush… both can, so clean it out.
I need to learn to take photos of completed items… just forget to do it…
I’ve found that TiO2 layer thickness effect the end product, same with LBT100 spray. The best way to see what’s happening is to use a microscope to examine how it’s reacting. Seems like you can ‘overpower’ it rather easily.
Russ Sadler has a pair of videos, again for co2. Around a half hour each. He explains in more detail how it works… Typical of his videos…
Take care.
Doesn’t take much power, just pinpoint focus and the right speed. I have a K40 40w but also a 10w diode and have done Norton Tile Method with both.
I too have a 10w diode, what settings are you using?
Ok I want to use my Monport K40, so if I want to do a black ceramic tile. I need to paint it White first? Just trying to figure out. I will do some test tiles but like what type of paint ? Does it matter what type of paint?
It really depends on what coating I am using. I have used Rustoleum White 2x, cold galvanizing spray, dry moly lube, and I’m now using titanium dioxide powder (TiO) directly in a solution and air spraying. I have a box of test tiles that are marked with settings that I need to unpack (just moved my lasers) and will put my settings up once I get them out. In the mean time, you might try using the built in test grid on some scrap tiles until you find the optimum. The blackness sweet-spot is in several combinations of speed and power but focus is the key.
The white paint applied on white tile contains a significant amount of titanium. Titanium is often used to whiten things. When the laser heats the white paint, it drives the titanium into the surface of the tile. When I engrave with just a layer of white paint, I don’t clean the paint off afterwords. I just shoot it with a clear sealer. It seems make the engraving a bit sharper. This is just my 2 cents. YMMV
I’m trying Dry Moly on a white tile with a 5.5w (output) FoxAlien laser, any suggestions as to starting speed/power I am not trying to hold you to anything just new and I’ve wasted 20 tiles already trying different methods…thanks
I don’t know how you spread it over the tile, that would be interesting…
I think LBT100 is based on molybdenum disulphide. The laser heats it up enough to create a molecular bond with the surface of the material.
Works well on my co2, but I have never been able to make it work right with an led laser. I have a NEJE A40630 (30W input) and have tried various speeds/feeds. The best results I got, look ok, but I can either wipe it off with a rag or scratch it off with my fingernail.
I asked the manufacturer and they said it for co2 and didn’t know about results with low power diode lasers.
I’ve worked with NWT and TiO2, can’t get near to what @Bulldog gets 
Good luck
Mr Norton says to not use air assist when doing the white tile method, so I turned off the air assist, but now I get lines in the cut, not all the time but some of the time. So I pulled the air nozzle off and made a new tile, no lines?? Any ideas? Using FoxAlien Reizer and the air assist and nozzle they sent
On my co2 it’s setup to always have some air assist or I end up with dirty/damaged lenses.
It’s very, very low pressure…