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Laser Marking Laminated Aluminum Foil Pouches
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Cutting Corrugated Paperboard
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Marking Ceramic Fuses |
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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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Marking Laminated Aluminum Foil Pouches
Aluminum foil is a common material for packaging a variety of food and non-food products. It offers durability, resistance to chemical degradation, and impermeability to water vapor and gases, in addition to being relatively inexpensive compared to similar packaging materials. By adding one or more layers of thin, transparent plastic films (like polyethylene or polypropylene), another layer of resistance to water vapor transmission is created, while providing a means to effectively heat seal the package.
For our purposes, the greatest benefit gained by the addition of the plastic film is the ability to use a CO2 laser to mark information - including expiration dates, product IDs, and tracking numbers - on the outer plastic surfaces. The laser provides a permanent, readable mark, whereas ink or adhesive labels are easily damaged or removed, resulting in the loss of critical information.
For this application, the customer wanted to mark a product ID on laminated poly/aluminum foil pouches. We used a Synrad 25 W laser for these tests along with an FH Flyer marking head equipped with a 200 mm focal length lens, all controlled by Synrad's WinMark Pro software. This setup produces a focused spot size of 290 mm (0.011") on the foil packaging. The mark file consisted of a string of 20 characters, plus the rectangular Lot logo, measuring 98.3 mm x 6.4 mm (3.87" x 0.25"). For a power level of 25 watts, the mark Velocity was set to 254 mm/sec (10 ips).
The resulting mark was completed in a cycle time of 1.03 seconds and is highly legible. The CO2 beam easily melts the plastic film, producing an easily readable, slightly raised mark with an embossed look.
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This product ID was created using WinMark Pro's "Simple" stroke font with 25 watts of power at 10 inches per second. The entire mark was created in only 1.03 seconds.
This close-up image shows the embossed, slightly raised mark on the outer plastic surface of the foil pouch.
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Cutting Corrugated Paperboard
Corrugated paperboard is used for packaging or padding items that require additional protection during shipment. Single face corrugated board is manufactured by bonding liner board to one side of a fluted corrugating medium. For this application, we were asked to cut different weights of single face paperboard at line speeds of 9.14 meters per minute (360 inches/min).
Because the customer needed to cut a variety of thicknesses including both 21-pound and 33-pound corrugated board, we setup our XY beam delivery system with a 190 mm (7.5") lens that provides a 305-micron (0.012") spot with a 13.7 mm (0.54") depth of focus. We achieved cleanly cut edges with minimal charring using 0.34 bar (5 PSI) of nitrogen assist gas.
To meet the line speed requirement of 9.14 meters per minute (360 inches/min), we used 109 watts of power to cut the 21-pound sample, which consists of 9.5 mm (0.375") high flutes on 19 mm (0.75") centers. The 33-pound corrugated board, consisting of 12.7 mm (0.5") high flutes on 25.4 mm (1.0") centers, was cut using 142 watts of power. Both corrugated board samples produced clean cuts with minimal edge charring.
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A 21-pound board sample (0.375" high flutes on 0.75" inch centers) was cut using 109 W at a speed of 360 IPM.
The black 33-pound corrugated board, with 0.5" high flutes on 1.0" centers, was cut
using 142 W of laser power.
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Marking Ceramic Fuses
Heavy-duty ceramic fuses, often referred to as semiconductor fuses, provide protection for solid-state (semiconductor) components used in high-voltage, high-current motor drives, inverters, rectifiers, and uninterruptible power supplies.
Because the voltage drop across individual devices is critical in systems where high currents are flowing, this particular manufacturer marks the measured resistance, in milliohms, on each fuse they produce. The purpose of our application test was to determine the feasibility of marking resistance measurements on individual fuses during the production process.
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This high-voltage, high-current ceramic fuse
was marked with 25 watts of power at a speed of 7.5 inches per second in a cycle time of 0.31 seconds per part.
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The test set-up included a Synrad 25 W laser, an FH Flyer marking head, and a copy of our WinMark Pro laser marking software. The Flyer head was equipped with a 200 mm lens, because the larger depth of focus (5 mm or 0.197") provides consistent mark quality around the curvature of the fuse body.
In WinMark Pro, a five-character text object representing the resistance measurement was created using the "Simple" stroke font at a Text Height of 5 millimeters (0.197"). Using 25 watts of power at a Velocity of 190.5 millimeters per second (7.5 in/sec), we created the high-contrast, permanent mark shown in a cycle time of 0.31 seconds per part.
In a fully automated production system, you could configure FH Flyer to read and mark these individual resistance values directly from a network share file created and maintained by a computerized manufacturing system.
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FH Flyer / Fenix Flyer Technical Updates
Synrad Technical Updates keep you informed of recent developments related to FH Flyer Marking Head or Fenix Flyer Laser Marker products. Sign up to receive these bulletins automatically via email at http://www.synrad.com/FH_Flyer/flyersupport_subscribe.htm
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Contact Us:
Please do not reply directly to this newsletter. E-mail questions or comments to synrad@synrad.com
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 ©2010 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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