How Industries Strengthen ROI by Using Fiber Laser Marking for the Imaging Process

Author: Rick Stevenson

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Date Created: Jan 29, 2007 - 5:23:27 PM
Last Updated: May 10, 2008 - 12:52:32 AM

Most laser marking techniques involve either etching the characteristic into metal or plastic contents, or ablating a surface layer to disclose a contrasting material underneath. Both techniques customarily require high energy pulsed laser systems and also involve process debris.

Fiber lasers are nowadays a robust commercial tool with a different series of capabilities that make possible a wide range of precision items processing creating techniques. Fiber lasers give low running expenses, a agile Roi, a minuscule footprint and exceptional reliability, and are thus indulge in an expanding acceptance within the laser-assisted manufacturing industry as a cost-effective alternative to conventional laser design. 

Laser marking is able to manufacture high contrast, easily interpretable and long-standing identification on a vast amount of elements for commercial use or consumer  products. Computer generated vector or bitmap patterns (logos, barcodes or text) can be marked or etched using a non-contact Process onto metallic and nonmetallic materials, with metals, plastics, glass, electronics, Printed circuit boards, wafers, medical devices, sporting goods and packaging. 

A combination of a dependable industrial laser, agile and accurate galvanometric imaging systems and easy computer control provides manufacturers with a distinctive mixture of speed, long standing and versatility that can't be matched by any other engraving method. 

Laser engraving Techniques
Normally, laser marking involves either engraving a physical characteristic onto a surface just as for run of the mill etching methods, creating an easy color change in surface, or engraving of a surface layer of substance to disclose another, highly contrasting layer underside. Either method can be used on a broad spectrum of materials, and in addition to generating identifying marks can also form part of an industrial process, for example in electronics manufacture.  

The benefits of laser marking include speed, flexibility and the non-contact marking Process, meaning that contents parts are not fatigued by the marking Process. The non-contact nature of the Process also gives to low maintenance schedules, as tools do not need to be replaced. In addition laser marking is also immensely repeatable and definitively interpretable (even machine interpretable). 

Harsh Quality Control
A laser etching Process is most often used for etching metal surfaces as it is quick, non contact and extremely rugged, but is however also responsible for the preparation of debris - fine tin-like particles removed from the surface as part of the etching process. 

Naturally for bearing manufacture there are tough requirements for process debris. The etching of bearing housings using a laser has thus normally joined a "minimal" engraving Process with an influenced change in surface pigment. CMS had until recently accomplished this using Nd:YAG lasers, but customer requirements was looking for a way around the cost, maintenance, lifetime and reliability issues accompanying with the Nd:YAG design. 

For this application CMS engineers have pioneered the use of a fiber laser from SPI Lasers plc of Southampton, UK - more specifically a 100 W cw/modulated fiber laser customarily used for welding and cutting tasks. SPI has been developing fiber lasers for the industrial market for several years, primarily for materials processing operations such as microwelding and microcutting, but also for engraving applications. 

Changing to the new fiber laser means generating the same thermally induced high contrast characteristic on the bearing housing, but doing so with less manufacturing of debris, at lowered raised recast, and at much greater convenience to the end-user - meaning almost no service, increased lifetime and marvelous reliability.

The 100W fiber laser used in this application typifies the flexibility of fiber lasers as a tool for a wide variety of operations - engraving applications are normally an application for high energy pulsed lasers, but the performance envelope equipped by fiber laser technology allows systems integrators like CMS to redefine these domains. 

Advantages of Fiber Lasers
Many unique laser designs have found their way into items processing applications. Fiber lasers are however changing many of these applications through a intermixture of improved optical performance, greater system flexibility, high component yield, long up-time and unparalleled reliability.

Important to numerous marking operations, they don't exhibit the faults in spot size performance found in other laser designs - at all power levels, across all pulse sequences and during the whole lifetime of the laser, the spot size remains minuscule, calculable and consistent. 

The little spot size and high beam quality also mean high irradiance at the focus, so manufacturing tools equipped with fiber lasers can produce improved results faster and at diminished power levels. The focused beam usually treats only a very minuscule area of stock, with the benefit that very little heat is generated in the surrounding area. High quality precision marking, welding and cutting can be performed close (0.1 mm) to the most obfuscated and elaborate component parts. 

Factoring in the reliable operation and power modulation flexibility, fiber laser technology is lately frequently chosen as an upgrade over traditional flash-lamp pumped solid state, or even DPSS laser technology in numerous other laser-assisted commercial manufacture segments. The consistent and transformed etching performance means reduced service expenses, longer up-times and refined fabrication quality with less scrap. Fiber lasers are also exceedingly physically robust and thus suitable for the most challenging of commercial environments. 

All of these factors parallel to a plug-&-play, maintenance-free architecture for systems integrators looking to cut development, fabrication and servicing costs, with the added benefit of being able to provide the end user with a improved, more convenient product. Last but not least, the end user will be able to focus on their business essentialss rather than having to become laser service authorities. 

Benefits for Commercial Manufacturers
In general, the choice of tooling for any application comes down to determining the mandatory performance followed by a trade-off between fundamental outlay, component yield, uptime and maintenance. 

Not only are part assemblies becoming increasingly more complex but, at the same time, more and more essentialss are being placed on their quality and functionality. The allocation of building tools equipped with fiber lasers to exacerbate Process control can thus bring essential financial advantages for any manufacturer. Conjugated with the minuscule footprint, such tools can also open up processes that were previously out of reach for some manufacturers. 

Richard Stevenson is the Sales Director for Control Micro Systems, Inc. a manufacturer of beam-steered laser marking systems. He has published and presented numerous technical papers and articles on laser marking in trade publications. For information on Laser Welding, Etching, Cutting, Engraving or Drilling call 407-679-9716.

Author: Rick Stevenson
Date Created: Jan 29, 2007 - 5:23:27 PM Last Updated: May 10, 2008 - 12:52:32 AM
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