Subsurface crystal engraving design software

How it works

Composing a blank, then converting it

Crystal Studio works from meshes, so start with Import Mesh, taking GLB, GLTF, STL, OBJ or PLY files, or bring one across from Mesh Studio. Add Text places editable 3D text with its own font, size, depth and bevel, and the Graphics library adds vector ornament; you can upload your own SVG too. On the Crystal tab, choose the shape (Box, Heart, Cylinder, Sphere, Dome or Diamond), set the blank's real dimensions in millimetres, and set margins so nothing crowds the surface. Fade zone softens the engraving as it approaches those edges. Position objects on the Props tab, or use Center in Crystal and Fit in Crystal. Then open Convert: pick the Best viewing direction, set XY Step and Z Step, leave Smooth pass on, and press Convert to Point Cloud. Export as PLY, PCD, XYZ, DXF, GLB or STL.

The settings that decide how the glass reads

XY Step is in-plane point spacing and Z Step is the gap between depth layers. Smaller numbers mean more points, finer detail and a longer engrave; the trade is always time. Fit to time limit automates that argument: give it a number of minutes and your machine's seconds-per-point rate, and it re-converts at progressively wider spacings until it finds the finest one that fits. For a 3D object, the 3D color setting matters more than people expect. Textured 3D engraves the model's textured front, and the slider then controls only the shell behind it. Keep that low, because engraved glass has no occlusion and the back is always visible through the front. Flat renders a uniform grey shape and the slider drives the whole object's density. Suggested Laser Settings offers a starting point for layer height, power, dot duration and frequency.

Known limits, stated plainly

Crystal Studio imports meshes, not point clouds. A PLY made of points with no triangle faces is rejected with a message saying so; convert it to a mesh first, or export from your source tool as STL, GLB or OBJ. Two things are labelled experimental and mean it. Portrait layers HD spreads stacked layers across a finer grid for sharper texture, but it converts more slowly and its look is still being tuned. The xTool (.xs) export writes a whole job rather than plain geometry and has not been verified on a machine, so test it on scrap before you commit a finished blank. One hard rule comes from the app itself: do not rotate or scale the point cloud in your laser software. The orientation on the base has to match what you saw in Crystal Studio, or the engraving is ruined.

Frequently asked questions

Which conversion method should I use?

Portrait layers is the default and the one to start with. It stacks several depth layers per point so brightness builds along the viewing direction, which gives brighter whites and a more dimensional read. Portrait layers HD is marked experimental: it spreads those layers across a finer grid for sharper texture, at the cost of a slower conversion and a look that is still being adjusted.

Can I import a point cloud I already have?

No. Crystal Studio composes and converts meshes, meaning GLB, GLTF, STL, OBJ and PLY files that contain triangle faces. A PLY holding only points is refused, because there is no surface to sample. If you just want to view an existing cloud or change its format, the point-cloud viewer and the PLY to PCD converter under Resources are free and need no account.

Which export format does my machine want?

Check your machine's documentation first. PLY is the most common carrier for coloured point clouds and is the default here; PCD, XYZ and DXF cover most of the rest, and GLB and STL are there for 3D tools rather than engravers. The xTool (.xs) option writes a complete job and is flagged as highly experimental, so test it on scrap glass.