Fiber Laser Engravers: Technology and Applications

What is a fiber laser engraver?

Fiber laser and CO2 laser both project high energy beams on objects, and the difference lies mainly in the wavelength of the laser source. Metals absorb the wavelength of fiber lasers pretty well, and that makes fiber lasers suitable for metal processing. The working area of most fiber lasers is relatively limited. For this particularly, GCC LaserPro developed a full table size production engraver, which yields spectacular engraving results thanks to the design of the X-Y table.

In addition to S290LS, the S400 and Spirit GLS Hybrid which accommodate concurrent CO2 and fiber dual laser sources produce excellent output quality and allow for a wide range of materials to be processed. No matter if it is a font or graphic design, a mark on a plastic surface, or a barcode on the metal tool, you will be satisfied with all the results that come from them.

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Recommended reading: ▶ Exploring the Versatility of Laser Engraving: Capabilities and Materials

How does fiber laser engraver technology work?

Fiber lasers use rare-earth-doped fiber as an active gain medium to produce short pulses with high peak power. Fiber laser engraving with high peak power vaporizes material easily to make a clear and visible engraving on the material. Fiber laser with short pulse makes heat-affected zone smaller to reduce over-burning at the edge area of materials during engraving.

What materials can a fiber laser engraver?

You can use fiber laser engravers on a wide range of metals, including stainless steel, copper, iron, nickel, aluminum, brass, and many more. Some materials, like plastics (ABS, PBT, Silicon, ABS, PS), synthetic leathers and carbon fiber, are also suitable for fiber laser engraving.

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Can a fiber laser engraver work on glass or wood?

Transparent glass does not absorb the wavelength of fiber laser, and that’s why fiber laser does not work on glass. In some special cases, fiber laser is used on certain glasses with a special surface coating, which makes it engravable with fiber laser. However, the actual result still depends on the glass and its surface treatment.

If you need to process wood, CO2 laser is recommended, since it is good at producing lifelike images and fine text processing on wood. Wood does absorb the wavelength of fiber laser, but it does not produce the effect and efficiency as perfect as CO2 laser.

Why choose a fiber laser engraver for metal engraving?

If you want to engrave metals, a fiber laser engraver delivers exceptional performance. A typical fiber laser engraver works at a wavelength of 1.064 micrometers. It produces an extremely small focal diameter (resulting in intensity up to 100 times higher than a CO2 system) and offers a better beam quality due to its light guiding properties, making it the ideal choice for permanent marking of serial numbers, ID codes, barcodes, and graphics on metals. Furthermore, by adjusting the laser beam, the color of the surface of the material can be changed to achieve a special color decoration effect.

What is the waveform function with GCC fiber laser engraving machine print driver?

GCC Fiber Laser is equipped with a unique Waveform function allowing greater control over laser pulse parameters such as laser pulse shape, pulse energy and pulse duration which can lead to more efficient and effective processing. Each waveform is optimized for pulse energy and peak power at a given pulse duration and frequency. An example would be the use of low repetition rate, high-energy pulses to rough out and remove the bulk of the material while a higher frequency shorter pulse with less energy can subsequently be used in a polishing pass yielding a better surface finish. These waveforms work for any power demands and frequencies giving users a great scope of pulse characteristic optimization for specific applications.

To achieve a high quality finish, Waveforms are used to maintain control of the engraving process. When engraving starts, a less aggressive pulse is initially used in order to avoid a perimeter ridge around the engraved area. Then the Waveforms can be switched to a long high energy pulse with its higher material removal rate. Throughout this process, a short pulsed Waveforms is regularly used to clean the engraved area which helps to remove dross and debris. After the engraving process has finished, the surrounding area is laser cleaned using a short Waveforms to remove any surface deposits. Note that there is a trade-off between material removal rate and engraving quality.
 

Below is the waveform parameter table for different fiber laser models: