5 Tips to Selecting the Best Fiber Laser Marking Machine

You’ve probably heard about the many benefits of laser engraving, but now it is time to learn what kind you should buy. The following article will help illuminate this topic for you and teach all there is to know about fiber lasers machines – from how they work to their various uses in day-to-day life!

Fiber laser engravers, also known as Fiber Laser Marking Machines, are here to stay. They offer amazing capabilities in the marking industry. This wonderful innovation can be used for many applications and is gaining wide acclaim for the high-quality metal and plastic marking it brings. However, many people are still struggling to find the best option when buying fiber laser markers, especially from Chinese companies. There isn’t enough information on most Chinese sites to enable a great choice for buying.

Which machine best suits your operation? Where will you get great value for money? These and other questions must be answered before you click the ‘buy button. So let us discuss how best to say, “Yes, this is the fiber laser marking machine I will buy!”

What Is a Fiber Laser Machine?

A fiber laser engraver is a machine used in many industries to mark metal parts and some types of plastics. The technology involves using a laser beam whose active gain medium is an optical fiber.

The fiber is doped with a rare earth element like Ytterbium, dysprosium, erbium or neodymium. A fiber laser is a variant of the traditional solid-state lasers, but it uses optical fiber instead of a rod, slab, or disk. The laser is in the fiber’s core, and it comes in several designs.

Benefits of Fiber Laser marking machines

A fiber laser has several benefits compared to the standard, solid-state lasers.

• Firstly, the fiber laser is much more stable because the laser beam is generated within the fiber. This means that the beam doesn’t need to be aligned to the focusing element when marking.
• Secondly, because the beam is generated within the fiber, this technology offers a high peak and ultrafast pulse duration. Therefore, it can provide an extremely small and high-quality dot for precision engraving.
• Another plus is that fiber laser machines can reach super high amplification levels, making them robust, cost-effective, and efficient. Also, maintaining these machines is low, the operation is easy and economical.
• It is also important to note that fiber laser marking is a non-contact technique, and therefore marking this way leads to no abrasion of the workpiece in areas not targeted for marking.
• Lastly, the machine offers excellent control in terms of beam intensity, length, and heat output when marking even for first-time operators, producing quick, clean, accurate, legible, and easily reproducible marking.

What Is Fiber Laser Marking Machine Applications?

There are several ways in which you can use fiber lasers:

· Color Marking

This is the marking done to cause different shades of colors on material by varying the speed, power, frequency, and pulse width. The best results on color marking are achieved on stainless steel and aluminum, especially if you have a mope fiber laser marker.

Another form of color marking is color removal, where you can mark by removing color on coated materials or making the base material visible. This technology is ideal for fittings, labels, and packaging materials.

· Annealing

This is the hardening of a metal surface using a laser. It is possible to produce color annealing beneath the part’s surface being processed. Typical sheens of green, yellow, and red can be achieved through annealing.

· Foaming

Involves the treatment that leaves the targeted area lighter than the rest of the part being processed.

· Carbonizing

Used for light plastics and organic materials, carbonizing destroys carbon bonds to create shades of darker marked areas without affecting the material’s surface.

· Night and day marking

Another interesting application of laser technology enables materials to be easily legible in the daytime and illuminated at night. This can be useful for such applications as dashboards, watches, and door signs.

What Are Fiber Laser Markers Mainly Used For?

Fiber laser markers are extremely versatile and therefore useful within a variety of different industries:

· Semiconductor Manufacture

Because fiber lasers can be altered to produce both marking and engraving, these machines can work very well in the production of semiconductors. This is usually done by engraving to create patterns that allow for electrical isolation, allowing the application of the technology for electronic circuitry.

· Part Marking

You will find this technology being used for marking in the aerospace industry, automotive part marking, other use cases in the energy, electronics, military (e.g., creating serial numbers for guns), and medical equipment marking. Marking is normally done for part traceability, identification, and labeling.

· Marking Plates

Fiber lasers can be used to produce high-quality identification plates, personnel labels, metal jewelry, and door signs.

How to Choose a Fiber Laser Marking Machine?

 Machine quality and configuration

How to Choose a Fiber Laser Marking Machine?

· Machine Quality And Configuration

If you are interested in buying a fiber laser marking machine, you most probably have the work you want to do with the machine figured out. What you need now is a quick analysis of the equipment that best suits your purpose. For example, how deep is the engraving you are looking to do?  Different models will give you different depths and marking speeds.

As much as it is important to understand the different machine designs, price ranges, and features, you also want to look at other extra offerings whichever target company you have is giving you. A good sampling of the different types of machines in the Chinese market can be done using a simple search on the internet.

