Five Typical Applications of Fiber Laser Marking Machines in the Medical Equipment Industry

The high precision and permanence of fiber laser markings have led to their widespread use in the medical industry.The five typical scenarios help users understand how laser marking technology can be used to improve compliance and traceability in such areas as surgical instruments, implants, and test tubes.

Why does the medical equipment industry need laser marking?

The labels on such products must be very durable and easy to read.Whether it is the serial number of a scalpel or the batch number of a stent, all of this information needs to be kept for a long time and cannot be tampered with.Traditional ink printing is easily worn off, but fiber laser marking machines use non-contact processing to directly mark a permanent mark on the surface of the material, while avoiding chemical contamination. This is especially important for the sterile environment of the medical field.

Typical applications.

The model number and material of the instruments are marked.

The handles of surgical forceps and bone drills must be labeled with the material (such as 316L stainless steel) and specifications.Fiber laser marking machines can etch characters less than 0.2 millimeters wide onto a surface without damaging it, and can even support complex logos.A manufacturer of orthopedic instruments reports that since switching to laser marking, the rate of instrument returns has fallen 40 %, because the nurses can quickly verify the information and reduce the risk of misusing the equipment.

The only identity code for the implant.

Implantable devices such as heart stents and artificial joints must carry a UDI.The fiber laser marking system can produce codes of controllable depth on titanium surfaces, with a reading rate of over 99.9 %.Even more useful is that by adjusting parameters, it can create "invisible" marks that can be seen by specialized equipment, but not by the naked eye, thereby avoiding spoiling the appearance of the item.

Management of batch and expiry dates of reagents.

Glass and plastic test tubes often become fogged up from the temperature difference, making the labels unreadable.The production date and batch number are laser-etched onto the bottle, so they remain clearly visible even if the bottle has been frozen at -80 ° C or sterilized at high temperatures.One IVD company has calculated that this scheme has improved warehouse sorting efficiency by 30 % and has completely eliminated the problem of products being scrapped because of lost labels.

The anti-counterfeiting labels on the packaging.

The QR code on the packaging of medical consumables should meet the dual needs of anti-counterfeiting and quick scanning.Fiber lasers can produce high-contrast dot matrix QR codes, and in combination with coating materials can achieve a "scratch-off" effect.One well-known brand of tubing that uses this technology has reported that the market research department has found that the number of counterfeits is down by over 70 %.

Permanent marking of the parameters on the casing of the equipment.

The metal casing of large equipment such as ventilators and CT scanners must be labeled with parameters such as voltage and power.Traditional silk-screen printing can wear off, but laser engraving can go 0.1-0.3 mm deep. Even if you rub it with alcohol, the markings won ’ t fade.Engineers can now perform maintenance with no worries about misreading labels.

Three points to consider when selecting equipment.

1. Material Type: The laser wavelength required for stainless steel is different from that required for titanium alloy. It is suggested that samples be tested first.

2. Consider the production environment If the production space is limited, you can select a galvo scanner to save floor space.

3. Software compatibility: Machines that support direct import of AutoCAD or CorelDRAW files should be given priority, as this will save time spent re-drawing.