LASER MARKING APPLICATIONS-LISA WANG

What is Laser Marking?

Laser marking is the process of directly marking a part surface with a focused beam of light. The result is a permanent mark that won’t disappear over time.

Laser marking technology knows no limits. You can use it to mark all types of materials and surfaces. To achieve the best results, you must first choose the ideal laser for your material. CO2 and fiber lasers are the most commonly types of lasers. You can also modify the maximum laser power for high-speed marking.

To deliver better results, Can optimize the different laser marking processes for specific applications. The two most common processes are laser etching and laser engraving. Another laser marking application is laser annealing. It’s the only viable method for marking stainless steel.

Laser Marking Used For?

Laser marking is an emerging technology used in an increasing number of applications. It’s no surprise since it’s a low-maintenance technology. It’s contactless, has no moving parts, and doesn’t use consumables. In automated applications, operators don’t need to operate laser marking machines. And they rarely need to maintain them.

Laser marking is often used to implement traceability, quality control, and process improvement. By identifying each part at the beginning of a production line, barcode readers can then be used to scan identifiers at every manufacturing step. For traceability purposes, this makes it possible to track and trace parts from the beginning to the end of the manufacturing process. For quality control and process improvement, this makes it possible to store important information specific to each part in a database. The most common forms of part identification are data matrix codes, QR codes, and alphanumeric serial numbers.

The main industries that need marking solutions are the automotive, primary metals (including aluminum, steel, zinc, lead, and copper), extrusion, manufacturing, and converting industries.

How Are Lasers Different from One Another?

To understand how lasers differ from one another, you first need to understand how wavelengths interact with materials. Here’s how it works.

In the laser source, there’s a material whose atoms release energy in the form of light. This material determines which wavelength produced by your laser. For example, some solid-state lasers use Nd:YAG crystals to produce light. These crystals release a wavelength of 1,064 nanometers (or 1.064 microns).

Since different materials absorb wavelengths differently, you need different types of lasers for different materials. For example, you’re better off using fiber lasers to mark metals, and CO2 lasers to mark organic materials (such as plastic materials and rubber).

Different lasers can also release that energy differently. You can either use a continuous-wave laser or a pulsed laser. Whereas continuous-wave lasers continuously emit the laser beam, pulsed lasers release the beam at a set rate. Pulsed lasers can reach higher peaks of energy density because they charge up energy before releasing it. They’re ideal for laser marking applications because they offer a higher making speed. Continuous lasers are more adapted to other laser applications like laser cutting, welding, and drilling.

Benefits of Laser Marking?

Laser is becoming the new standard for most marking applications. Although it represents a higher initial investment than its alternatives, it provides a better return on investment as well as other unique benefits.

• In most cases, it’s the fastest marking solution. Looking at aluminum marking performances, it’s possible to create a high-contrast data matrix code in just 1.40 seconds.
• Laser safety is regulated by strict international standards. Based on the laser safety class of your laser machine, you can easily know whether it’s safely integrated according to your standards. For example, if you have a class-1 laser marking machine, you don’t need to implement any additional laser safety measures.
• Laser marking is a traceability solution like no other. It offers near perfect readability rates, thanks to the high reliability of laser systems and to the high contrast of marked identifiers. Create marks that are truly permanent, capable of withstanding almost any surface treatment such as e-coating, heat treating, and shotblasting.
• Used to create permanent marks on materials whose surface cannot directly marked (like stainless steel) by creating a mark under the surface.

There are many other benefits to laser marking specific to each application. Contact us to find out which benefits apply to you.

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