Laser Marking & Engraving - By Materials
An important factor to consider in choosing a laser marking or engraving solution is the material to be marked. This page provides a brief overview of the different types of laser marking that can be achieved successfully with different types of materials.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Anodized Aluminum
Using a YAG or CO2 laser, we are able to ablate either anodized, coated or painted materials. The laser is tuned to only remove the coating and not to penetrate the base material.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Tool Steel
On certain grades of tool steel, we can achieve an anneal mark which heat treats the surface to cause a permanent black discoloration.
Tool steel can be surfaced etched and deep engraved for all types of marking applications.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Cast Aluminum
On cast aluminum, we are able to get a darker contrast than on uncoated stock aluminum. We employ an initial surface pass to clean the cast aluminum, and then use a second pass at a higher laser power in order to get the darker contrast.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel can be either surface etched, deep engraved or surfaced annealed. The photo shows the laser annealing process. The laser heat treats the stainless steel in order to draw the carbon to the surface. The end result is a black discoloring of the surface without penetrating the stainless steel.
Industries such as medical, food/ beverage, aerospace commonly use this annealing in order to prevent corrosion on their stainless steel and titanium components.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Chrome with Thermark
For laser marking on coatings, such as chrome, we utilize a ceramic based spray called Thermark. The Thermark material is laser bonded to the coating without out penetrating or removing the protective coating.
Thermark material comes in different colors and highly effective for contrast on previously unmarkable coatings.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Plastics with YAG
For color contrast on plastics, we typically will use a YAG based laser. Due to the wavelength of the laser, the plastic absorbs the laser beam which causes a discoloring of the plastic. Different plastics will react differently due to the composition of the material. Black plastics will typically turn a white or khaki color. White plastics generally turn a black or brown color.
Laser additives can be used in order to enhance the discoloring.
Laser Marking on Plastics with YAG
For color contrast on plastics, we typically will use a YAG based laser. Due to the wavelength of the laser, the plastic absorbs the laser beam which causes a discoloring of the plastic. Different plastics will react differently due to the composition of the material. Black plastics will typically turn a white or khaki color. White plastics generally turn a black or brown color.
Laser additives can be used in order to enhance the discoloring.
Laser Marking on Plastics with CO2
Unlike YAG based lasers, CO2 lasers will only provide a non-contrast, melt mark on plastics. For certain plastics that are not reactive to YAG lasers, the CO2 is a nice alternative to marking critical information on your plastic components.
For certain applications, direct part marking is not possible. For these applications, we provide stick-on laser marked labels that can be applied to your parts.
This material is specially designed for high thermal exposure and cannot be removed without damaging the label.
For directly marking on glass, a CO2 laser is used. It is important to note that this process does cause micro-cracking to the glass. For applications where micro-cracking is not allowed, we utilize the Thermark process to laser bond the ceramic additive to the surface. This process does not penetrate the surface of the glass.
Laser Marking - Engraving on Wood
With our CO2 laser, we are able to achieve high quality engraving into all types of wood. Depth can be varied by laser power. Air assist is commonly utilized in order to minimize the burning effect with the laser.