For example, if you land on HeatSign, one of the leading Chinese suppliers of these machines, you will get five offerings;

· Desktop Fiber Laser Marking Machine (HS-FL10）

This is low power consumption, high-speed machine that supports 24-hour operation. It has a work-life of 100,000 hours, and its price ranges from $3500 – $5500 depending on your customization needs. It gives a 10-20W output laser power and achieves an engraving depth of up to 0.2mm.

· Standalone Fiber Laser Etching Machine (HS-FL20)

The two main differences between the FL20 and FL10 are the output laser power and design. As the name suggests, this machine is standalone and manages 20W-30W output. It comes at between $2600 – $6000, depending on the customization required. It is an ideal laser etching machine for metalworking in a small to medium enterprise.

· Desktop Enclosure Fiber Laser Engraving Machine (HS-FL30)

The FL30 achieves speeds of up to 9000mm/s and a marking depth of up to 0.3mm. The enclosure design gives users a healthy and safe work environment.

· Deep Metal Laser Engraver (HS-FL50）

The FL50 is known as the Deep Metal engraver because it manages up to 0.5mm engraving depths. It has a 50W laser output with speeds of up to 9000mm/s.

· Portable Fiber Laser Engraver（HS-PFL20）

The HeatSign HS-PFL20 is a Portable handheld laser engraver/marker. It is designed to create markings and engraving on big metal parts, fitted with high-speed scan heads that allow for fast marking and high precision laser beams. It ranges from $3600-5500 in price depending on the customization you require.

You can tabulate the different machines from different suppliers as you research so that you can finally shortlist the best machines and contact their suppliers for additional information.

The Fiber Laser Engraver Price

You want to look at the best options for the best fiber laser engraver prices. Based on the above price information you will have a good reference. After shortlisting your machine by customization, how much do you have in your budget? Which machine matches that budget without affecting your options?

Here are some tips to help you choose:

• If you want a large area marking, you could ask the supplier to offer an extra big area F-Theta lens. Normally the lens price will not be over USD 150. The different lenses will give different marking areas normally. The max engraving area can be up to 300mm x 300mm.
• If you want to mark on plastic or do color marking on stainless steel, the MOPA fiber laser marking machine provides a better marking effect, even if the price of the MOPA is a little more expensive than the standard fiber laser.
• If you want to integrate a fiber laser engraving machine into your production line for automatic batch marking, you can choose fiber laser machines with higher output power, such as 50W fiber laser engraver. Because the output power of fiber lasers can be attenuated over time, high-power fiber lasers are more expensive, but they can give your production line a strong guarantee of long-term stable operation.

However, expensive does not always mean good quality. It could also mean that the team is inexperienced and inefficient in production and other overheads! So, it would help if you considered the choice comprehensively.

After-Sale Services

Such after-sale services like warranty and technical support are important, especially if you do not have the in-house capacity to manage your machine. The supplier must show commitment to get you the machine on time and assist you to install and use it.

What are the shipping options available? Are they convenient for you? You may need to check what other buyers are saying about the lead time from when they bought to when the machine was delivered, etc.

When you visit a potential supplier’s site, how easy is it to engage with them? Do they have an on-site FAQ for the machine you are looking for? If the FAQ does not provide the answers you need, how fast are they responding to your questions before buying?

How a supplier treats you during the time of inquiry says a lot about what kind of service they will give you when you finally make a purchase. Chinese companies may have awesome products but still present them with awful online content, which is a big red flag.

How will you know that the product is great? Why hasn’t the company invested in writing great sales copy about their amazing product?

Such a company doesn’t want to dig in and do the hard work in writing about their products in a way that sells. What makes you think they will pay attention to anything else?

The Supplier Professionalism

Every company wants to tell you that they are the best in the market. However, if you want to ensure that an experienced technical team is there, visit their website. How many years have they been in existence? Do they have a research and development team? Have they tabulated verifiable sales in a wide range of destinations, including your area?

You may be lucky to find someone you know who is already using a similar machine or find a high-end brand endorsing the company you want to buy from. Another tip is whether this supplier can provide customized solutions to meet your needs.

We know that many people’s marking needs are diversified. At this time, suppliers need to have sufficient technical ability and rich experience to provide more suitable marking solutions.

Check other Customer Reviews

When doing your research, check whether other customers have posted their views about the company and the specific product you are interested in. Do you see a generally positive response from past website users or the product? Are there good sentiments regarding the quality of service, customer care, and after-sale services?

Customers are the best source of valuable insight into the product. What you see other people saying about the company and product will be what you get.

Conclusion

A fiber laser marking machine is a great addition to your marking and engraving ensemble due to its great versatility and long-term saving. Good analysis about the options offered by your prospective supplier is a good necessary condition to buying a machine that will serve you in the long run.

When you are through with your research, ensure that you have an experienced supplier who will give you what they say they will give you and is backed by a host of satisfied customers. In the example given in this post, you could get the different characteristics of machines from HeatSign!