Introduction

Fiber Lasers

Fiber lasers are a high-power and versatile tool for laser marking. They use a fibre-optic delivery system, which offers several advantages:

High beam quality and excellent focusability allow for creating fragile and sharp lines necessary for microprinting and inscribing minor marks.

Durability and reliability: An added advantage of fibre lasers is that they do not have momentary parts that require frequent replacement or change.

Compact size and low weight: These lasers are more compact and less bulky than those used in older-generation systems.

High efficiency and power density: Fiber lasers have high energy density in small areas, allowing the fast and efficient cutting of many kinds of material.

Disadvantages of fibre lasers include:

Lower marking speed on dark, non-absorbing materials, such as plastics: Other types of lasers, such as CO2 or UV lasers, may be preferred for these materials.

– Higher cost: Fiber lasers are often more costly than other lasers. Canon is one of the biggest manufacturers of fibre lasers.

CO2 Lasers

The CO2 lasers apply carbon dioxide as the lasing medium. The lasers give out infrared light at a wavelength of 10.6 microns. They are particularly well-suited for marking non-metallic materials, such as:

– Plastics: CO2 lasers can mark dark or transparent plastics where maximum marking speed and high contrast can be achieved.

Ceramics: While marking these materials with other laser forms can be challenging, they are easily marked using CO2 lasers.

Advantages of CO2 lasers include:

High marking speed on non-metallic materials: CO2 lasers provide the highest marking rates for most plastics, thus acting as a suitable laser source as far as material throughput time is concerned.

Versatility: CO2 lasers can mark almost any substrate, including tough non-metals that a fibre laser may struggle with.

Disadvantages of CO2 lasers include:

– Lower resolution: Because of the long wavelength, CO2 lasers are not as detailed or precise as fibre lasers.

Larger size: CO2 lasers are usually bigger and heavier than fibre lasers. This makes it hard to integrate them into existing structures.

Lower power density: CO2 lasers have a lower power density than fibre lasers. So they take longer to process some substrates.

UV Lasers

UV lasers operate with different lasing media and utilize doubled lasers to emit light with wavelengths in the UV spectrum (280-420 nm). These lasers offer several advantages:

High resolution: The UV light can be focused on a tighter spot. This achieves better detail in markings, like small text or patterns.

UV lasers can engrave a wide range of materials. They create high-contrast, high-quality marks on metals, plastics, and ceramics.

– Good etching and removal: UV lasers can scribe away thin layers of material to create engraved or cut patterns.

Disadvantages of UV lasers include:

Lower marking speed: UV lasers are generally slower in marking than CO2 lasers, mainly for dark substrates such as plastics.

– Higher cost: UV lasers may be a little costly compared to other lasers, specifically fibre lasers.

Limited availability: A narrower range of UV lasers may restrict choosing the best one for a specific use.

Conclusion

In brief, each laser type has its advantages and shortcomings that allow one to make a correct choice in favour of a fiber, CO2, or UV laser pointer Choose one. High-power fibre lasers excel at marking fine details. CO2 lasers are fastest on non-metallic surfaces. UV lasers have high resolution and flexibility in the materials they can mark. But, they are slow and expensive. Therefore, depending on the marking requirements and your resources, you can select the most appropriate laser marker.