What You Must Know About Laser
Engraving
For the engraving industry, CO2
lasers, named for the gasses used to create the light
source, are the tools of choice. There are a variety of
advantages to using a laser over other methods of engraving;
first of all, because the tool is a beam of light, there is
no product contact, which translates into less chance of
product damage or deformation. It didn't take long for the
engraving industry to notice lasers and soon lasers were
being used for a wide variety of industrial applications
including welding, heat-treating, etching and
engraving.
It was in the early 1960's when
scientists first discovered, that they could create a light
source, focus the energy and have a tool powerful enough to
affect certain materials. The name of the light source -
LASER, is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation. Sometimes laser marking is referred
to as laser etching; unlike conventional etching, laser
etching needs no masks or chemicals.
Laser etching is basically just
another name for laser engraving. Almost all materials can
be laser engraved/laser marked.
A laser works well for cutting acrylic
(Plexiglas), PETG, thin polycarbonates (Mylar), styrene
expanded PVC (Sintra), wood, paper and fabric. Laser etching
provides a permanent message on an in-process or finished
component. Laser cutting adds high precision, reduced
contamination or warping, and a quality finish to industrial
cutting applications.
Laser etching is the process of
marking the material without cutting all the way through
using reduced power. Laser etching can be done on many
materials including slate, granite, stainless steel,
leather, arborite, glass, mirrors, and premium hard
woods.
Laser marking is also favored when the
part to be marked is too small or has too complex a shape to
be marked with anything but laser etching. Laser marking
services can be used for many thousands of applications from
computer keyboards to special promotional gifts. Some of the
items that Co2 lasers and Co2 laser systems can be utilized
for regarding laser marking and etching glass or quartz are
float glass plants, manufacturing of glass doors and
windows, permanent serial numbering, ANSI safety
information, customer logos, decorative or specialty glass
manufacturing, manufacturing data related to plant,
production date and line, and/or part numbers.
Laser marking of glass by Co2 lasers
on the fly or while moving can be an excellent addition for
many industrial environments and applications for glass
marking. Laser marking is flexible, programmable and
environmentally clean. Co2 lasers can provide excellent
results for marking glass and also provide significant
reductions in operating costs and cost of
supplies.
There are no consumables so operating
costs are minimal, and the laser system, if properly
exhausted, runs clean, so that costly cleanup or by product
disposal is unnecessary. Laser engraving metal uses the most
power especially if the metal is of the harder
type.
Of the many items being laser engraved
today, iPods and laptops rank among the highest in the
consumer marketplace. Also laser engraving services are
available in most engraving specialty stores because it's
now the most common type of engraving. Laser machines and
systems are used in a variety of applications and industries
including medical device, aerospace, manufacturing,
automotive, pharmaceutical, and electronic.
copyright©2007 J. Johanson
All Rights Reserved. No permission is given to copy or
repirnt this article in any way.
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