Laser engraving aluminium is common place in industry today. In this example, we are laser engraving aluminium defining the product details along with some technical information. The main stipulation from the customer, is the part will be clearly anodised following the marking, so we are instructed to ensure the depth and clarity of marking will withstand the anodising process.
Anodising
This electrolytic passivation is widely used across industry on aluminium for a variety of reasons. The process can also provide a huge range of colour variations through the use of colour dying. The process changes the microscopic texture of the aluminium by modifying the crystal structure near the surface.
The process of laser engraving aluminium with depth
Laser marking is a non-contact, thermal process relying on the heat generated by the laser beam, to alter the surface of the work-piece. Most metallic materials will absorb Nd:YAG 1.06 wavelength and can be readily marked. In this case, we will be vaporising the surface to ensure depth is achieved. A single stroke character font was selected, to allow fast processing speed and allow us the flexibility to use multiple passes without adding too much additional cost to the part.
Tooling
The combined precision of the beam placement along with our tooling design means the part and mark are precisely aligned every time we set up for a new batch of parts. Tooling design uses a cross slot and dowel locating system, while jigging is specifically designed to accommodate both simple and complex shapes as required. The operating software, holds positional data so that the laser and tooling are aligned.
A simple datum jig is used to locate the part optimising setup and handling time, and are all aimed at ensuring commercially acceptable costs are achieved.
If you would like further information on this laser application, or any other application, please request a call back or talk to one of our laser marking specialists on 01737 826902.
