A Guide to the Selection of Laser Marking Machines for the Electronics Industry

For different situations in the electronics industry, he explains how the power of the laser marking machine needs to be adjusted to match the materials of the phone parts, circuit boards, etc.The company's website also provides a wealth of information to help users choose the right machine for their needs.

Why is it so important to match the power?

I've seen many factories that start out trying to save money by using low-power equipment to mark the metal frames of their cell phones. The result is that they either have to redo the job because the letters are too blurry, or they have to constantly repair the machines because they are overloaded.The power is like the heat in cooking--too low and the food won't cook properly, too high and it will burn.In the electronics industry, from the QR code on a circuit board to the logo on a mobile phone keypad, the materials are varied. The choice of power directly affects production efficiency and the quality of the finished product.

What kind of power is required for different materials?

The secret of the metal parts in cell phones.

For metal parts such as stainless steel frames or aluminum alloy buttons, the 20-30W laser is the mainstream choice.But note that for marking the surface of aluminum oxide, the power should be set at about 15 watts, in the middle range, in order to make the marks clear while not damaging the surface.Last year a client used a 30W laser at full power to cut a SIM card holder for an iPhone, resulting in a burnt edge and a return of the product. This is a lesson in the importance of understanding the properties of materials.

Fine work on circuit boards.

The QR code and component markings on the PCB are most susceptible to damage from heat.With a UV laser marking machine, the power can be controlled within the range of 3-5 watts to achieve cold processing, and characters can be marked with a precision of 0.01 mm.A client making smartwatches told us that after we reduced the power of their devices from 8 W to 4.5 W, their PCB yield rate rose 18 %.

Balancing Act of the Plastic Shell

Engineering plastics like ABS and PC are the most finicky.If the power is too strong, the ink will carbonize and turn black; if it is too weak, it will not be able to print.After testing, they found that a 10-15 watt green laser with a 50mm / s scan speed could produce a fine gradient effect on a phone case.Remember to use the scraps to do test strips!

How do you select a configuration according to your production needs?

How do you choose a small-scale sample?

If you are prototyping products in the research and development stage, it is recommended to choose a machine with a wide power range (for example 10-30W).In Shenzhen, a maker team uses one machine to do both circuit board prototyping and metal prototype making.

The perfect formula for mass production.

Assembly lines are designed to produce a steady output.Automotive electronics manufacturers often use two machines--a 30-watt fiber laser for metal parts and a 5-watt UV laser for precision marking.Though the company had to invest NT $ 150,000 more in the beginning, production was tripled.

Don't forget the maintenance costs.

The rate of loss of lenses is two or three times faster for high-power (50 watt and above) machines than for low-power machines.I once worked with a company that made labels for the military. They insisted on doing an optical path calibration every month, and as a result, their equipment lasted two years longer than that of their competitors.If maintenance is done well, power decay can be reduced by 70 %.

An analysis of common pitfalls.

Last year, on November 11, a client who made Bluetooth headsets urgently needed to ship out some products. They used a 30-watt laser that was normally used to mark metal to mark plastic packaging boxes. As a result, the whole batch of products was charred.Later, the company switched to 10-watt equipment and a special marking paint, and the failure rate dropped from 25 % to 3 %.This tells us that special materials must be tested for compatibility, and that we shouldn't blindly believe that high power is all-powerful.

Another example is a circuit board manufacturer that, in order to save electricity, has run its UV laser at the minimum power (2.8 W) for a long time, resulting in inconsistent depths of marking.Later, the power was stabilized at 3.5 watts, and a voltage regulator was added. This saved NT $ 70,000 a year in electricity costs. Equipment is not necessarily better if it is more economical, but rather if it works within a stable range.