Glass Drilling Laser: Micro-Holes in Glass with M8
Drill clean micro-holes in glass without cracking it. A glass drilling laser uses the high peak power of an M8 fiber source to remove material faster than heat can spread, so the hole edge stays sharp and the glass stays intact.
Short answer: a glass drilling laser is a high-peak-power M8 fiber laser that drills small holes in glass by ablating material faster than heat can conduct into the substrate, so the glass does not crack at the hole edge. Glass drilling needs the 120W and higher M8 tiers; the 20W and 50W M8 are for glass and ceramic marking, not drilling. Our in-stock drilling machine is the 120W M8.
Why glass drilling needs high peak power
Glass is brittle and transparent, which makes it hard to process. A low-energy beam heats the glass and the thermal stress cracks it. The solution is the opposite of heat: very short, very high-peak-power pulses that vaporize a tiny volume of glass almost instantly, before the surrounding material has time to heat and crack. That is exactly what the M8 architecture is built for, with peak power above 100 kW. It is why JPT lists glass drilling as a capability of the 120W and higher M8, and not of the lower-power tiers.
What a glass drilling laser produces
- Micro-holes for fluidics, sensors and vents, down to sub-millimeter diameters.
- Blind and through holes in display, appliance and instrument glass.
- Clean entry and exit edges without the chipping a mechanical drill leaves.
- Patterned hole arrays placed by the galvo scanner, not a moving spindle.
It works across common technical glasses: float, high-borosilicate, ultra-clear and coated glass. For the cold-marking alternative on glass surfaces, see the UV laser marking machine page; UV marks glass but does not drill it.
The glasses it processes, and the limits
Not all glass behaves the same under a laser, and the type drives what is achievable. Common technical glasses each have their own absorption and thermal behaviour:
- Float (soda-lime) glass: the everyday glass in appliances and panels; drills well at the M8 tier.
- High-borosilicate glass: low thermal expansion and high light transmittance, which makes it forgiving of thermal stress and a strong candidate for micro-hole work.
- Ultra-clear and coated (TCO) glass: used in display and photovoltaic work, where clean holes and edges matter for downstream yield.
The practical limits are set by hole size, glass thickness and volume. Sub-millimeter micro-holes are routine; very small diameters down to a few hundredths of a millimeter are the domain of ultrafast (picosecond) sources rather than nanosecond MOPA, so if your spec calls for the smallest possible holes in thick glass at production speed, tell us the exact diameter, thickness and rate and we will say honestly whether the M8 is the right fit or a specialist source is needed.
How the hole is actually formed
The galvo scanner steers the beam so the machine drills by trepanning or percussion rather than pushing a physical drill through the glass. In percussion drilling the beam fires repeatedly at one spot, ablating a little glass with each high-peak-power pulse until the hole is through; in trepanning the beam traces the hole outline to cut a larger, cleaner bore. Because it is light, not a tool, there is no drill-bit wear, no breakout chipping on the exit side when set correctly, and the whole array is positioned in software, so a thousand identical holes are as repeatable as one.
The right M8 machine for glass drilling
Drilling starts at the 120W M8 (USD 10,500), which is our in-stock drilling tier and handles micro-hole drilling and marking in glass and brittle materials. For higher-volume industrial drilling and deeper through-holes in thick glass, JPT builds 200W and 300W M8 sources; contact us about availability. The lower-power 20W M8 and 50W M8 are sized for glass and ceramic marking, not drilling. See the full fiber laser range and what makes M8 different.
Frequently asked questions
Can a fiber laser really drill glass without cracking it?
Yes, with high peak power. An M8 fiber laser uses very short, high-peak-power pulses that vaporize glass faster than heat can spread, so the hole edge stays sharp and the glass does not crack. This needs the 120W or higher M8 tier.
What power do I need to drill glass?
A 120W M8 is the entry drilling tier and our in-stock machine. The 20W and 50W M8 do glass and ceramic marking only; JPT lists glass drilling as a 120W-and-up M8 capability, with 200W and 300W for higher-volume and deeper drilling.
What hole sizes are possible?
Sub-millimeter micro-holes are typical, in blind or through-hole form, placed in arrays by the galvo scanner. Exact minimum diameter depends on glass type and thickness; share your part and we will advise.
Can the same machine also mark glass?
Yes. The 120W M8 drills and marks glass. If you only need surface marking with zero heat-affected zone, a UV laser is the alternative; if you need actual holes, the M8 is the tool.
