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What kind of machine would be best suited to engrave a photograph (grayscale) on a glass sphere?
I have checked out the eggbot, and openbuilds "spherebots"....but neither of these options can do something like a photograph.
Would I need a 5-axis machine? If so what type? I know nothing about them.
What types of cnc machines out there could achieve this?
Laser cutters like this Epilog can engrave grayscale images as well as glass and curved surfaces. See some sample images below. But I am not sure how much grayscale you will be able to achieve on glass. You might need to achieve this effect with halftone.
You will need an added rotary attachment for curved surfaces. This will limit the size of work piece you can use. The laser with rotary attachment is really only suited for cylindrical objects, not spheres. As the sphere surface curves away, the laser will de-focus and loose power and resolution. Fixing a sphere in the rotary attachment will also be a challenge.
That being said, I have engraved logos on pumpkins in the past with reasonable results.
