A GUIDE

Marking & Coding
Solution Guide
Whether you are trying to keep pace with global regulations,
national laws or industry guidelines, digital marking andcoding brings many advantages to manufacturers seeking
to optimize their operations. Aside from staying up tocode, many adopt digitally controlled laser marking andcoding systems because they deliver high quality anddurable marks for traceability and consumer safety.
Anything from barcodes, UPC, part numbers/codes and batch codes, expiration dates andbest before use codes. Durable marks on a variety of materials and surfaces require theoptimized performance that only laser marking and coding systems can deliver. In this blog
post we will cover all the advantages of digitally controlled laser marking and coding systems
and why choosing the right solution is the key for enhancing your operations.

Advantages of Digitally Controlled Laser Marking & Coding
Systems
Manufacturers rely on systems that can keep up with change, specifically in marking andcoding applications as the packaging industry is constantly evolving. Apart from its highperformance, a digitally controlled laser marking and coding system can also bring thefollowing added benefits:
3 Performance – produces high contrast, readily legible markings in various fonts andsizes as well as permanent, long lasting marks that hold up well to handling and harshenvironments.
3 Digital precision and control – scanning motors with high repeatability enable accuracy
to achieve high mark quality. When coupled with a high-performance CO2 laser
throughput speeds are increased, resulting in higher yields and added versatility.
3 Curved surfaces – 3D marking heads and software enable marking on target surfacesof complex shaped parts in a fast and durable manner
3 Flexibility – apply marks to a variety of materials and surface qualities with the ability
to change patterns and parameters on-the-fly.
3 Non-contact – only the laser beam comes into contact with the target material, a strong
benefit when marking or coding delicate materials, or materials that need to remainsterile.
3 Ease of use – digital controlled and easy to operate, requiring minimal onboarding andtraining. Most systems do not require formal certification for operation. Laser settings
associated with specific materials and design files can be stored as a baseline for futureprojects making them easy to access and minimizes change-over time.

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Marking & Coding | Solution Guide

3 Uninterrupted production lines – little to no maintenance required, significantly
improving factory productivity with minimal machine downtimes. Traditional ink jetmachine downtimes attributed to clogged nozzles, ink refills, and other routine cleaningare eliminated.
3 Total cost of ownership – low operational training requirements, high reliability,elimination of consumables (like ink), shorter downtimes associated with change-oversand maintenance lower the cost of ownership, and increased flexibility can offer new
business opportunities

Types of Marks and Codes
There are different laser processes available to create markings with high visibility, contrast
and quality on a variety of materials. In addition, these processes must ensure that markings
can withstand harsh environments and long-term handling, material can be marked at
production rates, and that the structural integrity of marked material is not compromised.
Key marking processes differentiated by the material being marked, laser power and laser
wavelength are:
3 Engraving – material is removed from the surface of the substrate leaving a visible
depression
3 Surface Layer Ablation – surface layers absorb the laser light and the material heats up
and vaporizes. The remaining base layer is in high contrast to the surface layer, making
highly visible marks
3 Annealing – an oxide layer is created on ferrous metals (iron, steel, high-grade steel)and titanium through localized heating from the laser. The oxide layer is often black,but it can also have other annealing colors such as yellow, red and green, created fromdifferent temperatures of the heated layers.
3 Foaming – Heat from the laser generates bubbles in the base material. The bubbles
evaporate leaving a surface change in both color and texture.

Surface Removal

EngravingSurface Layer
Ablation

Surface Modification

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FoamingMarking & Coding | Solution Guide

Laser Types and Applicable Materials
Laser markers are offered with a variety of wavelengths to achieve the desired processing
effect of the material being marked. Each of these materials has a characteristic absorptionspectrum, meaning there are certain wavelengths of light a given material will absorb more
readily than others. Better absorption means that the material will be processed more
quickly and effectively. Since wavelength is one of the defining characteristics of a laser,
system designers must pair the appropriate type of laser with the material they are looking
to process for the best quality results and the fastest throughput. CO2 lasers have longer
wavelengths, which pair nicely with plastics, natural materials like paper, and certain metal
foils —some of the most popular materials in the packaging industry.

Importance in Beam Delivery
The heart of a marking engine is the galvanometer scanner. These scanners move a set ofmirrors assigned to the XY-axis generated vectors, guiding the laser beam onto the material
for processing. The high accuracy and throughput of the galvanometers are enabled byhigh bandwidth, servo driver boards. The final piece in a marking engine comes fromthe controller board. It coordinates all components by generating the mark pattern andsynchronizing the mirror motion with laser activation and modulation. The controller iscomplemented by user-friendly software to quickly create job patterns from imported 2Dand 3D drawings.

