- Laser Module
Fiber Laser: The core component that generates the laser source. It produces high-quality beams and an extremely small focused spot, making it ideal for fine marking.
Fiber lasers are compact (air-cooled, with no water-cooling unit required), offer excellent beam quality, and are maintenance-free. They can process a wide range of metals and non-metals, and offer particular advantages when marking high-hardness, high-melting-point, or brittle materials. The laser beam is fine, material consumption is minimal, and the heat-affected zone is small.
¶ 2. Galvanometer System
The galvanometer system plays a critical role in laser processing. By rapidly and precisely adjusting the angle of the laser beam, it enables fine machining of the target object.
Laser galvo control system: High-speed deflection mirrors steer the laser beam, allowing it to dynamically focus on any working position within the field of view and follow a predefined path, achieving high-precision laser processing.
Galvo–platform synchronized control: An additional laser-off travel path is inserted between adjacent marking vectors to avoid acceleration and deceleration of the galvo at corners, ensuring uniform laser motion along the entire path.
Galvo compensation: By physically marking and measuring test patterns, the system calculates a compensation table for the galvo’s commanded positions, eliminating optical distortion.
These systems not only improve machining precision and speed, but also broaden the application range of the laser, meeting modern industry’s demand for high precision and high efficiency.
¶ 3. Control System
Laser control board (fiber) and galvo driver
Laser control board (fiber): The laser control board is one of the core components of the entire marking system, responsible for coordinating the laser source, the galvo (scanning head), and other peripheral devices. It is the key piece of hardware that enables precise control and efficient operation of the laser marking machine. Its main functions include:
① starting and stopping the laser;
② controlling the motion of the galvo (scanning head);
③ generating marking paths and patterns;
④ adjusting laser power, speed, and frequency;
⑤ executing multi-tasking and synchronized control;
⑥ data processing and transmission;
⑦ storing marking programs and parameters.
Galvo driver: Receives and processes the data signals from the laser control board and converts them into control signals that drive the galvo to deflect along the X/Y axes according to the board’s commands, ensuring the precision, speed, and stability of the laser marking process.
¶ 4. Focusing System
Focusing method: manual focusing
Focusing operation: Depending on the height of the workpiece, turn the adjustment handle on the lifting column to raise or lower the optical assembly. Observe whether the laser beam and the red guide-light spot converge on the workpiece to determine whether focus has been achieved.
Note: Laser focusing is a critical step in ensuring marking quality and efficiency. Inaccurate focusing results in blurred markings, which affects product appearance and quality. By adjusting the various components of the laser, the focal point can be precisely set so that the laser beam strikes the workpiece surface accurately, delivering high-quality marking results.
¶ 5. Working Area / Z-Axis
Working area: 110 mm × 110 mm. The work surface is used for marking and cutting.
The Z-axis, with a maximum travel of 90 mm.
The Z-axis consists of a lead screw and linear guide rails housed inside the column profile of the machine, ensuring the optical path is raised and lowered in sync. The guide rails provide precise positioning and suppress wobble caused by screw rotation, keeping the optical path stable.
¶ 6. Safety Features
Protective enclosure: Prevents laser exposure that could damage the operator’s eyes or skin and protects the surrounding marking environment. Using airtight design and optical filtering window technology, the enclosure effectively blocks external dust from entering while sealing in the harmful by-products generated inside.
The enclosure also provides a partial access door, allowing the operator to perform small-area marking conveniently while still providing full 360° protection from laser exposure. The protective enclosure is optional.
Emergency stop: Ensures that, in case of an emergency, the galvo motion can be stopped immediately to protect both the operator and the equipment.
¶ 7. How the Laser Works
Laser marking works by focusing a high-intensity laser beam onto the surface of a material, generating intense heat that causes the surface to instantly vaporize or undergo a chemical reaction, leaving a permanent mark on the object.
The marking process: The laser source generates the laser beam; after modulation, the beam is directed onto the workpiece; the workpiece absorbs the laser energy, causing its surface temperature to rise sharply; under the action of the laser energy, the surface of the workpiece undergoes physical or chemical changes, forming the mark.
¶ 8. Path Control
The galvo works by controlling the deflection angle of the laser beam to draw graphics within a two-dimensional plane. A laser galvo uses two mirrors, X and Y, each driven by an independent motor, to produce motion in the XY plane. Because galvos have very low inertia and the load during motion is very small, the system responds extremely quickly. Galvo motion has two basic modes: jump motion and marking motion.
During jump motion, the axes move to the next machining position with the laser switched off, so the trajectory is not affected by the laser, allowing very high travel speeds. During marking motion, the laser is switched on and the trajectory is engraved; users need to set an appropriate motion speed based on the actual processing requirements.
The galvo is an excellent vector scanning device. Its basic principle is that a current-carrying coil generates torque in a magnetic field; unlike a rotary motor, however, a return torque is applied to the rotor — either through a mechanical torsion spring or by electronic means — proportional to the angle by which the rotor deviates from its equilibrium position.
¶ 9. Role of the Software
- File input and parsing: The software reads the imported or drawn file and converts it into an internal data structure that can be processed.
- Process handling and parameter mapping: Based on the configured process parameters, the software converts the graphic data into control commands for the laser and the galvo.
- Generation of control commands: The graphic data is translated into digital signals that the hardware can recognize.
- Hardware execution and feedback: Once the laser and galvo system receive the corresponding signals, the laser outputs pulses at the configured frequency and power, while the galvo motors drive the mirrors to oscillate at high speed, precisely guiding where the laser beam lands.
¶ 10. Areas Off-Limits to the User
- The optical assembly must not be disassembled; doing so easily allows dust to enter and degrade marking quality, and in severe cases can damage components.
- Internal circuitry and power supply.
- Laser lens module.
- Internal precision mechanical assemblies.
- Galvo assembly.