Tips and tricks: Optimise your productivity

Productivity by design: Speedy series laser engraving machines

Speedy laser engraving machines have been specifically developed to increase production efficiency. Mid range Speedy engravers offer a maximum processing speed of 4.2 m/sec and acceleration of 5g. The InPack Technology featured in the Speedy series offers maximum dust protection for important components ensuring an ultra long lifetime for your laser machine with reduced maintenance.

Discover the Speedy series

Double your productivity with a higher laser power

A higher laser power for your laser engraver not only maximises the efficiency of your production process, it also offers flexibility to your business to expand into different laser cutting and engraving applications, increasing your profitability. Consider the below possibilities:

Cast acrylic

10 mm, plate size 1000 x 500 mm, 352 units with a height of 50 mm each

Laser power: 80 watts
Progress: 65 % finished
Time per unit: 29 seconds

Laser power: 120 watts
Progress: 100% finished
Time per unit: 29 seconds

Tips and tricks: Optimise your productivity

Anodized aluminum

Data plate, layout 700 x 420 mm 49 units per 100 x 60 mm

Laser power: 30 watts
Progress: 48% finished
Time per unit: 55 seconds

Laser power: 80 Watts
Progress: 100% finished
Time per unit: 55 seconds

Optimisation of graphics for the annealing method

Tips and tricks: Optimise your productivity

Reduce your workflow: Laser marking metal with Speedy flexx

Laser marking metals with a CO2 laser is only possible with the addition of a metal marking solution (a spray or paste). This must be applied to the material prior to processing, and once the solution is dry it can be processed. The laser will burn into the solution when laser marking, and once processed the remaining solution must be washed off.

Fiber laser machines, such as the Speedy flexx series tallow you to directly mark metal without the need for additional consumables. This negates a lot of the additional time required when laser marking with a CO2 laser, freeing the operator to undertake other tasks. See the contrasts in different ways of marking a stainless steel dataplate in the following link.

Increased productivity of metal marking

Maximising production output: Save time with laser engraving templates

The length of time it takes to produce an item is a very important part of the production process. A custom template is a very useful way to save time when laser engraving, especially when you have to engrave multiple components in one process. Depending on job size you can create multiple templates to fit different components, while making templates that fit your laser machine bed is an excellent way to maximise production output.

An example to illustrate the benefits of a template are ballpoint pens. To engrave a single pen takes 30 seconds, while engraving 104 ballpoint pens takes 30 minutes (machine dependant). To do this you can use a single template which is the size of the working area of the machine, which allows all pens to be engraved in a single process step. This removes the time consuming, accurate placement of pens. Follow our tutorial and discover how to create your own custom template for laser engraving products

Tutorial: Creating templates

Laser engraving a single ballpoint pen — Laser engrave a ballpoint pen

Reducing processing time: Vector laser engraving vs raster laser engraving

Various applications benefit from different laser engraving methods. Vector engraving allows you to etch a plate faster than raster engraving. This is due to the different processes. Vector engraving scores the material while raster engraving engraves it. When vector engraving the border line is created as a vector (hairline) within the graphic. During the laser engraving the vectors are traced, whilst raster engraving works line by line along the x axis. In our example up to two thirds of your work time could be saved by scoring.

Discover the differences between the two different types of laser engraving:

Raster engraving versus vector engraving

Optimise processing time: Optimising graphics

In our example we will be using the laser marking method annealing to mark a metal plate. Between the individual graphic elements there is a lot of space, which increases the processing time when laser marking or laser engraving. We have split the graphics into several vertical colour zones.

The lower engraving speed required for this process means that aligning the graphics saves you time. In our example, we reduced the processing time by a quarter by using optimised graphics.

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