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Industrial Engraving and Marking Systems have gained a lot of importance in the past few years. Moreover, the introduction of super-accuracy UV laser marking machines has taken the process of marking to the next level.
But if you are simply going to the market to buy a marking machine and that too without any research, you need to go through this guide.
You might be wondering why?
Well, picking the right UV laser marking machine is not as easy as it seems to be. There are a lot of things that you need to consider.
Let us discuss the most crucial ones:
1. Requirement:
Before purchasing a marking machine, you must be clear about what you are looking for. You must be clear with the material that you are going to mark or engrave.
If we specifically talk about UV Laser Marking Machines, they are used on some metals, some stones, all plastics, all glass, all papers, all leathers, all woods, all ceramics.
So if you have some metals or stones that do not fall under the application of a laser marking machine. You must go with some other machines like fiber marking machines. They used on marking all metals, but some plastics, some stones, some leathers, and some papers. But if it fits your requirement, there is no match to UV technology.
If you are wondering, this is the end, you required to reconsider. This is so because UV lasers have their own types.
Solid-State Laser:
A solid-state, Q switched Nd: YAG falls in this category. The specialty of this type of laser is, the infrared wavelength of 1064 nm changed to the ultraviolet wavelength of 353 nm by a special crystal.
This property helps to focus the beam to spot sizes on the order of 10 µm. This makes it well suited for machining on a micro-scale. These well suited for wood, plywood, PVC, acryl, cardboard, and ABS.
Excimer Laser:
This comes in the category of a gas laser. Thus the wavelength of this laser depends upon the type of the gas and the amount in which they are mixed up. This laser provides you with a rectangular beam but with consistent intensity distribution over the area.
The intensity of this rectangular beam falls off sharply at the edges. The process details are as small as a few micrometres even when the distance between the focusing optics and the workplace is kept as large as 50nm to 100nm. If you are looking for an extreme level of precision, Excimer laser is good to go with. These are basically used by microchip fabrication and other manufacturing industries.
Metal Vapor Laser:
This is another type of UV laser where many metals can be used but copper vapor is preferred over others. The radiation generated by this laser is 511 nm and 578nm wavelength.
Moreover, you can generate even ultraviolet radiation with 255 nm, 271nm, and 289nm wavelengths using frequency mixing and doubling. These are suitable for diamond, silica, glass, silicon, ceramics, and other hard materials.
Quality of a Machine:
Although you will be able to get a UV laser marking machine for a low cost you should not compromise with the quality of the machine. This is so because the quality of the machine is going to directly affect the quality of marking. If you are looking for a more precise marking, you must go with a quality or brand that has proven its worth in the market.
You must go with a reliable supplier. This is so because it is quite confusing to understand various specs and technicalities, especially when you don’t have enough experience with the marking machines.
Decide your Budget:
If you are running low on a budget or you have just started, you need not spend the whole of your fortune on a marking machine. UV laser marking machines come in various sizes as per the requirement.
So if you don’t have that huge requirement you can go with a smaller machine. It will do the job for you and that too within your budget. You can upgrade to bigger and costly machines once your requirement increases.
On the other hand, if the size of your company is bigger and you have to mark many units in a lower amount you can go with a sophisticated UV laser marking machine. This will not only save you money but will also perform the task faster than usual.
Integration:
Integration plays a major role in picking up the right machine. This is so because it is of no use to go for a marking machine that does not make your job easier.
You must prefer a machine that is easy to integrate with your existing system. It must be independent to operate and handle. It must be such that you can make necessary modifications using your laptop whenever you require it.
After-sale Services:
This is the most crucial factor which many ignore. You need to know that these machines require minimum effort from your side. They are even less likely to damage, but they can damage. So after-sales service is the factor that you must consider.
If not for repairing then for other help, regarding its operation. This will let you take maximum benefit by running the machine to its best capacity. This will let you save a lot of time and money.
Conclusion:
When it comes to picking the right UV Laser Marking Machine, it is not so easy. There are many factors that you required to focus on. Even a slight misjudgment can make your work difficult. This is why you required to go through some tips that can help you to select the right and reliable machine. Some of these tips presented here in this guide.
Author Bio: Heatsign is a professional dot peen and laser marking machine company. It has 10 years of experience and international certifications that let it offer you cost-effective and quality industrial marking solutions.