Process Date: April 2004

The sample shown left demonstrates the ability of Synrad CO₂ lasers and marking heads to mark verifiable codes on shipping grade cardboard. The FH Series marking head was fitted with a 125 mm HP (high power) focusing lens that provides a 3.2” × 3.9” mark field, a 180-micron (0.007”) spot size, and 3 mm (0.118”) depth of focus.

We marked the Code 128 barcode, readable by an RVSI MXi handheld scanner, at a Velocity of 13.5 inches per second (IPS) using 50 watts of power. Resolution for the 13-character code was set to 75. The 2D Data Matrix code marked at 16 IPS using 20W with a Resolution setting of 150. An RVSI vision system verified the code, which exhibited 39% contrast and received a passing AIM (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility) grade of “A” for axial uniformity, print growth, and error correction. Both text objects were marked at 18 IPS using 50W with a Resolution of 255. WinMark Pro’s Spot Marking Style was set to Yes and a Spot Mark Duration of 6 (600 microseconds) was specified. Overall mark cycle time for the barcode, 2D code, and both text objects was 7.4 seconds.

Although cardboard cutting is normally performed on an XY table using Nitrogen assist gas, we cut these samples with the same marking head and lens setup used for marking. We began by importing a drawing of a 1.8” × 2.7” rounded rectangle into WinMark Pro. The 0.148” thick cardboard was cleanly cut using 120 watts of power at 10 IPS in two Mark Passes. Cycle time for the cut was 1.73 seconds.

Detail of the 2D Data Matrix code marked at 16 IPS using 20W with a Resolution setting of 150.