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SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Issue 136
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Marking Glass Bottles
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Cutting (FAA-Certified) Polyester Fabric
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Marking PVC Jacketed Cable
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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 Glass Bottles
Glass marking continues to fuel the expansion of the CO2 laser market. Although most glass marking is centered around automotive, commercial, industrial, and residential window glass, there are also many applications for marking glass bottles and other decorative consumer items.
To test the feasibility of marking perfume bottles, we setup our basic marking configuration: a Synrad sealed CO2 laser (in this case, a Firestar v-Series model), an FH Series marking head, and WinMark Pro laser marking software. The FH head was equipped with a 125 mm focusing lens to obtain a 180-micron (0.007”) spot with a 3-mm (0.118”) depth of focus.
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We marked 73 characters on this concave
glass surface using 12 watts of power in a
cycle time of 0.54 seconds per bottle.
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Using WinMark Pro, we created 10 different stroke text objects spanning seven lines of text comprised of 73 characters—all in a space measuring 9.91 mm (0.39”) wide by 8.45 mm (0.33”) tall! Individual Text Height values ranged from 1.0 mm (0.04”) to 2.0 mm (0.09”) high and in some cases we added 0.1 mm (0.004”) of Extra Character Spacing.
To mark the concave surface of the bottle, we set a Power percentage corresponding to 12 watts, a marking Velocity of 1000 mm per second (40 inches/sec), and a Resolution value of 750. The change in bottle curvature across the mark width is approximately 1.5 mm (0.06”) so we raised the point of focus 0.75 mm (0.03”) above the lowest point of the curve. This assures that, for the 125 mm lens, the mark occurs well within the nominal depth of focus. Using these parameters, we produced the mark shown in a cycle time of 0.54 seconds per part.
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Cutting (FAA-Certified) Polyester Fabric
Polyester is a “laser-friendly” fabric that often appears in our Applications Lab for various laser-cutting projects. Laser cut polyester exhibits clean edges with the added benefit that the woven strands are melted together by the cut process, which eliminates fraying. This particular trial was to test the feasibility of laser cutting an FAA-certified Poly Fiber polyester material for use as the primary cover (skin) for acrobatic and utility aircraft fuselages and flight control surfaces.
We setup our XY motion system with a 63.5 mm (2.5”) positive meniscus lens to obtain a 100-micron (0.004”) focused spot with a 1.8 mm (0.07”) depth of focus and supplied 1.4 bar (20 PSI) of clean, dry air through the nozzle and coaxially with the beam as the assist gas.
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We cut the 0.008” thick FAA-certified
polyester fabric, shown above, at speeds of
1000 IPM using only 25 watts of power.
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At a power level of only 25 watts, our sealed CO2 lasers cut through the 0.2 mm (0.008”) thick polyester samples at a speed of 25.4 meters per minute (1000 inches/minute). As seen in the photo, the cut edges are clean and sealed with a very slight meltback caused by the sealing process.
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Marking PVC Jacketed Cable
PVC-jacketed Type NM (non-metallic sheath) electrical cable is commonly used in the building and remodeling trades for wiring residential homes. Due to its chlorine component, PVC is inherently flame-resistant—it is difficult to ignite and will not continue to burn in the absence of flame.
To mark this sample, we setup an FH Series marking head with a 125 mm HP (high-power) lens to obtain a 180-micron (0.007”) focused spot over an 80 mm by 99 mm (3.2” x 3.9”) mark field. The WinMark Pro mark file consists of a single 15-character text object that was created using the European stroke font. We specified a Text Height of 4.7 mm (0.19”) with 0.49 mm (0.019”) of Extra Character Spacing.
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The 15-character text string on this length of
PVC insulated cable was created using 40 watts
of power in a cycle time of 0.13 seconds per mark.
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To mark this text string on the cable sheathing, we set a Power (duty cycle percentage) corresponding to 40 watts and a Velocity of 2540 mm per second (100 inches/sec). We created nicely contrasting marks in a cycle time of 0.13 seconds per mark. For continuous motion tracking applications, this equates to a line speed of 29.1 meters per minute (95.4 ft/min). To increase line speeds to 59.4 meters/min (195 ft/min), a 200-mm focusing lens is an option since it provides a larger Tracking Window, however the larger spot size—290 microns or 0.011”—means that the laser power requirement jumps from 40 watts to 100 watts to maintain the same power density at the part surface.
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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.
http://www.synrad.com/search_apps/Default.htm
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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 © 2006 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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