Plain-English meanings of the words used across HeatSign guides: marking methods, codes, machine parts and the steel paperwork behind traceability. Each term links to the guide that covers it in depth.
Dot peen markingPneumatic vs electric dot peenFiber laser markingMOPA fiber laserUV laser markingCO2 laser markingLaser annealingLaser etchingLaser engravingStampingRotary engravingFlying laser markingDirect part marking
How the mark gets onto the part. Each method suits different materials, depths and speeds.
A hard carbide pin hits the part hundreds of times a second and writes text as rows of small round dents. The dents have real depth, so they stay readable under paint, grit and heat, on metals up to about 60 HRC. Also called dot pin or pin marking.
Pneumatic machines drive the pin with compressed air and mark deeper. Electric (electromagnetic) machines drive it with a coil and need only a power socket, which suits benches and sites without an air line.
A 1064 nm laser beam changes the top layer of a metal without touching it: it darkens it, melts a thin layer or removes metal. It is the usual choice for sharp text, logos and codes on metal and many plastics.
MOPA (master oscillator power amplifier) is a fiber laser whose pulse length can be changed. That control gives colors on stainless steel, clean black on anodized aluminum and gentler marks on plastics. A standard (Q-switched) fiber laser has a fixed pulse length.
More: MOPA vs Q-switched
A 355 nm laser that marks with very little heat. It suits glass, clear and white plastics and circuit boards, which a fiber laser marks poorly.
More: UV laser marking guide
A 10.6 µm laser that wood, paper, leather, glass and most plastics soak up well. Bare metal reflects most of its light, so it is not used to mark bare steel.
More: Fiber vs CO2 vs UV
The laser heats steel or titanium just below melting, so a dark oxide layer forms under the surface. Nothing is removed, so the surface stays smooth, but the color can fade if the part later gets very hot.
The laser melts a very thin surface layer, which sets and leaves a light or dark mark. It is fast and shallow, from a few microns to about 0.1 mm.
More: Etching vs engraving
The laser removes metal to cut a real groove. It takes longer than etching, but the mark survives blasting and heavy wear.
More: Laser marking on steel
Hardened steel dies with raised characters are hammered or pressed into the part. Cheap for the same short text on many parts, but every new number means changing dies.
A small spinning cutter carves the letters, much like a tiny milling machine. Common on two-layer plastic signs, where the cut shows the second color.
More: Nameplate engraving
The laser marks products while they move on a conveyor. An encoder (a wheel that measures belt speed) keeps the text from stretching.
Marking the part itself instead of sticking a label on it. The mark stays for the life of the part, through paint, oil and handling.
What gets marked, and the words used when a code has to pass an audit.
Anything a machine puts on a part: text, a serial number, a logo, a barcode, a QR code or a Data Matrix code.
A number that is different on every part, so each one can be traced on its own. Marking software counts it up automatically or reads it from a file.
More: Serial number marking
A small square barcode, a bit like a QR code, made for parts. It holds a lot of data in a few millimeters and has built-in error correction (ECC 200), so it still reads when part of it is damaged.
More: Data Matrix code explained · Data Matrix marking machines
The square code phones read. It needs more space than a Data Matrix code for the same data, so it suits labels and larger parts that customers scan with a phone.
More: QR code laser marking
One small square of a Data Matrix or QR code. Dark or light, each cell stores one bit. On rough metal, bigger cells read more reliably.
The blank margin around a code. Nothing else may be marked there, or the reader cannot find the edge of the code.
A verifier is a camera tool that grades a code from A to F against a standard (ISO/IEC 29158 for codes marked on parts). A phone only tells you the code scans. A grade tells you it will keep scanning.
More: ISO 29158 grading
The parts and settings you will see on a quote or in a manual.
The part that makes the laser light, rated in watts (20 W, 30 W, 50 W). More power marks deeper and faster. The brand and model of the source matter more than the brand on the machine.
Two small mirrors on fast motors that steer the beam across the part. They are why a laser marker writes a whole line of text in a fraction of a second.
The lens that focuses the beam onto a flat area, such as 110 × 110 mm. A bigger area means a bigger spot, so pick the smallest lens that covers your part.
More: Fiber laser machine cost
The beam is sharpest at one height above the table, the focal distance. Off focus, marks get wide, faint or uneven.
A motor with a chuck that turns round parts under the laser or the dot peen pin, so text can run all the way around a shaft, ring or flange.
A lens that moves up and down while the laser marks, so the beam stays in focus on curved or uneven surfaces without turning the part.
The hard tip in a dot peen machine that makes the dents. It wears slowly: in daily use a pin lasts about 3–6 months, and it is the only part that gets used up.
The control software most galvo laser markers use to lay out text, serial numbers and codes, and to set power, speed and passes.
Classes rate how dangerous a laser product is under IEC 60825-1. Most open marking lasers are Class 4: the beam can hurt eyes and skin. A closed guard with interlocks makes the whole machine Class 1.
How much laser light safety glasses block at a given wavelength. Each step of OD blocks ten times more light. Glasses must match the laser, such as 1064 nm for fiber lasers.
More: OD4 vs OD6 glasses
A fan and filter unit that pulls smoke away from the marking spot. Every laser marker needs one, and plastics and coatings wear filters out fastest.
The metals, coatings and paperwork that decide how and where you mark.
The ID of one batch of molten steel. It ties every part made from that batch to its test report, like a lot number on food.
More: Steel plate marking
The mill’s paper on a heat’s chemistry and strength. A 3.1 certificate is signed by the mill’s own inspector, not the production team, and the heat number links it to the parts.
More: Steel plate marking
A small metal plate, usually stainless steel, riveted or screwed to a machine or valve. It carries the ratings and serial number that do not fit on the part itself.
More: Nameplate engraving · Valve nameplates
A hardness scale for hard steels. Higher HRC means harder metal, which wears dot peen pins faster and marks shallower.
Hot-dip galvanizing dips steel in molten zinc, and paint or powder coat adds more layers on top. A mark made before coating must be deep and large enough to show through.
Aluminum with a thin, hard oxide layer, often dyed black or colored. A laser removes or changes the layer and leaves white or dark text.
More: Aluminum marking
Tell us the word and the part you are marking. We will explain it and add it here if other buyers ask the same thing.
