Industrial Laser Markers: 4 Things to Consider When Purchasing

The selection of an industrial laser marking machine directly impacts production efficiency and processing quality.The book is based around four core parameters--wavelength, output power, processing accuracy and speed--and combines the needs of the metal processing, electronic components, plastic products and medical equipment industries to provide practical purchasing advice to help companies select the right equipment.

Why is it that choosing the wrong parameter is the same as wasting your money?

He has seen too many company bosses buy equipment for over NT $ 100,000 only to see it gather dust in the workshop.Industrial laser marking machines are not like vegetables, and just looking at the price or brand is not enough.The "hard standards" for equipment vary widely from one industry to another. If you choose the wrong parameters, it will at least affect efficiency, and at worst it will result in material being scrapped.Today I'm not going to talk about anything abstract.

Four core parameters.

Laser wavelength: Don't let the material get on your nerves.

For example, 1064-nanometer fiber lasers are used to process metal parts, and 355-nanometer ultraviolet lasers are used to process plastic parts.The medical equipment industry needs to pay special attention to the fact that some materials are hypersensitive to wavelengths.

Power: The higher the better?

Have you ever seen someone using a 200-watt laser to cut through plastic? Power is like the throttle. For metal cutting, you need to go at 100 watts or more, but for plastic 20-50 watts is enough.Electronic components are even more delicate. If too much power is applied, the chip can be burned in a matter of seconds.

Precision: A miss is as good as a mile.

The markings on medical instruments and the QR codes on electronic components must be at least 0.01 mm in size.Don't believe the manufacturer's claims for "theoretical precision"; instead, test it on the spot by engraving a stainless steel plate with a 0.5 mm font.Remember to check the quality of the galvanometer mirror, because this directly determines whether the lines will be crooked.

Labeling speed: The faster the better.

If you're making products on an assembly line, you don't want to be going under 1000 mm a minute. But if you're doing mold engraving, you have to slow down to ensure quality.The secret is to look for a machine with speed adjustment, which can automatically adjust the speed for different designs.

Avoiding the pitfalls of the trade.

Medical equipment makers are particularly concerned with the ability to continuously mark surgical instruments for four hours without cooling.The plastic products factory recalls that the red-light positioning machines reduced the scrap rate by more than 30 %.Metalworking firms, for example, focus on dust prevention, since metal dust is a killer of machinery.

A little trickery during the inspection.

Don't just look at the samples the manufacturer shows you, try out the machine yourself with three different materials.

1. 2 mm stainless steel (to test the depth of the carving).

2. 0.5 mm thick polycarbonate (to see the effect of heat).

3. Anodized aluminum plate (to test contrast).

If the temperature of the heat sink is still too hot to touch after two hours of continuous operation, the unit is immediately rejected.And last, don't forget to check compatibility with software. Only machines that can read CAD drawings are suitable for industrial use.