Laser Machine Service near Dorking, Thinklaser TableTop 20 watts – Azenta Life Sciences
A visit to our customer, Azenta Life Sciences was required as the customer had informed us that there were struggling with the laser marking of 2D data matrix codes on some new material that they were processing as the camera verification of the said codes was not at the required A-C rating. The customer had also requested the laser machine service be carried out, which we would recommend for all our customers on all makes and models. The laser service was conducted by our highly experienced service engineer ‘Gavin Edwards’ and the laser marking parameters were refined by our Laser Sub-Contract Manager and general Laser parameter Guru ‘Matt Heron’. The service visit included: –
Thinklaser TableTop 20 watt
Upon arrival at Azenta Life Sciences the tabletop machine was visually inspected. The machine was in a cleanroom environment so was in good condition. The laser service was started. The scanhead F-theta lens was inspected and cleaned. The interlocks, emergency stop and switches were all tested and were fully functional.
The laser power was the tested at the exit aperture of the scanhead. This was shown to be 16.9w at full power.
Now that the machine had been successfully serviced, the task of finding the correct laser marking parameters was started.
In terms of the laser parameters for most machines there are 3 main setting that are used. Power, Speed and Frequency. Power is easy, as this is the wattage power that the laser produces. Speed is also an easy one, as this is the speed, normally measured in mm/sec of the laser spot moving across the product. The frequency is the amount of pulses that the laser produces every second, normally measured in hz or Khz.
Depending on what and how you are laser marking your product. There are other parameters that will need to be taken into account for the finish that you are wishing to achieve. We will touch on just a few in this case study that were relevant to the 2D data matrix and getting better results from the verification process. The two that were the main factor on this material was ‘Beam Compensation’ and the ‘Laser Off’ delay.
Beam Compensation
This setting is exactly as it sounds, you can enter an amount that you wish the software to take into account to adjust the laser path to take into account the beam size on the material being processed for many people’s cases it will more down to the ‘affected area’ on the product rather than the pure laser beam size.
Laser Off Delay
Again this description is self explanatory. It is the amount of time the software waits before turning the laser off. You may wonder why this is required. Well in all cases there is a lag between where the software thinks the laser is and the actual physical location of the laser within any given system. In real world terms this lag is VERY small, however it can have a quite significant impact on some material processing as with this case study as if you are laser marking speed of m/s. Then even a small lag will show up in the processing. In this example the ‘Laser Off Delay’ was reduced from 650 to 300 microseconds.
If you would like further information on our Laser Machine Service near Dorking capabilities or anywhere else in the country, or any other Laser Training requirement or Laser Application, please request a call back or, talk to one of our service engineering specialists by going to our contact page – link below.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I improve Inconsistent Cutting Depth?
Verify that the laser head is correctly focused for the material’s thickness
Check for debris or dust on the mirrors and lenses.
Ensure that the cutting bed is level across the entire work area.
How do I stop the laser from cutting unevenly?
Inspect and clean the optical components (mirrors and lenses).
Check that the work bed is level; an uneven bed will affect cutting depth.
Ensure the material is flat and secured in place on the bed.
How to stop the laser head dragging on Material
Ensure that the material is flat and not bowed or warped.
Check the height adjustment of the laser head and set the correct z-axis distance.
Verify that the workpiece is secured properly on the bed.
