Unlocking Stainless Steel Color Marking with MOPA Engraver: 3-Minute Primer

Introduction

Before delving into the details of color marking stainless steel with the MOPA laser marking machine, let's briefly introduce some optical basics:

Laser engraving machine for metal work by focusing a high-powered laser beam onto a surface, which melts or vaporizes material to create designs. The MOPA laser marking machine utilizes pulsed laser technology, allowing for greater control over the intensity and duration of the beam. This control is essential for achieving different colors on stainless steel, a material that requires precise adjustments to heat and laser parameters to produce vibrant and consistent markings. Understanding the interaction between the laser engraving machine for metal and the material is key to mastering metal engraving techniques.

Dispersion Phenomenon of Trichromatic Prism

From the diagram above, we observe that:

1. A prism can separate light into seven different colors.
2. It covers the visible light spectrum of approximately 390-770nm.
3. The primary colors red, green, and blue can be combined to create any color.

Various Oxides Generated from Stainless Steel Oxidation Exhibit Different Colors

The table above illustrates how different metal oxides present different colors, including the primary colors red, green, and blue, providing the basis for marking in various colors.

Further explanations from the diagram:

1. The intensity of different color wavelengths is determined by the thickness of the oxide film.
2. As the viewing angle changes, the color of the oxide film also changes accordingly.

The principles of laser color marking

1. Generating colored oxides.
2. Producing color by generating colorless transparent oxide films that interfere with light.
3. Simultaneously generating colored oxides and colorless oxide films.

If you have a MOPA laser engraving machine for metal, you can try the parameters provided in the diagram. For more parameters, please consult Monport.

Analysis of laser color marking Issues

1. Uneven laser color marking or gradient colors?

• Possible causes: The focal length of the lens used is too short, the horizontal calibration of the marking platform is not accurate, improper parameter settings.
• Solution: Use a lens with a focal length of F=210mm to mitigate the depth of focus effect. Use sufficiently narrow pulse width settings, between 2ns-4ns, and mark while slightly defocusing.

2. Long marking time affecting efficiency?

• Possible causes: The line spacing is too small, the scanning speed of the galvanometer is low, the size of the vector image is too large.
• Solution: Increase the line spacing to 0.1mm, reduce the galvanometer scanning speed to 200mm/s, and set the fill angle of the vector image reasonably to save idle time during scanning.

Finally, the Monport laser engraving machine for metal product line offers a wide range of machines with different power levels ranging from 20 to 100 watts. They come with powerful features such as automatic focusing, MOPA color marking, and more, providing excellent value for money with guaranteed quality. Professional technical support and free after-sales assistance are also provided. For more details, please visit monportlaser.com.