SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Issue 91

SYNRAD's sealed CO₂ lasers are used in a variety of industrial processes including cutting, welding, drilling, and marking. This news brief showcases some of the interesting materials and products that are processed daily by Synrad's line of CO₂ lasers and marking heads.

Unique Identification (UID) Marking

Unique Identification (UID) is a mandatory U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requirement (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Clause 252.211-7003) for all solicitations issued on or after Jan. 1, 2005. UID is a new globally unique "part identifier" containing data elements used to track DoD parts throughout their service life cycle. UID data is encoded into Data Matrix^TM ECC200 symbols that are applied to parts using Direct Part Marking processes (DPM) such as laser marking.

One of the primary UID goals is to achieve an identification mark that remains readable during the service life of the part or equipment being tracked. To this end, the Standard calls for an overall initial AIM (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility Standard) grade of "B" or better and the mark must maintain a grade of "C" or better throughout the life of the part.

The Department of Defense Guide to Uniquely Identifying Items - Assuring Valuation, Accountability and Control of Government Property requires the application of Data Matrix symbols to all property items delivered to the Government if:

• the acquisition cost is $5,000 or more,

• it is either a serially managed, mission essential or controlled inventory piece of equipment or a repairable item, or a consumable item or material where permanent identification is required,

• it is a component of a delivered item, if the program manager has determined that unique identification is required, or

• a UID or a DoD recognized UID equivalent is available.

The DoD guide, as well as other applicable marking standards and specifications (MIL, NASA, ISO/IEC) for UID and Machine Readable Information (MRI), are located on SYNRAD's UID information page at http://www.synrad.com/UID/dod_uid.htm.

The 15 mil (each cell measures 0.015" square) Data Matrix code shown in the photograph was marked on an anodized aluminum tag suitable for UID using a SYNRAD sealed CO₂ laser, an FH Series marking head, and WinMark Pro laser marking software. The FH head used a 125 mm focusing lens to provide a 180-micron (0.007") diameter spot with a 3 mm (0.118") depth of focus. WinMark Pro property settings for the 29-character 2D code and text object were a Power value of 10 watts, a Velocity of 10 inches per second (IPS), and a Resolution setting of 200. Overall cycle time for text and 2D code elements was 2.35 seconds.

The 2D Data Matrix code shown in the photo was scanned by a Microscan Quadrus EZ reader and achieved AIM grades of "A" for percent contrast, axial uniformity, print growth, and error correction; resulting in an overall "A" grade.

Cutting Wood with the firestar f400

This firestar f400 application was setup on an XY "flying optics" table with beam delivery through a 2.5-inch positive meniscus lens (0.004" spot and 0.07" depth of focus). Cutting parameters for the 0.5" thick walnut hardwood sample were 400 watts of power at a speed of 85 inches per minute (IPM). Assist gas was air at 30 PSI.

Wood cutting is an excellent CO₂ laser process due to wood's absorption of the 10.6-micron CO₂ wavelength. Wood is cut by a chemical degradation process where wood fiber is burned away and removed under the pressure of an assist gas; therefore, cut edges are usually charred, but little or no surface discoloration is seen.

One difficulty in determining a specific cutting speed is the fact that wood processing is extremely sensitive to variations in moisture content and density; dry, lightweight woods cut easily while dense or moisture-laden woods cut more slowly. Consistent storage conditions and moisture control procedures are crucial in obtaining repeatable cutting results.

Marking and Kiss Cutting Labels

25W pulsed, rounding 0.008" wire tip.

The faceplate shown was created entirely in WinMark Pro. Some label elements such as switch and LED indicator cutouts are kiss cut to create clean holes through to the backing paper; while text elements are marked at lower powers, creating crisp, legible text and switch position guides. The last kiss cut is one that trims the label stock to the exact size of the equipment faceplate.

Laser-markable labels provide an elegant solution for many labeling challenges including equipment faceplates, bar-coded inventory tags, custom signage, and piping labels to list a few.

For this application, the setup consisted of a Synrad laser, FH Series marking head, and WinMark Pro laser marking software. A 200 mm focusing lens - chosen to accommodate the 4.5" × 2" final label size - provided a 290-micron (0.011") spot size with a 5 mm (0.2") depth of focus.

WinMark Pro's Simple stroke font was selected for text objects that vary in height from 0.1 to 0.2 inches high. The company logo was created using a TrueTypeŽ font. Indicator lines were drawn and rotated in WinMark Pro, which now allows line rotation in increments of 0.01 degrees. All label text and indicator lines were marked with 6 watts of power at a velocity of 15 inches per second (IPS). Kiss cuts for label outline, switch, and LED cutouts were done using 22 watts at 15 IPS. Overall cycle time to mark and cut is 6.47 seconds per label.

Browse Synrad's Applications Database

Search our online library for more applications of Synrad's sealed CO₂ laser technology. Sort by material, process, or industry.

http://www.synrad.com

Do you have an interesting application using Synrad Lasers?  Would you like to see it published in the Synrad Newsletter?  We would love to hear from you!  Please send your story ideas to: editor@synrad.com

To unsubscribe, please reply to this email and type REMOVE in the subject line.
 

Copyright (c) 2004 SYNRAD, Inc. All rights reserved.