SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Issue 106
 

Kiss Cutting Templates

Cutting Acetal Copolymer (Plastic) Tubing

Decorative Wood Marking

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.

Kiss Cutting Templates

Kiss cutting is a common CO2 laser application made possible by the ability to precisely control laser energy. In galvo-steered applications, laser control is provided by our FH Series marking head, which generates PWM signals at 20 kHz to obtain the highest quality marks. Additionally, the FH Head’s position and resolution accuracy (measuring out four decimal places to several ten-thousandths of an inch) provides accurate beam placement mark after mark.

The requirement for this project was to precisely kiss-cut keypad templates from sheets of laminated plastic film. Exacting power control was especially important in this application since the template design had to be completely cut out of 0.003“ (0.08 mm) thick plastic without damaging the 0.0015” (0.04 mm) thick backing film.

We accomplished the task using a Synrad sealed CO2 laser and FH Series marking head driven by our WinMark Pro laser marking software. A 125 mm focusing lens was installed into the marking head, producing a 0.007” (180 micron) spot size with a 0.118” (3 mm) depth of focus. The keypad template, created as a .PLT (HP Graphics Language) file, was imported directly into WinMark Pro at full-size, one-to-one scale.

To kiss-cut the keypad design, we assigned the following mark properties to the imported graphic object: Power – a duty cycle percentage corresponding to 60 watts; Velocity – 50 inches per second (IPS), Resolution – 300. At these settings, the entire design was cleanly kiss-cut, without damaging the backing material, in a cycle time of 0.73 seconds.


The keypad, in figure 1., was created using a Synrad laser and FH Series marking head.


In figure 2., the kiss-cut keypad was backlit to highlight the intricate pattern achieved.


Cutting Acetal Copolymer (Plastic) Tubing

Acetal copolymer, also called polyacetal or polyoxymethylene (POM) is an engineered thermoplastic polymer that features high wear resistance, high flexure fatigue strength, and excellent dimensional stability. Acetal copolymer is available in a pure, unfilled form or can be modified by special additives including glass fibers, colorants, or lubricants. Acetal products are easily created by injection, compression, or blow molding, by extrusion, or by rotational casting. Acetal copolymers are also available in medical and food grades for manufactured products sold to the medical or food processing industries.


Cutting molded acetal copolymer tubing, using a Firestar 100W laser, produced a clean cut edge.

This application called for cutting molded acetal copolymer tubing with a wall thickness of 0.041” (1.0 mm). Our beam delivery consisted of a Firestar 100 watt laser focused through a 2.5” positive meniscus lens, providing a 0.004” spot with a 0.07” depth of focus. Clean, dry air at 20 PSI was delivered through the nozzle (coaxially with the beam) for the gas assist.

Part motion was achieved using a rotary stage so that the tubing was rotated under the point of focus at a linear cut speed of 122 inches per minute (IPM). Although acetal vaporizes completely, leaving a cleanly cut edge, properly placed fume extraction prevents any vapor from being re-deposited on or near the cut edge.


Decorative Wood Marking

Traditionally, lasers are considered industrial or scientific tools, commonly used throughout the manufacturing environment. While industrial laser usage is rapidly increasing, CO2 lasers are now becoming popular tools for aftermarket businesses where they are used to customize existing consumer products, extending their reach beyond the typical engraving and trophy markets.

Today, an upscale clothing store may use an in-store laser system to personalize your new denim jeans, jacket, or shirt. The glassware department may offer to customize a set of tumblers or wine glasses for that special occasion. Your favorite winery may use a CO2 laser to mark its labels, corks, or bottles. Suppliers of polished stone such as granite and marble use CO2 lasers to mark photographic-quality grayscale images. Even automobile accessory suppliers now use CO2 lasers to personalize many interior and exterior glass, plastic, and metal accessory components.


Custom images can easily be created on a wide range of materials.
In our wood marking application, Synrad sealed CO2 lasers are used to add decorative designs to cutting boards. The marking setup consists of an FH Series marking head mounted to a Firestar t-Series laser. A 200 mm focusing lens provides a nominal 110 mm × 110 mm mark field (134 mm × 165 mm maximum) with a 0.011” (290 micron) spot and a 0.196” (5 mm) depth of focus. To engrave the grape image on the oak cutting board, we specified a power of 60 watts, a mark Velocity of 40 inches per second, and a Resolution setting of 300. At these settings, the bitmap image was beautifully raster-engraved in 37.9 seconds.


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/search_apps/Default.htm


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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