Industry Solutions Laser Processing of Plastics


White paper "Plastic laser marking"

Based on the properties of a plastic, its functional purpose and its intended use the requirements for marking it are varying. A great diversity of plastics are being deployed especially in the automotive or medical industry. The quality of the marking on a plastic part is determined by the type of the selected laser etching system, the utilized marking parameters, but also by the use of special additives in the plastic mix.

Our white paper offers a broad overview of the industrial use and the laser marking of plastics and resins.

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Day/night design switches in a component tray

Challenging coating layer removal on plastic parts with multilayer layers. The color/coating layers are removed with a high degree of precision and the basic material to be backlit becomes visible. The adjustment that is carried out on different coating layers and colors is implemented with application-specific laser parameters that are easy to adjust.

The switches are detected directly in the tray by means of a high-precision, camera-guided coating layer removal procedure, after which they are processed. The advantage: high productivity. The trays in which the switches were inserted for coating are used for laser marking as well. The switches do not have to be inserted manually as they remain in the take-up unit during the whole process. For laser marking, the complete tray is introduced into the laser marking workstation.

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Doped PE pipes

An additive is mixed into Gabocom’s PE pipes, in order to ensure that the laser marking process generates high contrasts. 
The advantage: Plastics which, as a result of a laser marking process, show no contrast in the pre-doping phase display a legible inscription after the additive has been added.

Animal ear tags

The animal ear tag, which is made of rubber composite material, is furnished with a typical color-change marking. Characters like these are used to create unforgeable markings and identifications for the animal husbandry sector.

Housing

A black, readable and long-lasting color-change marking of this kind can be found on several housing components. The contents of the markings can be of any nature and range from alphanumeric characters from several languages to codes, graphics, logos and customized data.

Various laser-sensitive plastics with color additives

If, as a result of a laser marking, the plastics do not produce the desired color change effect, special additives can be added over the course of the assembly of the plastic. As a result of these additives, the material reacts to the laser, producing a brilliant color change.

Automobile component made of plastic that was specially manufactured for laser marking

A color change on a plastic that was specially assembled for laser marking. Laser marking bleaches the dark plastic and the marking becomes visible.

Level sensor

The carbon in the sensor’s plastic oxidizes to CO2, which emerges from the plastic and forms a foam layer. Depending on the composition, the color change is either bright or dark. Dark plastics turn white at the points to be marked, while bright plastics turn either gray or black (see carbonization).

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