What is Laser Marking Machine

Probably you’ve heard of how wide application of laser. And you could have heard of Laser Marking Machine, and want to know more specific about it.

Today I will lead you to learn about basic understanding of Laser Marking Machine through FIVE QUESTIONS.

Just as its name implies, Laser Marking Machine is a machine using laser to engrave on objects and leave marks. The laser power works on materials by burning or impacting them, so the marks are permanent.

Question 1: What is Laser Marking Machine used for?

Laser Marking is a branch of laser application, at the beginning, it is used in industrial production field, to mark the production information such as the factory name, manufacturing date, expiry date, serial number, etc. on the products, or its package.

As a replacement of the traditional ink-jet printer, its marking result is non-erasable, its maintenance is clean without ink, while its price is higher.

As the technology develops, the laser price is downing, the hardware is getting smaller, the software is getting more visualized. Now there are rich sorts of commercial-used / individual-used laser marking machine, for etching unique personal marks on belongings. Many studios or stores have equipped with the Laser Marker for their business.

Question 2: How does Laser Marking Machine look like?

INDUSTRIAL LASER MARKING MACHINE

COMMERCIAL LASER MARKING MACHINE

Question 3: What parts does a laser marking machine consist of?

For industrial Laser Marking Machine, it often consist of host, laser, light path, galvanometer, field lens, controller, and the support bracket. Some times the host and the light path could be integrated together. And the controller could be a touch tablet.

For commercial Laser Marking Machines, they have much more compact body. All these above functional parts are designed in one box, and you can control them on your phone or PC.

Question 4: What kind of content can Laser Marking Machine mark?

For industrial Laser Marking Machine, they are born to print the information of products, manufacturer, and production, etc., such as the serial number, batch number, shift, date and time, logos, etc..

Those information can be printing in various forms, nowadays, the mainly formats on products include text, numbers, barcodes, Two-dimensional codes (QR code, Data Matrix Code, etc.), image, etc.

All these information can be edit in the controller or imported from outer database.

Most of Laser Marking Machine control software have embedded variable data tool, such as the real-time clock, serial number, etc. So the user can edit the fixed or variable information on laser marking machine directly.

For the supervision code that need to be connected to outer certain database, most of laser machines have the connection interfaces like the RS232, or the net opening.

Those functions enable the Laser Marking Machine help enterprises in regulation compliance, and realize one-item-one-code production tracking, for protecting the consumer rights, and the benefits of the manufacturer and distributors.

For the commercial Laser Marking Machine, users may utilize the functions of fixed information more, such as the images, text, etc. In this situation, the laser marker need to be compatible with various software output files such as the AUTOCAD, CORELDRAW, PHOTOSHOP, CAXA etc., and supports PLT, PCX, DXF, BMP, etc..

Question 5: What materials can Laser Marking Machine mark on?

The Laser Marking Machines have different types based on the laser source. Generally speaking, there are three types of laser marking machine in the market- CO2 laser, fiber laser, and ultraviolet laser. Their wavelength are different and they can work on different materials.

The CO2 laser wavelength is 10.6um, it is suitable for marking on leather, cloth, wood, bamboo products, plastic, rubber, PVC and other non-metallic materials.

The fiber laser wavelength is 1064nm, it is capable of marking a wide range of materials and are currently primarily used for metals and non-metallic materials with high ignition points.

The UV laser wavelength is 355nm, it can mark on most metal and non-metal materials. And ultraviolet laser marking machine uses a narrow pulse width of laser, and the processing material action time is short, the thermal effect is small, the material is not deformed and not burnt, the effect of marking is more beautiful.

Thanks for reading! This is the first article in the popular science series on laser marking machines. There will be more follow-ups in this series. please subscribe for the next article. In the next article, I will further share detailed cases, introduce some specific laser types recommended for packaging materials, and share which well-known brands of laser machines are available for selection. Stay tuned.