Five Tips for Setting Laser Marking Parameters

This article offers five key techniques for setting the parameters on a laser engraver, including power, speed, and frequency, to help beginners get started quickly and optimize engraving results.The book provides practical advice and simple, easy-to-understand instructions to solve common problems such as blurry labels and low efficiency, and to improve efficiency.

Why are the settings so important for the laser marking?

Friends who have just come into contact with laser marking may feel that the machine can be brought home and used straight away.But in practice, you'll find that even with the same pattern, if you change the parameters, it can make a huge difference in the depth, the clarity, and even the speed of the output.No need to worry. Just master the following five basic parameters, and you can easily control a laser marking system.

Power setting: Finding the balance between material and energy.

The power of the laser directly affects the depth of the mark.If the power is too low, the image will be blurry, and if it is too high, it may burn through the material.

to test the reaction of different materials.

Prepare scraps for testing: For metal, start at 30 % power; for plastic, stay at 20 %.When the laser mark is black but the metal is not deformed, you have found the right value.

Special considerations for special materials.

When working with highly reflective metals such as stainless steel, the power level should be increased, but not to more than 80 % of the maximum power of the equipment.The opposite is true for easily melted materials like acrylic: the power is lowered and the speed increased.

Speed regulation: A game of efficiency versus quality.

The speed with which a laser can mark a surface determines the efficiency of the laser marking system and how fine a pattern can be produced. Here is a basic rule of thumb:

Fine patterns are given priority.

When carving complex logos, the speed should be set between 400 and 600mm / s.If you find the edges of the object are jagged, try reducing the speed by 100mm / s.

How to speed up bulk processing.

When doing simple marking or large-scale processing, the speed can be raised to 800mm / s or more.Remember to adjust the power to avoid the appearance of "ghost images.

Frequency selection: A secret to smoother lines.

Frequency parameters control the number of laser pulses, directly affecting the continuity of the lines.

A universal plan.

Most materials are best cleaned in the 20 to 30 kilohertz range.When marking dark colors, the frequency can be lowered to around 15 kilohertz, but for light colors, the frequency must be raised to over 50 kilohertz.

Special effects adjustment.

To make a frosted glass effect, try setting the frequency between 5 and 10 kHz, and slowing down the speed.

Focal points: The details that are often overlooked.

If the focus is off by even one millimeter, the effect will be greatly diminished.

Quickly find the focus.

Using scrap material, the laser head is moved up and down in 0.5mm increments until the point at which the beam is most clearly etching the material is found. This is the optimum focal point.

How do you deal with curved objects?

When encountering a round or odd-shaped workpiece, it is recommended that automatic focusing be used.If you're using manual focus, you have to adjust it as you go while observing the effect. Don't be afraid to take the time.

Hiding a trick to save time.

This parameter determines the density of the pattern.

Reference to the standard parameters.

Suggested spacing for text is 0.05-0.1 mm, which can be increased to 0.15 mm for large areas.Remember: the smaller the spacing, the longer the processing time. Reasonable spacing can save 30 % of the processing time.

Creative play.

Try setting the spacing to 0.3 mm or more, and using a low power setting for a sketch-like gradation effect.

At first, you might be a little confused, but after a few tries, you will soon see the pattern.We suggest that beginners prepare a notebook in which to record their parameters, so that they can build up their own experience base.