SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Issue 50

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.

Cutting Lace

     Synthetic fabrics are extremely well-suited to laser cutting. When cut, the fibers fuse together, resulting in a smooth, sealed edge. The synthetic lace fabric shown here was cut with 100W at a speed of 500 inches/minute, using 20psi air assist. The cutting setup used a 2.5" positive meniscus lens, which provided a 0.004" diameter spot with a 0.07" depth of focus. Air assist gas prevents discoloration of the fabric.

Engraving Delrin

     Synrad lasers can be used to mark most plastics. Delrin, found in a wide range of applications from electronics to automotive parts, results in non-contrasting, engraved marks when marked with a 25W laser. The (2mm high) marks shown on the Delrin part in the photo to the left were made at a speed of 20"/sec. The entire mark, consisting of 18 alphanumeric characters was completed in a cycle time of 0.25 second using a WinMark Pro stroke font.

Marking Polycarbonate

     These engraved, contrasting marks were made using a 25W CO₂ laser and FH-Series marking head at a speed of 4 inches/sec, resulting in a total cycle time of 0.7 seconds. A 200mm focusing lens was used to provide a 290 micron spot with a 5mm depth of focus. The text characters were made using a WinMark Pro sans serif font. In addition to marking very quickly, this particular stroke font has double lines to enhance the mark contrast.

     Polycarbonate plastics usually provide engraved marks with some slight contrast,  however this glass-filled polycarbonate material provides dark, highly contrasting marks. This holds true for most glass-filled plastics - even glass-filled polyethylene will exhibit a very good contrasting mark.

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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