SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Issue 78

 
Marking Automotive Parts Cutting Carbon Fiber Marking PVC Coated Wire

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.

Marking Automotive Parts

   With the growing need for part identification in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries, CO2 lasers have become an essential tool for plastics fabricators. The alphanumeric code on this plastic automotive part was created using a 10W laser, FH-Series marking head, and 125mm lens. The marks were made at a speed of 5 inches per second and a cycle time of 0.75 seconds, using a spot size of 180 microns.  

   The type of plastic, absorption of the laser beam, and power used will determine the type of mark that can be created on the material. The two basic types of marking are achieved by either engraving the material or creating a contrasting mark on the surface. Engraved marks are created when the laser actually removes material, creating a depression. Contrasting marks are created by either surface melting or by surface discoloration via a chemical reaction of the material to the laser beam, usually requiring less power than engraving.

Engraved marks are easily produced on plastic
using a 10W laser.

 

 

 

Cutting Carbon Fiber

 

   Clean cuts were achieved on the 0.02"-thick woven carbon fiber in the photo to the left using a Synrad Evo200W laser with 5psi air assist. The cuts were made at a speed of 290 inches per minute in the direction of the weave. The diagonal cut was made at a slightly slower speed, 210 inches per minute, due to the variation of the material density.

   The durability and light weight of carbon fiber has made it popular in the fabrication process of automotive, aircraft and sporting equipment. In the racing industry, where weight is a crucial factor, metal frames are increasingly being replaced by carbon fiber over urethane foam constructions. 
This carbon fiber was cut using an Evolution 200
Synrad laser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marking PVC Insulated Wire

 
   The photo on the left illustrates the laser’s ability to mark very fine, readable characters at very small sizes. Using 10W of power, a Synrad CO2 laser marking system produced a nicely contrasting mark on PVC-coated 18 AWG wire with a character size approximately 0.039" (1mm) high. Wire marking with Synrad FH Series marking heads can be accomplished in Index mode where wire movement pauses during marking or in Tracker mode where marking is performed "on-the-fly" while the wire is traveling past the marking head.

   When marking cylindrical objects, the key is to ensure that the area to be marked does not fall outside the lens’ depth of field since the beam’s energy density drops by the square of the distance as the material curvature drops away from the point of focus.

 
This wire was marked with just 10W of CO2
laser power.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

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

 

To unsubscribe, please reply to this email and type REMOVE in the subject line.

Copyright (c) 2003 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.