Difference Between Laser Engraving, Etching and Marking

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Difference Between Laser Engraving, Etching and
Marking
Laser marking damages the surface of the
material, whereas laser etching and engraving
removes the portion of the area it marks. The
other difference between laser engraving and
etching is the depth at which it enters the
surface. Without any further ado, lets explore
more differences between them.
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• 1) Laser Marking Process
• Laser marking is the process when beam comes in
  contact with the surface of any material and
  alters its properties or appearances. You should
  use laser machines having parts like Mazak
  parts, Fanuc spare parts, and Fanuc CNC parts for
  best laser marking results.
• Here we have mentioned steps for laser marking
  which will give you some insights on how it
  works.
• It uses a method called distortion by moving a
  low powered beam across the material. This
  creates high contrast marks without damaging the
  material.
• Laser heats the material and causes the oxidation
  under the surface turning the material black.
• It uses low temperature to solidify the surface.
• The major advantage is that all these steps do
  not damage the surface.
• Now, let's look at some of the characteristics
  which make it different from the other two
• Laser marking is not a common thing and there are
  only a few that provide these services.
• It is known as laser coloration, laser dark
  marking or charring when it works with plastic
  materials or annealing metals.
• There are four types of laser marking
• Annealing
• Carbon migration
• Foaming
• Coloration

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• Laser marking is popular in the medical device
  industry for marking stainless steel and
  titanium parts, but you can use it on other
  materials as well.
• A laser market is perfect for bar codes, UID
  codes, QR codes, logos, etc.

• 2) Laser Engraving Process
• In laser engraving, the laser beam physically
  removes the surface of the material and exposes
  a portion of the image at the eye level.
• Lets look at laser engraving steps
• Laser releases excessive heat during the
  engraving process which results in vaporization
  of the material.
• It is a quick process that vaporizes materials at
  each pulse.
• This makes the surface vulnerable and noticeable
  to eyes and you can touch it too.
• If you want deeper marks on the material then
  make sure that you repeat the process several
  times.
• Below mentioned are features of laser engraving
  which will help you know the difference between
  them and the other too
• There are three types of laser engraving
• Etching
• Deep laser engraving
• Laser ablation
• The major difference between the above three
  engraving types is the surface you are engraving
  and how much you remove.
• Maximum engraving depth for metal is 0.020 but
  it can even go as deep as 0.125 in materials
  like graphite.

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• Mostly, people use engraving when they want to
  create personalized items.
• It is not suitable to mark the critical parts.
• It is the fastest way to create a mark with a
  laser.
• Its suitable for parts expected to experience
  high wear and tear.
• You can use it to engrave serial numbers and
  logos, among other things.
• You can engrave on almost any kind of surfaces
  like metal, plastic, wood, leather, and glass.

• 3) Laser Etching Process
• It is a subset of laser engraving. It occurs when
  the heat from the beam melts the surface of the
  material. For best results, invest in parts like
  Mazak parts and Fanuc CNC parts.
• Below mentioned are some of its characteristics
• It uses excessive heat to melt the surface of the
  material.
• It expands material to create a raising mark.
• The depth here is 0.001.
• The major difference between laser etching and
  the other two are
• Laser etching changes the reflectivity and
  increases the contrast of the metal and so it is
  preferable when you want to provide a better
  finish.
• It removes 0.001 or less from the material.
• Etching works on bare, plated metal surfaces,
  polymers or ceramics.

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Wrapping it up I know theres a lot of confusion
about these terms among people which is common
and people use it interchangeably very often, but
there are wide differences between them and
their applications. After selecting the process,
make sure you are choosing a laser machine with
the right laser parts like Mazak parts, Fanuc
spare parts, etc. This Article Post is
Originally Posted here https//www.sooperarticles
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