When looking for an industrial fiber laser marking machine, you can find a few different kinds. With all the different options, it could be hard to choose the right gear.
This great new idea can be used in many different ways and is getting a lot of praise for how well it marks metal and plastic. However, many people still have trouble finding the best industrial fiber laser marking machine, especially when buying from a company. Most companies do not have enough information to help you choose what to buy.
A fiber laser engraver is a machine used in many industries to mark metal parts and some plastics. This technology uses a laser beam with an optical fiber as its active gain medium. A fiber laser is a solid-state laser, but instead of a rod, slab, or disk, it uses optical fiber. The laser is in the middle of the fiber and comes in different shapes.
What Are the Types of Fiber Lasers?
Each type of fiber laser comprises a laser source, the laser beam comes out, the lens is set up, and the laser parameters. Because of this, many different kinds of fiber lasers have different uses. To get the best results, it’s important to choose the right technology.
The Laser Source
The laser source has an optical fiber that can be doped with different rare-earth elements to produce different wavelengths. Looking at the laser source and wavelength, you can quickly tell if a fiber laser is right for your application. Let’s look at common examples:
The wavelength of ytterbium-doped fiber lasers is 1064 nm, which makes them perfect for working with metals. These are the fiber lasers that Laserax uses to mark on metal and clean it.
- Thulium-doped fiber lasers have a wavelength of 1940 nm and can be used in medicine or to mark plastics with a laser.
- Erbium-doped fiber lasers have a wavelength of 1550 nm and are mostly used in telecommunications. We can get high-speed internet and voice-over IP from them, but we can’t use them for laser engraving.
Fiber lasers are frequently used to make light with many different wavelengths. The first thing to do is look up the laser source to see what it can be used for. This could keep you from buying an that can’t engrave the material you want to use it on. For example, you might need a CO2 laser marker to mark plastics and other organic materials.
The Laser Beam Output
When buying an industrial fiber laser marking machine, you should check to see if the laser beam pulses or stays on all the time. Some industrial laser marking systems can even change between modes.
Let us look at the different kinds of beams in more depth:
- Pulsed laser beams have peaks of high energy that are perfect for making permanent marks or making small holes without melting the area around them.
- Continuous-wave laser beams produce steady amounts of energy, perfect for machines that weld, drill, or cut with lasers.
Lens Configuration and Laser Parameters
Laser experts determine how to set the lens and the laser’s parameters to work best for each material and manufacturing process. The focal length, scanning speed, spot size, marking distance, and so on may all be part of the lens configuration. The diameter of the beam, the quality of the beam, the length of the pulse, the number of passes, and a lot more are all parameters.
Laserax’s ytterbium-doped fiber lasers can be set up in different ways that work best for the metal that needs to be engraved.
Choosing a Fiber Laser Marking System
You can use these tips to figure out what kind of system you need and how it needs to be set up.
- Make a list of what needs to be engraved. Fiber lasers can mark many metals, like aluminum, steel, and stainless steel. However, each alloy has properties that change how the laser beam interacts with the surface.
- Find out what information needs to be marked if you need to be able to track it. This information might include the weight, the number of the part, the number of the mold, the date and time, and so on.
- Find out what kinds of marks are there. These could be text, letters, numbers, logos, or codes like data matrix codes.
- Find out how much time there is for marking. Even a rough estimate can help you figure out how much power you need from your laser.
- Think about your laser options. Laser engraving solutions can include a laser safety enclosure, an HMI to easily adjust the laser for different tasks, a dust extraction system, an air knife to keep dust from building up on the lens, and much more.
- Find out what IP rating you need. This is because of how the industrial fiber laser-marking machine works in its environment. For example, casting plants need a higher level of safety than assembly lines.
Why Choose a Fiber Laser for Metal Engraving?
Metal engraving does not have to be done with a fiber laser. Other lasers can make wavelengths the same as these, so they can be used for the same things. So, why would you choose a fiber laser?
- Different lasers can be set up in different ways, which gives them their benefits. The following are good things about the industrial fiber laser-marking machine:
- Due to their ability to guide light, optical fibers have a better beam quality. This means that the laser beam is better focused. Because of this, fiber lasers are better at engraving metals.
- They use little electricity and do not need much heat management.
They Are Compact.
They do not cost much to own and don’t need much care, which makes them perfect for automated production lines. Manufacturers do not have to get them re-calibrated to keep them working. The average time between failures of the laser source is long (100,000 hours). Industrial fiber laser marking machines can work full-time for more than ten years and still produce high-quality results.
How Does Fiber Laser Technology Work?
If you know how lasers work, you can make a better choice when you buy one. Let us go over a laser beam’s path to show how each part works. It starts in the laser diodes, goes through the optical fiber, and then hits the part to be engraved.
When choosing an industrial fiber laser-marking machine, think about what kind of laser source you need and whether or not the beam needs to be continuous or pulsed. Find out how much marking time is available and ensure you have other basic information to understand your application’s needs.
