Everything You Need to Know About Laser Marking - Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of our laser marking series! Today, we'll focus on exploring the materials suitable for laser marking and the advanced capabilities of our galvo lasers.

Which materials are suitable for laser marking?

Depending on the material that you want to laser mark, different types of lasers such as fiber lasers or MOPA lasers can be used. The following materials can be marked with Trotec marking lasers:

• Metals: Stainless steel, aluminum, gold, silver, titanium, bronze, platinum or copper
• Plastics: ABS, polycarbonate, polyamide, PMMA or plastics with laser additives
• Paint: The paint is removed and the layer underneath becomes visible
• Foils and packaging
• Plastic sheets

Fiber laser marking

The fiber laser is ideal for marking metals by means of annealing, for metal engraving or for high-contrast markings on plastics. The result is of high quality, permanent and can be implemented in a time-saving manner. Fiber lasers are essentially maintenance-free and have a particularly long service life of at least 25,000 laser hours.

Laser marking metals

With a marking laser, soft metals such as aluminum or hard metals or alloys such as steel can be marked particularly easily and quickly. With steel alloys, for example, it’s even possible to implement corrosion-resistant laser markings without damaging the surface of the metal using annealing marking. A variety of metals can be marked with the?laser machine.

Metals suitable for laser engraving and marking are:

• Stainless steel
• Aluminum, anodized aluminum
• Hardened metals
• Alloyed steels
• High-speed steels
• Titanium, titanium alloys
• Carbides
• Brass
• Copper
• Precious metals (e.g. silver, gold)
• Coated metals

Laser marking metals in the industrial sector

Typical applications for laser marking or laser engraving metals are product labeling and coding for the electronics and electrical industries, mechanical engineering and toolmaking, sheet metal processing, medical technology or the automotive industry.

Areas of application in the industry:

• Product labeling as plagiarism protection
• Functional laser marking e.g. size, diameter, etc.
• Production information e.g. date of manufacture, batch number or serial number
• Coding for permanent traceability
• Data matrix codes for quality assurance
• Data plates, machine markings and warning notices

Color marking on stainless steel

A special type of annealing marking on metals is color marking on steel.

Based on the technical possibilities with the MOPA laser, colors can be marked largely reproducibly on stainless steel. For manufacturers of products made of high-quality stainless steel, this option opens up many new possibilities. With the special color marking, company logos or functional markings can be offered (e.g. hot/cold water marking on stainless steel taps).

Typical industries for color markings:

• Kitchen appliance manufacturers who would like to adorn the stainless steel fronts of the appliances with their color logo
• Manufacturers of knives and cutlery who want to adorn their stainless steel products with color logos
• Engravers and job shops who want to expand their product portfolio
• Processors of visible parts made of stainless steel in all possible industries who want to stand out from their competitors

Stay tuned for more insights and exciting updates in our upcoming newsletters. To learn more about our laser marking solutions, visit our website or contact us today.