CNC Laser Etching a REAL Mirror
CNCROi.com has featured engraving both the front and back of acrylic mirror previously but a client asked us if we can CNC laser etch a REAL mirror, with a reflective metal backing and glass front rather than just all acrylic. Let’s find out!
Acrylic mirrors are easily cut and engraved using our Austrian Trotec Speedy 400 flexx which is why we use it extensively for just that purpose. We can’t cut real mirrors made out of reflective metal with a glass front though we can score it with our CNC laser.
To prove that this is very much a REAL mirror, let’s engrave the back of it! Although we could technically CNC laser engrave and even cut metal using our fiber laser source, I believe in using the best tool for the job so in this case, the only thing I wanted to do was engrave into the metal coating and not go through it.
Looking at the engraving, it does look like our Austrian CNC laser is powering right through it, if this was any other material used for mirrors of lesser quality, you bet, we’d be seeing mirror but in this case, it seems like we have a copper backing.
You can tell from the dust that some engraving has happened, the paper was put over our vacuum table to protect the glass surface from being scratched by the aluminium our table is made up of.
The results actually look fantastic! Below is the video showing the entire CNC laser engraving process start to finish for the metal back of the mirror.
I actually prefer the finish from this real mirror backing than I do from the glass front so let’s proceed with the other side.
DO NOT ATTEMPT THE FOLLOWING WITH A LESSER CNC LASER! We have the best CNC laser in the market which has a built-in diffuser which means the CNC laser energy is not reflected back to the mirrors, lenses and power sources.
The laser etching, as you can see from the above picture, is blindingly fast, this would be incredibly dangerous with other CNC lasers as the beam is likely to be reflected all over the place and cause some serious damage to your CNC laser even the operator next to it!
There have been no special precautions or coatings applied to this mirror, we just put it on our CNC laser bed and got our CO2 laser source powered-up and ready to etch!
We are CNC laser etching the top surface of the mirror, not the backing “behind the glass” which is why you can see a doubling effect in the photographs.
The results look fantastic, they are precise and consistent on both the front and back of the mirror. Below is the video showing the entire CNC laser engraving process start to finish for the front glass of the mirror.
Looking for a company with the ability to CNC laser etch and engrave REAL mirrors, front and back without risk of burning-up down the shop and blinding its employees? You found us! Contact CNCROi.com right now!