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Marking & Coding | Solution GuideCambridge Technology’s Pro Series and LightningTM II 2-axis scan heads feature 83xxK
series galvos, analog and digital servo drivers, and beryllium substrate mirrors to achieve
the most competitive combination of stability and speed. These same core components areavailable as individual parts for flexible integration options. For general purpose marking,the 62xxH series galvos provide similar speed and can be paired with value driven siliconmirror substrates and compact servo driver options like the 672. Cambridge Technology’s
beam delivery solution for marking and coding offer the following advantages:
3 Accurate: High stability galvos provide a unified solution to meet accuracy requirements
for a broad range of applications with wavelengths and focal lengths.
3 High Throughput: A large range of galvo sizes are offered to drive specific apertures
optimally using both standard silicon and high-performance beryllium substrates.
Analog servo drivers are offered in both compact and high drive designs tuned for highspeed. With zero tracking delay, the DC Digital Servo with State Space control drives
galvos with unmatched speeds in marking applications.
3 Reliable: Rugged galvo construction using high quality bearings with tightly tolerance
motor construction achieves highly repeatable results over 1000’s of hours of use withno adjustments.
3 Flexible: Small and efficient galvos have flexible mirror mounting, connector and scanangle options. Servo Driver options include full featured, compact and dual-axis versions
to best match to system integration needs.

Galvanometer

Laser Beam

Laser Controller

Scan Mirror
Galvanometer

Scan Mirror

Servo Driver

Matching Lasers with Laser Beam Technology
To complete a digital marking and coding solution, it’s important to match the right beamsteering technology to your laser. There are three key factors to keep in mind for this:wavelength of the coating, clear aperture of the beam steering technology and power
handling of the mirrors. These key factors will not only prevent damage to the mirror andcoatings due to excessive laser power but will also minimize the power loss due to lackof reflectivity and power clipping. Another reason to avoid power clipping is because theamount of power falling off the mirrors can also have a negative impact to other components
and can result in harmful consequences. To avoid such situations, it’s important to note thatthe definition of the input beam size and the clear aperture size is not the same and mixing
the two can cause unexpected power clipping. Once you figured out the clear aperture size
from your beam delivery vendor, get the laser beam size from your laser vendor and usethat information to create the alignment between the two.

©2020 Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Marking & Coding | Solution GuideHigh Performance CO2 Lasers
Not all CO2 lasers are created equal, and price is often strongly correlated with the laser’s
performance and construction quality. Synrad high performance CO2 lasers are built towithstand the rigors of real-world industrial environments and to perform consistently
well from cold start-up through to normal operating temperature. The unique Synrad laser
design protects against harsh conditions, even in excessive ambient temperatures. Synrad
lasers are engineered to prevent optics contamination, gas leakage, as well as unstable
output power during operation. These preventative features are critical to reliable operationof the laser, and help to ensure consistent and reliable operation year after year. optimized
for specific pattern requirements.

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Marking & Coding | Solution Guide

Novanta Advantage
As part of Novanta, Cambridge Technology and Synrad bring unprecedented value totheir customers. For starters, we are your single source for CO2 lasers and beam delivery
bringing broad knowledge across all applications, avoiding technical and integration pitfalls.
By having one vendor for your beam deliver and laser needs, you can avoid cross-company
and compatibility conflicts as our products are tested to work together. This results in fasterand easy integration. It is our broad expertise and resources that allow us to create custom
solutions for challenging applications. We offer full support from concept through end user
in-production operation, enabling system success.
Overall, digital marking systems bring optimized performance, flexibility, ease of use, costsavings and consistent performance for users looking to adopt to this technology. Its
advantages bring high quality marks designed to pass the test of durability against harshenvironments, flexibility to mark on a variety of materials and surfaces and consistent speed
to maximize production line productivity. To learn about Novanta’s digital marking andcoding solutions contact us below.

Broadest selection of galvo
motors configurable tomeet demanding speed,accuracy and packaging
needs

Proprietary technology
delivers competitive
advantage for system
performance and long-term
use

Tested to performin marking & coding
applications deliveringhigh-performanceHigh performing CO2 lasers
deliver crisp, clear imagery
and text for a wide rangeof materials enabling highvolume processing andproduction lines

Global presence andexpertise equipped withstate-of-the-art application
labs and on-site field
supportInterested in speaking to one of our knowledgable representatives?
Contact Us Here

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