How Industries Enhance ROI by Utilizing Fiber Laser Engraving for the Imaging Process

Most laser engraving techniques involve either etching the mark into metal or plastic elements, or ablating a surface layer to expose a contrasting material underside. Both techniques frequently require high energy pulsed laser systems and of course involve process debris.

Fiber lasers are lately a powerful commercial tool with a different series of abilities that make possible a wide range of precision items processing creating methods. Fiber lasers give low running expenses, a quick return on investment, a minuscule footprint and unparalleled reliability, and are thus utilize an expanding acceptance within the laser-assisted manufacturing industry as a less expensive alternative to long-established laser design.

Laser engraving is able to develop high contrast, conveniently interpretable and long-lasting identification on a wide variety of elements for industrial use or consumer goods. Computer generated vector or bitmap patterns (logos, barcodes or text) can be engraved or etched using a non-contact process onto metallic and nonmetallic materials, including metals, plastics, glass, electronics, Printed circuit boards, wafers, medical devices, sporting goods and packaging.

A interlinking of a fail-safe industrial laser, fast and exact galvanometric imaging systems and favorable computer control supplies manufacturers with a distinctive grouping of speed, permanence and versatility that cannot be matched by any other marking technique.

Laser Marking Processes

Normally, laser etching involves either engraving a physical mark onto a surface just as for regular engraving techniques, creating a simple composition change in surface, or marking of a surface layer of elements to differentiate another, considerably contrasting layer underside. Either method can be used on a broad spectrum of materials, and in addition to generating identifying marks can also form part of an commercial process, for example in electronics manufacture.

The benefits of laser engraving include speed, ease of use and the non-contact marking Process, meaning that contents parts are not fatigued by the marking Process. The non-contact nature of the Process also contributes to low maintenance arrangements, as tools do not need to be replaced. In addition laser marking is also immensely repeatable and conveniently understandable (even machine recognizable).

Tough Quality Control

A laser etching Process is most often used for marking metal surfaces as it is swift, non contact and extremely durable, but is however also responsible for the manufacturing of debris - fine metallic particles taken away from the surface as part of the engraving process.

Naturally for bearing manufacture there are demanding requirements for process debris. The engraving of bearing housings using a laser has thus normally congregated a "minimal" etching Process with an induced change in surface pigment. CMS had not long ago accomplished this utilizing Nd:YAG lasers, but customer necessities was looking for a way around the cost, maintenance, lifetime and reliability issues involved with the Nd:YAG design.

For this application CMS engineers have developed the use of a fiber laser from SPI Lasers plc of Southampton, UK - most noticeably a 100 W cw/modulated fiber laser mostly used for welding and cutting tasks. SPI has been developing fiber lasers for the industrial industry for numerous years, primarily for materials processing applications such as microwelding and microcutting, but also for engraving operations.

Switching to the new fiber laser means generating the same thermally influenced high contrast mark on the bearing housing, but doing so with less creation of debris, at reduced raised recast, and at much better ease to the end-user - meaning almost no service, increased lifetime and remarkable reliability.

The 100W fiber laser used in this application typifies the ease of use of fiber lasers as a tool for a wide variety of operations - etching applications are normally an application for high energy pulsed lasers, but the performance envelope supplied by fiber laser technology permits systems integrators like CMS to redefine these domains.

Benefits of Fiber Lasers

Many unique laser designs have found their way into materials processing operations. Fiber lasers are however changing numerous of these applications through a grouping of enhanced optical performance, more desirable system ease of use, high part yield, long up-time and noteworthy reliability.

Critical to many engraving operations, they don't bring forth the imperfections in spot size performance found in other laser designs - at all power levels, across all pulse sequences and during the whole lifetime of the laser, the spot size remains little, anticipated and consistent.

The little spot size and high beam quality also mean high irradiance at the focus, so making tools equipped with fiber lasers can produce more desirable results faster and at decreased power levels. The focused beam most of the time treats only a very little area of substance, with the benefit that very little heat is generated in the surrounding area. High quality precision engraving, welding and cutting can be performed close (0.1 mm) to the most difficult and intricate part parts.

Factoring in the reputable operation and power modulation flexibility, fiber laser technology is nowadays frequently chosen as an upgrade over conventional flash-lamp pumped solid state, or even DPSS laser technology in numerous other laser-assisted commercial manufacture segments. The consistent and refined marking performance means reduced service costs, longer up-times and enhanced production quality with less scrap. Fiber lasers are also incredibly physically robust and thus suitable for the most challenging of industrial environments.

All of these factors assimilate to a plug-&-play, service-free architecture for systems integrators looking to reduce development, fabrication and servicing expenses, with the added benefit of being able to provide the end user with a more desirable, more manageable product. Last but not least, the end user will be able to focus on their business demands rather than having to become laser service experts.

Benefits for Commercial Manufacturers

In general, the choice of tooling for any application comes down to determining the required performance followed by a trade-off between initial outlay, component yield, uptime and service.

Not only are component assemblies becoming increasingly more difficult but, at the same time, more and more necessitiess are being placed on their quality and functionality. The augmentation of creating tools equipped with fiber lasers to exacerbate Process control can thus bring important financial advantages for any manufacturer. Accompanied with the little footprint, such tools can also open up processes that were previously out of reach for some manufacturers.

Article Source: Free Content Articles Directory

Richard Stevenson is the Sales Director for Control Micro Systems, Inc. a manufacturer of beam-steered laser marking systems. He has published and presented numerous technical papers and articles on laser etching in trade publications. For information on Laser Welding, Engraving, Cutting, Marking or Drilling call 407-679-9716.

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