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Laser marking polyethylene containers

A Laser Lines (Industrial and Medical) product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 11, 2009

Synrad's sealed CO2 lasers are used in a variety of industrial processes, including cutting, welding, drilling and marking.

Plastics are suitable for CO2 laser-processing because of their high absorption and low thermal conductivity at the 10.6-um wavelength.

In the case of polyethylene, the cutting mechanism is vaporisation, meaning that the material is simply vaporised into a gas by instantaneous absorption of the CO2 energy.

Cut-edge quality is excellent and won't result in discoloration.

In marking applications, polyethylene provides a contrasting mark because of a marking mechanism called surface melting.

In contrast to the typical engraved plastic mark - where material is removed - surface melting causes a change in density and volume at the material surface, which causes the mark to become slightly raised.

This raised area creates a contrast that is easily seen under most lighting conditions.

Find out more about this article. Request a brochure, download technical specifications and request samples here.

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