There is a difference between marking time and cycle time for industrial parts marking. “Okay”, you might say. “So what? Does that matter?” The answer is simple: Yes, it does. At least, if a realistic throughput calculation matters to you. For example, in order to validate if you can meet the target output with your equipment, stay within the calculated costs per part, and plan your internal resources such as required production people correctly.

Due to traceability reasons, many parts and products have to be marked with codes. Finding room on a product to place traceability content is often a challenge. Manufacturers and designers tend to use every available space on the part to squeeze all tracking information required.

Fiber laser markers, be it pulsed or continuous wave, have prevailed in nearly all industries for marking products permanently and in high quality. The fiber lasers that are used for industrial part marking usually are either Q-switch or MOPA lasers. As of today, Q-switch lasers are more common because they have already existed on the market for a longer time. That is why they are sometimes called “standard laser”. But due to their high flexibility, MOPA lasers like the FOBA Y.0201 and Y.0201-DN, are an interesting alternative for many applications.