SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Issue 63

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 Paperboard

      Paperboard is commonly used in consumer packaging, from cereal cartons and shipping envelopes to boxes and book covers. The 0.125"-thick sample shown in this photo exhibits cleanly cut edges and a narrow 0.004"-wide cut kerf.

     This sample was processed using a Firestar f100 laser with the CO2 beam focused through a 2.5" positive meniscus lens; spot size was 0.004" and depth of focus was 0.07". Nitrogen, at 60 PSI, was chosen as the assist gas. Cut speeds ranged from 330 inches per minute (IPM) to 240 IPM, depending on material composition.

Clean cut edges were produced on paperboard
using a Firestar f100 (100W) laser.

Marking/Engraving of Closed Cell Foam

     Closed-cell polyethylene foam is a commonly used material that reacts very well to the CO2 wavelength. The 5/8"-high text in the top left photo was engraved into the foam using 40W of power. Beam steering was accomplished using an FH-Series marking head and a 370mm lens, which provided a 540-micron (0.021") spot size. Marking velocity was set to 100 inches per second and total cycle time for the mark was 0.76 seconds.

     The lower photo illustrates the legibility of 1/8"-high characters that were also marked on closed-cell PE foam using the 370mm focusing lens. 

1/8"-high characters marked on the same material.

Marking a Matrix

     When performing sample testing on unfamiliar materials, it's often useful to mark a simple matrix that plots mark speed versus laser power. This enables you to quickly determine the optimum settings for a given sample. Once you've chosen appropriate Velocity and Power values, you can then experiment with changing Resolution or other object properties in WinMark Pro to reduce cycle time or fine-tune the mark to meet your particular requirements.

     Although the matrix shown here is easy to create, you can download the mark file, medium stroke matrix.mkh, from the WinMark Pro website or from the WinMark Pro CD-ROM.

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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