Question- How do I thin LMM-6000, & LMM-14?

Answer- LMM-6000 & LMM-14 can be thinned with denatured alcohol, ethanol, acetone or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Add the thinner to the LMM-6000 and stir or shake thoroughly. Isopropyl alcohol should be avoided.

Question- How much LMM-6000, & LMM-14 do I apply?

Answer- You should apply only enough of these products to hide the metal surface. Applying more will result in having to use more laser power to create marks; it will not make the marks darker.

Question- How do I apply LMM-6000 & LMM-14?

Answers- These products can be applied using the following application methods: spray, brush or screen print. These products should be applied directly to the metal substrate, but care must be taken to ensure that an even coat is applied. The LMM-6000 & LMM-14 can be applied using spray and foam br

ush applications methods. Any variation in the coating such as brush marks may translate into variation in the final mark appearance. Spraying will give you the best results and the most evenly applied coating. When spraying these products we recommend the product be applied in a well ventilated area or spray booth designed to pull air away from user.

Question- I use the same settings specified by TherMark and I get terrible results. What can be wrong?

Answer-  There are a number of circumstances which can cause this:

For exactly same situation described you may get bad results due to being out of focus. See above.

The coating thickness makes a huge difference, too. Try a few different coating thicknesses to get the best results.

Check which kind of lens you are using. Different lenses with different focal lengths will have different beam waists at the focal plain, requiring different power and speed settings.

A common error is failure to perform the proper conversion of settings. Settings are often given in percentages, but 80% power on a 45W laser is not the same as 80% power on a 30W laser. Similarly, 80% speed on a laser which goes 140 in/sec at 100% speed is not the same as 80% speed on a laser which goes 60 in/sec at 100% speed. Make sure to convert percentages so they are relevant for your laser. Remember, the important thing is absolute power (Watts) and absolute speed (in/sec or cm/sec).

Mode of operation is also very important. It is important to understand the differences between rastering vs. vectoring and continuous wave vs. pulse. For more information, please visit our Laser Settings Section.

Question- The marked graphic is not sharp; lines are thicker than in the picture. What could be wrong?

Answer- A common reason for this problem is that your laser is out of focus. When your laser is focus, the narrowest waist of the laser beam is the part of the beam which hits the substrate. When you are out of focus, a wider part of the beam is hitting the substrate. Despite being somewhat out of focus it is still possible to create a bonded mark. However, the excess beam width will reduce the resolution you can achieve. In order to fix this problem, re-focus your laser. Once you bring the laser into focus you may need to reduce your laser power setting.