How To Understand Laser Engraving

Engraving with a laser is actually a simple process. A laser is merely a tool. Laser can engrave most materials today. The most popular materials in the engraving fields are coated metals, wood, acrylic, glass, leather, marble, plastic, and a host of synthetic materials made specifically for lasers. Although it's confusing sometimes laser marking is referred to as laser etching. Unlike conventional etching, laser etching simply needs no masks or chemicals.

It was back in the early 1960's when scientists first discovered, that they could create a light source, focus the energy and have a tool powerful enough to affect certain materials. Laser marking is the favored marking method when permanency or aesthetics are needed. It didn't take very long for the engraving industry to notice lasers and soon lasers were being used for a wide variety of industrial applications including welding, heat-treating, etching and engraving.

If you think of a laser as a light source similar to a light bulb you'll know that a light bulb will emit energy out all around it. And the term laser etching is basically just another name for laser engraving.

The ability to laser cut complex profiles can eliminate the need for additional operations, making laser cutting very economical. And laser cutting offers a superior cut-edge quality with parallel sides and with no burrs. Laser cutting adds high precision, reduced contamination or warping, and a good quality finish to industrial cutting applications.

The laser metal cutting option can be added to some of the laser cutting machines. A laser works very well for the cutting of acrylic (Plexiglas), PETG, thin polycarbonates (Mylar), styrene expanded PVC (Sintra), wood, paper and fabric.

You can easily laser mark in batches of anything from 1 to 10,000. Co2 lasers can provide excellent results for the marking of glass and also provide significant reductions in operating costs and the cost of supplies. Laser marking is also preferred when the part to be marked is too small or has too complex of a shape to be marked with anything but laser etching.

The typical industries that use laser marking include the promotional, engineering and medical industries. To review, laser marking is a process in which material is indelibly marked at very fast speeds (milliseconds per character). The laser marking of glass by Co2 lasers on the fly or while moving can be an excellent addition today for many industrial environments and applications for glass marking.

Also you nay have seen some of the kiosks in malls and specialty stores for laser engraving services because it's now the most common type of engraving. Quite a few companies today make laser engraving machines, laser marking systems and laser etching equipment.

Laser engraving can be used for most of the jobs currently being carried out by the conventional industrial engravers. Of the many items being engraved by lasers today, iPods and laptops rank among the highest in the consumer marketplace. And the laser engraving of metal uses the most power especially if the metal is of the harder type.

For more information on laser engraving and laser engraving machines, laser marking, laser etching and laser cutting go to http://www.EngravingLaser.net for tips, help, facts, free resources, including information on all types of laser engraving

Laser Cutting Companies

Since Theodore Maiman invented the first functional laser or LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) in 1960, this device, which generates a strong, highly concentrated beam of single-wavelength light, has found several uses in different industries and in various fields including medicine, consumer electronics and information technology.

Its most prominent industrial use is laser cutting. It is said that about $4.5 billion worth of laser cutting systems are being used around the world today. Most of them are being used in Japan.

In the U.S., the technology is also recognized for making companies in the automotive, aerospace, garment, architectural, construction and furniture manufacturing industries more competitive in terms of productivity and quality.

As laser cutting technology gets more advanced, and as its application gets more comprehensive, laser cutting companies are also offering high rates. These companies either manufacture laser cutting equipment or provide high-precision laser cutting facilities and services.

Many laser cutting service providers offer other services such as etching, slotting, plasma cutting, welding, punching forming and polishing of metals, aside from distortion-free metal cutting. Laser cutting of other materials such as wood, ceramics, plastics and rubber are also offered by these companies.

A complete laser cutting service package may cover designing of the parts, furnishing of materials, state-of-the-art laser cutting, quality control, delivery of parts and technical consulting services.

Laser cutting equipment manufacturers, on the other hand, make several kinds of lasers, ranging from flying optic lasers to hybrids lasers, Pivot-beam lasers and pulsed lasers. The flying optic laser is widely used for its inexpensive stationary tables and fast positioning speed (about 300m per minute). It is capable of cutting complex metal parts with small notches and intricate contours.

For piercing, it is best to use a pulsed laser since this type of laser produces a high amount of energy within a very short period of time. If you use a laser with a constant beam, the whole material being cut may melt.

The benefits of getting service from a reliable laser cutting company are many. The laser equipment only needs small floor space, it uses a small amount of heat so warping is avoided, it cuts with precision so you can minimize cutting wastes, laser cutting has lower risks of injury, and lasers cut fast, helping you increase production.

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