Thursday, September 22, 2011

Choosing the Proper Power Level

How to choose the proper power level is one of the main questions asked when one is considering a CO2 laser as a solution to their application needs. Typically, the wattage availability of C02 laser systems spans from 12 watts all the up to 400 watts. More often than not, a higher wattage can decrease your production time. The amount of power needed is dependent on the type of material and how you would like to process it. There are three processes that are impacted by power: engraving, marking, and cutting. 

Engraving 
Materials can essentially be categorized into two categories, hard and soft. On average, the materials that engrave well with lower wattages are softer materials such as plastics, fabrics, and paper. For harder materials such as cast acrylics, wood, and glass a higher power level is preferred. Engraving is subjective based on the perspective of each individual. For example, what I find to be engraved too deep you may see it as not deep enough; therefore, determining your “desired look” is extremely important in choosing the proper power level.  

Marking 
The most common materials used in marking with a CO2 laser are: anodized aluminum, coated metals, ceramics, stainless steel, and other bare metals. With coated metals, ceramics, and anodized aluminum, a lower wattage can often times be effective; however, take note of the time involved. For stainless steel and other bare metals, a laser bonding material is required to achieve a high contrast mark on the metal. This laserable material is bonded to the substrate through the energy of the laser. This bonding process requires higher power levels for the bonding to successfully occur. If the power is too low, the solution will simply wipe away. 

Cutting 
Selecting the appropriate laser power is important in achieving quality cutting results and optimal processing times. With cutting, selecting the proper power level will be based on the type and thickness of the material in addition to the desired quality. 

For Example: 
  • Cutting through 1/8” and 1/4” materials can generally be achieved with a lower wattage; however, because of the laser power’s reaction to the material, you may not achieve the same edge quality as you would with a higher powered laser. 
  • If you needed to cut through 1” acrylic and achieve flame polished edges we would recommend one of our high powered lasers; however, if it were paper or fabric you were cutting, a lower wattage laser would easily achieve your desired results. 
Overview 
The type and thickness of a material, desired output and quality, how the material is processed, and application requirements all play a huge role in selecting the wattage of your laser system. In addition, considering which materials you are processing now along with materials you plan on process in years to come, guarantees the chosen power level will meet all of your company’s growing needs. 

Another important factor is to understand your material and have it tested by myself or one of our application engineers before you determine what wattage you would like. A demonstration on the laser system or sending your materials in for processing will leave you feeling confident that you have chosen the best laser for your application needs. 

If you would like additional information on laser power selection, please contact me via the information provided below or fill out the contact form on the right.

Author: 
Josh Stephens, Great Lakes Sale Manager, Trotec Laser, Inc.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Thank you for Attending NBM Baltimore

On behalf of everyone at Trotec Laser, Inc., thank you for attending our booth at NBM Baltimore! The enthusiasm at the show was outstanding! Having the opportunity to meet everyone and learn more about your industries and needs is truly valuable to us, as we are constantly using what you bring us to develop new machines and features in order to better meet your needs.

As a quick show recap, we revealed one of our newest machines, the Multi Color Jet, which has proven to be an excellent machine for rubber stamp producers to use along with their laser, in order to speed up their production capabilities! For more information on the Multi Color Jet visit our website our call our main office at 866-226-8505!

The NBM Show put on another outstanding show and as always we loved participating in all of the events! We are excited to see everyone again next year at NBM Philadelphia, where in addition to exhibiting we will be taking part in the education station... We have a lot of fun things planned for this one!

If you couldn't make a laser selection at the show, your local sales representative will be in contact with you shortly to assist you in finding the perfect laser for your application and budget!

For those of you who were unable to attend the show, we have many more on the horizon! Our next show is SGIA in New Orleans! For our full trade show schedule visit our website at http://bit.ly/TroShow!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Tech Corner: Maintaining Spindles

Proper maintenance is key in maintaining the life of your laser. If you follow our simple maintenance techniques, your laser will be working for you for many years to come.

Today's maintenance tip if for the rayjet. In order to keep the table running smoothly we recommend regularly checking the spindles and cleaning them when necessary. Because certain applications (like rubber, wood, or acrylic) produce more dust and debris than others some rayjet owners may have to clean their laser more often. 

What you need:

Soft Cleaning Tissue
Silicone
Steps:

1. Inspect your spindles, if they're dirty like this spindle they will need to be cleaned.
2. Clean the spindles thoroughly with the silicone oil and soft cleaning tissue
3. Add silicone oil along the whole spindle

4. Add silicone oil on spindle nut

5. Admire your nice clean spindles!
  For more cleaning and maintenance tips, visit our other "Tech Corner" blogs our contact our Technical Support Department at 866-226-8505!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

JobControl Outline Function

Positioning engraving, cutting, and marking jobs correctly is critical in guaranteeing perfect results. Especially when engraving intricate layouts on expensive or irregular shape materials.


Luckily, Trotec's JobControl's " Job Outline Function" supports both experienced laser and novice users by allowing you to check the correct position prior to starting the engraving job. This feature ensures the job is positioned correctly every time, which prevents faulty engraving and saves you both time and money!

 

How it works:
  1. Send the job from your graphics software to the JobControl software.
  2. Position the material in the laser.
  3. Position the job on the JobControl plate. 
  4. Select Edit, Outline job(s).
  5. Watch as the lens carriage begins outlining the shape of the selected job(s). With the laser switched off, the red dot pointer will indicate the outline area of engraving, cutting, and/or marking job.
    1. The red dot pointer travels along the effective outline, not along the biggest rectangle.
    2. The laser will continue to outline the job until this action is cancelled. This will give you the opportunity to either move the job to another position on the plate or move the object to be engraved.
  6. Once you have everything positioned correctly, cancel the job outline function and start engraving.