Helpful Guide To Laser Engraving

Helpful Guide To Laser Engraving
Author: Helen Hecker

The laser engraving industry is relatively new. When lasers appeared on the market it didn't take long for the engraving industry to discover that lasers could be used for a wide variety of industrial applications including welding, heat-treating, etching and engraving. Think of a laser as a light source similar to a light bulb; a light bulb will emit energy out all around it rather than focused. Almost all materials can be laser engraved or laser marked.

There are a many advantages to using a laser over other methods of engraving; first of all, because the tool is a beam of light, there is no product contact, which translates into less chance of product damage or deformation. Unlike the conventional engravers some engravers use an intense beam of light instead of a rotating or vibrating tool; this beam can either vaporize a small area of the surface (laser engraving) or cause a change in the color of the surface of the material (laser marking) this beam is controlled by a computer at very high speeds and accuracy to give outstanding quality at a very cost-effective price.

With advanced software you can laser engrave just about anything from Bar Codes and 2D codes to photographs and company logos. Some people call it laser etching; others call it laser engraving but basically the technique uses a computer-controlled laser beam to mark a surface.

Laser etching can be used on many materials including slate, granite, stainless steel, leather, arborite, glass, mirrors, and premium hard woods. It's the process of marking the material without cutting all the way through using reduced power.

A laser works well for cutting acrylic (Plexiglas), PETG, thin polycarbonates (Mylar), styrene expanded PVC (Sintra), wood, paper and fabric. And laser cutting adds high precision, reduced contamination or warping, and a quality finish to industrial cutting applications. It offers a superior cut-edge quality with parallel sides and no burrs.

Laser marking services can be used for many thousands of applications from computer keyboards to special promotional gifts. Because no inks are used the marking services are both permanent and the process is kind to the environment. The marking is flexible, programmable and environmentally clean.

And laser marking of glass by Co2 lasers on the fly or while moving can be an excellent addition for many industrial environments and applications for glass marking. Co2 lasers can provide excellent results for marking glass and also provide significant reductions in operating costs and cost of supplies. You can laser mark most plastics from cattle tags to backlit day/night key switches.

Products that can use this process to engrave include wedding giveaways, nametags, table nameplates, trophies, woods, etc. And engraving metal uses the most power especially if the metal is of the harder type.

There are no consumables so operating costs are minimal, and the laser machine and system, if properly exhausted, runs clean, so that costly cleanup or by-product disposal is unnecessary. Also the laser engraving services are available today in most specialty stores because it's now the most common type of engraving. Of the many items being laser engraved today, iPods and laptops rank among the most popular in the consumer marketplace.

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For more info on laser engraving and laser engraving machines, laser marking, laser etching and laser cutting go to www.EngravingLaser.net for tips, help and info on all types of laser engraving