Laser Marking for Low-Volume Custom Production: A Practical Guide

The company shares its experience with the application of laser marking equipment in small-batch production, covering equipment selection, parameter settings, and material compatibility.With practical case studies, users are able to efficiently complete equipment configuration, and improve the flexibility and quality stability of small batch production.

Why does small-scale production require special attention to equipment configuration?

We all know that with custom orders, the quantities are small but the requirements are high. Changing the material or the design is a routine matter.If the laser marking machine is not properly set up, it will get stuck--either the marking speed will be too slow or the parameters will be switched too often.Last year a customer who wanted to make metal key chains suffered a loss. The machine took a long time to heat up and the parameters were hard to adjust. It took a whole day to make 20 samples.

Three steps to the best equipment

The power and the material must be well matched.

Don't just look at the price, first think about what you're going to be cutting.For example, the type of laser needed for metals and plastics is completely different. A 20-watt fiber laser can cut stainless steel without any problems, but when it comes to acrylic, a CO2 laser is needed.It is recommended that you bring your own samples to test out the machine on-site, as this will give you the most reliable idea of the machine's abilities.

Software compatibility ignores gender.

We've seen too many factories buy machines only to discover that the software doesn't support their own file formats.It's best to ask in advance if the software can handle commonly used formats such as AI and CAD, and if it can import 50 different patterns with a single click.

It's important to leave room for upgrades.

Don't buy a system with just enough capacity.We added an expansion port to a certain brand of machine last year for NT $ 2,000. This year, we've been able to save the cost of buying a new machine by connecting it to an automatic feeder.

Optimizing parameters in practice.

Balancing speed and accuracy.

When imprinting logos on leather goods, if the speed is too fast the edges will become blurred, and if it's too slow the leather may burn through.There was an easy way to do it: First use the scrap material to test at five different speeds, from 0.5 m / s to 2 m / s, and then find the point at which the clarity changes dramatically.

Hidden parameters for different materials.

If you find that darker plastics are prone to reflect the laser beam, try lowering the laser frequency and adding an auxiliary air flow.We have a little notebook in the workshop in which we record the best combinations of parameters for each material, and new employees can just follow the instructions.

A guide to preventing potholes.

Cleaning lenses is no small matter.

Last week, a customer complained that the marking was blurry, and we discovered that there was a speck of dust the size of a fingernail on the lens.Now we require operators to clean the lens with special lens paper before leaving work, and use a compressed air gun to clear away dust. This has brought the failure rate down by 70 %.

Do not be lazy about regular calibration.

For those companies that change dies frequently, it is suggested that they do a light path calibration once a month.A friend of mine who makes medical instruments didn't pay attention to this, and the position of the mark was off by 1 mm. The whole batch of goods was ruined.

There must be early warning of the need for supplies.

When the lifetime of the laser tube is nearly up, the depth of the marks made by the machine will get shallower and shallower.We have set up automatic reminders in the system, so that a window pops up to warn us when there is only 10 % of the life left in a part, so that we can avoid a production line stoppage.