Laser Marking Systems : Laser Technology

Lasers can:

• engrave directly into a material
• engrave through a top coating allowing the material underneath to show through
• chemically alter the surface of a part to create a contrasting mark entirely on the surface, without edges or depth, or
• Cut all the way through films, foils, paper and wood in a high speed, flexible die-cutting process.

In the aerospace industry, laser engraving provides part traceability on almost any engine component, including turbine blades, and on a variety of hydraulic parts. Since the laser can accurately engrave characters as small as 0.015", it can be used where there would be no room for other marking methods. Indelible laser marking for security is emerging as the method of choice for tracing pharmaceuticals, CD-ROMs, perfumes and other handgoods subject to copyright and trademark piracy.

Since laser engraving is a non-contact process, it can be used to mark parts that would be damaged by impact and vibratory marking methods. Laser can reach down to the bottom of blind pockets, into grooves, into the inside bottom of bottles, and other places that only a non-contact beam could reach.

By using the laser to anneal material, a mark with characteristics similar to an acid etch can be created with much higher clarity and contrast. Laser marking can be used on ball bearing surfaces, and in other cases where a lack of part distortion is critical. In these cases, the mark can be as little as 0.0001" deep. By contrast, in cases where a part might see abrasion, the mark can be as much as 0.010" deep.

Laser engraving equipment can also be used to create barcodes. This can be done on a separate tag or directly on the part. When engraving directly onto the part it is important that the material allow good contrast for readability. Barcodes can be put on metals, wood, ink-printed paper and many types of plastics and can be accompanied by the equivalent human readable information.

The laser can be set up to automatically change information from mark to mark to serialize a number, to write sequentially from a list of variable names or data or to write from data presented with each cycle, such as input from a barcode reading device or other sensor.

Laser Marks are INDELIBLE

• "Adhere" to most surfaces -- including inert flouropolymers such as Teflon, which rejects inks
• Cannot be removed without grinding, sanding or otherwise destroying the surface
• Stands up to scuffing, abrading, impacts, wear and corrosion
• Chemical-proof, waterproof, oil-, grease-, and fuel-proof
• Retains its appearance and contrast as long as the base material remains intact
• Tamper proof labels -- separately applied or directly marked onto the product or packaging
• Contrast can be high enough for automatic barcode reading -- this depends on the material
  
  

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