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SYNRAD,
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http://www.synrad.com
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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. |
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| Cutting Thermoplastics | |||||||||
| Because plastics exhibit a high absorptivity to the CO2 laser’s 10.6-micron wavelength, plastics cutting is one of the more common CO2 applications. The low thermal conductivity of plastic materials means that very little input power is wasted in heating the region around the cut area. | |||||||||
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There are two main types of plastics: thermoplastics, which lend themselves to being shaped and molded when hot; and thermosets (crosslinked polymers), which are shaped “cold” and then set by the crosslinking, or heating, process. Thermoplastics will exhibit much better cut edge quality with no apparent discoloration while the edges of thermoset materials tend to char and discolor. The table below lists common types of thermoplastic and thermoset materials and categorizes them by the type of edge quality typically obtained when laser cut. |
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We ran samples of three thermoplastic materials as seen in the accompanying photos. The acrylic sample, 0.135” thick, was cut using 400 watts of power at a speed of 475 inches per minute (IPM). Notice that the cut edge is clean and smooth with no discoloration or charring – a typical acrylic cut!
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 Typical acrylic cut! |
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Our 0.130” thick HDPE (high density polyethylene) sample was cut using 400 watts at 65 IPM. The cut edge is clean and char-free with only a slight melt back visible. The last thermoplastic sample is a strip of LDPE (low density polyethylene). This piece, 0.125” thick, was cut using 400 watts at a speed of 95 IPM. Although the cut edge is clean and exhibits no charring or discoloration, it does show some melt back on both upper and lower surfaces. All samples were cut on our XY stage using a firestar f400 CO2 laser. For gas assist, we used 10-PSI nitrogen for the acrylic samples and 20-PSI nitrogen when cutting the polyethylene samples. Beam delivery was via a 2.5” focusing lens, which provided a 100-micron (0.004”) spot size and a 1.8 mm (0.07”) depth of focus. |
 LDPE cut using 400 watts of Power |
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To learn more about the firestar f400 from Synrad please visit: http://www.synrad.com/fseries/f400.htm |
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| Marking Stainless Steel See this application in motion! Click here to view the video |
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This stainless steel sample illustrates the versatility of CO2 laser marking. By combining a Synrad sealed CO2 laser, an FH Series marking head, and WinMark Pro laser marking software, any number of text, graphic, and barcode images can be created. This sample file combines UID (Unique Identification) Data Matrix codes, imported EPS and DXF graphics, stroke text, and filled TrueType text. |
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The large 2D Data Matrix code measures only 0.394 inches (10 mm) square, yet contains 125 characters. This 9-mil code (each individual cell measures 0.009” square) was marked using 110 watts at a Velocity of 15 inches per second (IPS). The 2D Barcode Bitmap property was set to No and 2D Barcode Circle Radius was set to 75%. The small 2D code is a 7-mil code and was marked using the same parameters. Both 2D codes meet the UID requirement calling for an overall initial AIM (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility Standard) grade of “B” or better. |
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The Washington state outline, an encapsulated postscript (EPS) file, and the interlocking gears, an AutoCAD® drawing interchange (DXF) file, were imported into WinMark Pro, then positioned and sized as required. These graphics were marked with 110 watts at a Velocity of 15 IPS. Resolution was set to 750 for the state outline and to 300 for the gears. |
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Using WinMark Pro, the stroke text in the center of the larger gear was created with a Text Height of 0.0591” (1.5 mm) and a Text Radius of 0.575” (4.0 mm). These text objects were marked with 110 watts at a Velocity of 15 IPS. All other stroke text in the image was marked with 110 watts, a Velocity of 5 IPS, and a Resolution value of 750. The filled TrueType text objects, created using Times New Roman and Arial fonts, were marked with 110 watts at 10 IPS using a Resolution of 300. WinMark Pro is able to mark using any TrueType font loaded into your computer’s Font folder. TrueType fonts can be filled (raster marked) or simply outlined (vector marked) and can also be italicized or bolded. The large 125-character 2D code marked in 2.69 seconds; the smaller 26-character 2D code marked in 0.64 seconds. Overall cycle time for the entire image – text, barcodes, and graphic images was 29.81 seconds. |
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Cutting Plastic Bag Filter Media |
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Synrad sealed CO2 lasers easily trim these plastic bag filters, producing a cleanly cut edge. Our non-contact cutting setup consisted of a firestar f201 laser aligned to a flying optic XY stage. Beam delivery was through a 5-inch plano-convex lens, providing a 0.008” (200 micron) focused spot with a 0.25” (6.3 mm) depth of focus. The 0.245” thick filter media was cut using 200 W at a velocity of 225 inches per minute (IPM). While cutting, we used 20 PSI nitrogen as an assist gas; flowing it coaxially with the beam through the cutting nozzle.To learn more about the firestar f201 from Synrad please visit: http://www.synrad.com/fseries/f201.htm |
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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. |
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Contact Us:
Synrad, Inc. 4600 Campus Place Mukilteo, WA 98275 Tel: 1-425-349-3500 Fax: 1-425-349-3667 E-mail: synrad@synrad.com
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Copyright
(c) 2004 SYNRAD, Inc. All rights reserved.
SYNRAD and Synrad product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNRAD, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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