Choosing a laser

TherMark laser marking materials work with almost any laser to expand its capabilities and improve the value of the laser alone. Whether you already own a laser(s) or are looking to buy one, it is important to understand how TherMark products from Jorlink can help you with laser marking orders. Two popular lasers in use today and worth discussing are CO2 lasers and solid state.

Most Cermark/TherMark or Laser Bond/LBT products are liquid or paste inks (except for a few tape products). The ink products can be primarily applied to the substrate either by spraying or painting with a foam brush. Two of these products can be used directly via their own aerosol cans. Traditional ink products are available also as well as specialty inks for pad printing and screen printing.

First and foremost is cleanliness. Clean the surface to be marked (all products). The process of bonding between laser marking material and substrate occurs at a molecular level so it is important the substrate be free of all kinds of contamination such as oil, debris or coatings. The overall quality of your mark strongly depends on the cleanliness of the substrate prior to material application. Depending on the substrate, it should be cleaned with either a solvent such as alcohol or rinsed with soap and water and completely dried. Be careful not to use a cleaning agent that leaves any kind of residue behind.

The Cermark/TherMark process uses very precise lasers with marking materials scientifically formulated to permanently fuse to metals, ceramics, glass, and other hard surfaces thus creating high-contrast, high-resolution marks.
 

Their marking materials consist of traditional ceramic glazing material (a mixture of glass frit and pigments for coloring), with the addition of a thermal absorber. While traditional use of such glazing material requires it to be applied to the surface of a ceramic object and then baked in a very hot kiln for more than an hour. The patented TherMark method uses a laser as the heat source to fuse the ceramic glaze instead of a kiln. All this happens in microseconds as opposed to hours, consuming far less “energy” and, consequently, without compromising or damaging the material being marked. It is the thermal absorber within the marking materials that enhances and speeds the heat absorption from the laser beam thus improving the transfer to the glaze.

There's a whole new market of customers in the laser industry who demand performance on a budget

As marking and laser engraving equipment becomes smaller and less-expensive; companies who need, in fact demand, performance on a budget grows. Just a few examples of these marking/encoding lasers include those now frequently used in the gift industry to create logos on a variety of objects; "coding" lasers used to add traceable use-by dates and batch codes to packing and products of the beverage, medical and electronics industries; and those used for decorative shape cutting in a variety of materials. The affordability and  versatility is such that engraving lasers are even becoming mainstays of many colleges' arts and crafts departments.

Choosing a LGAC removal system that’s good for your pocket book and the environment.

Earlier we talked about Laser Generated Airborne Contaminants or (LGACs); how they can affect your workers, your equipment and which LGAC removal system is right for you. Other than its precision one of the main reasons you chose laser processing equipment was its long-term cost benefits. Instead of conventional methods to process materials there are few or no consumables such as drills, milling cutters, saws, etc. Therefore, in choosing an LGAC removal system it is important that any purification system does not nullify this benefit by passing along excessive filter costs to the user. One method the Purex system offers of prolonging the life of a main filter is to use a pre-filter to remove larger particles (=1um) from the airstream before they enter the main filter. These are come in different forms, ranging from pads to bags to a patented Labyrinth design that offers around 10 times the life of a normal pre-filter. Pre-filters are made from a variety of filter media, and it is vitally important that the correct type is specified by the supplier – otherwise the life of the main filter will be significantly reduced. This is especially true if the material that is processed releases oily or sticky particles.