single-emitter diodes—they’re pretty much telecom diodes on steroids, with a lifetime in the six-fi gure range,” he said, noting that IPG makes “all our own diodes and all our own fi bers.”
Improving the System While using diode-powered fi ber lasers to anneal or ‘dark-mark’ medical metals is a mature technology in many ways, the pro- viders of these systems are active in fi nding ways to make improvements for their customers. Schmidt Marking Systems, for example, offers the Alpha laser system enclosure—a cabinet with a 22” (559- mm) wide pneumatic stainless steel door, according to Schmidt’s Noonan. The enclo-
sure has a powered Z-axis for automatic height variance and a removable side panel for access to the laser head and lens. It can be equipped with rotary devices, vision systems or part feeders and can be fully custom- ized for larger part confi gurations. “We do custom cabinets and custom automation as well,” Noonan said. “One customer recently needed us to make an enclosure that was large enough to hold a hospital bed. The most requested bit of automation we’re asked for is a door that opens automatically when the marking cycle is done so the operator doesn’t have to wonder if the process is fi nished. It also alleviates repetitive motion concerns.” At Amada Miyachi America, they’ve moved from working in two dimensions to three. “The basic
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confi guration has always been a 2D marking fi eld. Now, as technology has improved, we’re able to look at multiple levels, incorporating motion with that, marking around curved surfaces,” Boyle said. “Let’s use a trocar as an example.” The trocar is a hollow rod that is used in surger- ies, with laser-marked guidelines that show how far the surgeons are sticking this rod into the patient, Boyle explained. They then feed in a camera or a surgical instru- ment into the patient through the trocar. “The trocar has
The Amada Miyachi Laser Marking Work Station or LMWS. Photo courtesy Amada Miyachi America
those cylindrical marks plus a mark at the tip and identifi cation marking maybe further down the shaft. So the software and fi xturing needs to work in three or four axes,” he said. “One of the unique things about our sys- tems is that we have the possibility of incorporat- ing motion within our power supply unit for the laser. So we have up to four axes of control. ‘Marker Motion’—that’s our trademarked name for it. With that power supply and with the software we supply, cus- tomers have full func- tionality—they don’t have to have preexisting external XYZ stages; it’s all part of our system.
“Our latest development is a laser marking
workstation—our LMWS. It’s an individual, manual- door system that sits on the job fl oor, where op- erators would be manually loading and unloading parts, usually in small batches,” he said. “The other approach we use is to take our LMWS marker—the same marker as in the workstation—and hook it up to be part of a production line.”
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