TECHNOLOGY | DECORATION
Right: Laser- optimised plastic coupons, marked with a FOBA laser system
moulding. “Firstly, there are now laser optimised plastics – new materials containing laser pigments that can create strong, colourful and brilliant effects,” says Frank Rehmus, European Sales Manager. “In addition, there are painted surface or injection moulded decoration foils where a laser is used to individualise parts. Technical challenges in the industry include complex surfaces and large part sizes. We are currently developing new vision functionality to position marking content on larger parts to meet these requirements.” FOBA has recently been involved with PolyOne
Right: Gabriel- Chemie UK is offering a laser marking sampling service
Below: Merck has introduced a new pigment for laser marking, Iriotec 8826, which is particularly suitable for dark and high-contrast marking of coloured polymers
in a project for laser-optimised plastic coupons, which are marked with a FOBA laser system. FOBA says that when selecting basic plastic material for a special industrial application, manufacturers need to consider whether the material is appropriate for marking – in order not to obtain unpleasant results at the end of the production process. The component as a whole, and also the applied marks, may need to meet demanding requirements regarding heat or abrasion resistance. Colour contrast and resolution, above all, must guarantee the best readability. Many plastics or masterbatch suppliers provide formulations designed for laser marking to enable best marking results. As the laser has an impact on the molecu- lar structure of laser-sensitive additives and/or colour pigments, the resulting colour change creates plastic-embedded, long lasting marks. Compared to conventional plastics, these materials can be marked more precisely, faster and with consistent quality. The project involved a number of different kinds of plastics, including polyamide, olefins, polycarbonate, styrenics, as well as PET/PMMA (often used in the packaging industry) and TPUs (often used for handles). Long-term readability ensures the traceability of various products in applications such as electronic components, medical instruments, automotive parts, type plates or other identification-determin- ing marks, for example.
Gabriel-Chemie has established a TruMark marking laser station at its UK facility in Pad- dock Wood. The company says that it can now offer fast and
flexible onsite laser marking trials and tests to its plastics industry custom-
50 INJECTION WORLD | September 2017
ers. The company offers laser marking additives and Combi masterbatches for this market. “We have seen an increased number of customer enquiries for local laser marking sampling services at our UK site,” says Karen O’Dwyer, Head of UK Colour Centre & Service. “Our laboratory is now fully equipped to demonstrate what benefits laser marking technology can bring to many sectors in the plastics industry. Various services can now be offered from simple demonstration plaques through to working one to one with customers onsite for product prototyping and development.” The company says that there is a
growing demand for high-quality and high-contrast laser marking applications in segments such as animal ear-tags, security seals, medical devices requiring scratch-resistant unique ID
marking, food and beverage packaging, wire and cable, automotive, cosmetics (decoration) and any other consumer goods with a demand for individu- alisation and personalisation. Laser marking technology allows the permanent marking of bar codes, QR codes, numbers and logos, for example. Merck has introduced a new pigment for laser
marking. The company says that Iriotec 8826 is particularly suitable for dark and high-contrast marking of coloured polymers and for the first time enables the laser marking of films. Iriotec 8826 is a pigment powder that can be incorporated into a polymer with neutral colour impact. Its effect is invisible until an infrared laser is used. The marking is so quick that the surrounding material remains unaffected by the light while the pigment gener- ates a dark, high-contrast marking even at low concentrations. The new laser pigment can be used to label cables with different coloured sheaths, for instance, which provides permanent, reliable orientation in big bundles of cables.
www.injectionworld.com
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