Laser marking—function and benefits at a glance

©Trotec Laser GmbH

Laser marking works on various metals, plastics, paints and laminates, on foils, woods, glass, leather, textiles, meat, paper or cardboard. There are three basic principles:

• Lasers use the effect of heat to cause a change in color in a material
• Lasers remove material—engraving into the component or selectively removing the top layer
• Lasers affix a material to a component

Advantages include the extreme durability and brilliance of the markings, as well as the flexibility of the lettering, even at speeds in excess of 1,000 characters a second. On top of that, forgery-proof markings are in no way affected by mechanical stresses on the component. Medical technology, air and space travel, the automotive and food sectors as well as manufacturers of electronics and semiconductors among other industries use laser marking in the application of continuous part, serial and batch numbers, machine-readable codes, and dates, or of lettering, company logos or decorations, both on labels or directly onto products.