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SYNRAD, INC. - 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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This polyester mesh filter media is an excellent candidate for CO2 laser cutting as it exhibits cleanly cut edges at very high line speeds. Polyester filter media is used in residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC applications and is a common filtration method for keeping dust particles out of fan-cooled industrial equipment. For this application trial, our cutting setup consisted of a Firestar laser and an XY “flying optics” table. Beam delivery through the cutting head was focused by a 63.5 mm (2.5”) positive meniscus lens that provides a 100-micron (0.004”) diameter spot with a 1.8 mm (0.07”) depth of focus. For gas assist, we chose nitrogen at a delivery pressure of 0.7 bar (10 PSI).
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At a power level of 25 watts, we cut the 1.8-mm (0.072”) thick polyester media at a speed of 19 meters per minute (750 inches/minute). Using 100 watts of power, we easily surpassed our maximum table speed of 50 meters/minute (2000 IPM). In all cases, the laser-processed edge is cleanly cut and shows no signs of discoloration.
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Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) is one of the most significant thermoplastic polyesters engineered in the past 35 years. PBT exhibits a great surface finish, is dimensionally stable, and has excellent electrical insulation characteristics. When reinforcement is required, materials such as fiberglass, mica, stainless steel or carbon fibers, or other non-orienting fillers are added to the formulation. Today, PBT-based products are used in virtually every type of industrial, medical, and consumer application imaginable. This electrical connector is manufactured from PBT and contains 30% glass fiber reinforcement. In addition to the engraved mark (typical of CO2 lasers), the glass fiber adds an easily readable dark contrast to the mark due to the reaction of the glass fiber to the beam. |
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It is interesting to note that when reinforcing filler materials are added to plastic formulations, CO2 lasers can often create contrasting marks in a less expensive and much safer manner than shorter wavelength YAG lasers.
To achieve the cycle time required for this application, we selected an FH Series marking head with a 125 mm focusing lens (180-micron spot with a 3 mm depth of focus) to steer the beam from our sealed CO2 laser. We set up an eight-character identification string in our WinMark Pro Laser Marking software using one of WinMark’s fast marking stroke fonts. At a power level of 25 watts and a marking velocity of 635 millimeters per second (25 inches/second), we created each mark in a cycle time of only 0.14 seconds per connector.
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CO2 lasers continue to excel in automotive applications as manufacturers strive to improve vehicle quality and cost savings during manufacturing. Integrating a laser with an industrial robot or flatbed cutting table provides a consistent method to accurately cut part after part and the laser’s non-contact cutting method means there is no need to schedule down time for mechanical cutter adjustment or replacement. The purpose of this application test was to demonstrate the cut speed and quality achieved while using a Firestar f-Series laser to cut automotive headliners. This particular semi-rigid headliner material is comprised of several layers of synthetic fibers with a total thickness of 1.3 mm (0.050”) bonded to a 1.4 mm (0.056”) thick paperboard base for an overall thickness of 2.7 mm (0.106”).
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The cutting head on our flatbed XY table contains a 63.5 mm (2.5”) positive meniscus lens that provides a 100-micron (0.004”) spot with a 1.8 mm (0.07”) depth of focus. During the cutting process, we delivered 4.1 bar (60 PSI) of clean, dry air coaxially with the beam for gas assist. Our Firestar lasers achieved cut rates of 14 meters per minute (550 in/min) using 400 watts and speeds of 7 meters/minute (275 in/min) using 200 watts of power. In both cases, the synthetic fiber was cleanly cut while the paperboard base exhibits slight charring of the cut edge.
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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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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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