Breakthrough solutions in laser marking for jewellery
Partners: SISMA SPA (Italy), LAC SPA (Italy), FTMC (Lithuania)
THE SUN-JELL laser prototype was validated in FTMC and SISMA tests facilities. SUN-JELL laser prototype provided comparable processing quality to other laser sources – nanosecond Baltic HP and sub-nanosecond Atlantic HE. Burr effect reduction was the main goal of the project. However, even at sub-nanosecond regime burr formation was observed. In order to prevent such effects, we proposed water assisted ablation. During tests, water assist helped to prevent surface oxidation and debris formation near the processing area. Also, there is a potential to increase the ablation rates applying water assist technique. However, depending on the process parameters and material, ablated surface roughness could be altered compared to ablation in the air.
SEM and optical images of laser engraved symbols in the brass sample. The “FTMC” letter dimensions in 1.4 x 5mm. R3, 5.6 W, 100 kHz, 10 µm hatch, 100 loops, water assist (left), Pattern engraved into silver with 10 kHz (top) and 30 kHz (bottom) repetition rates (right)
Burr effect reduction was the main goal of the SUN-JELL project. However, even at sub-nanosecond regime burr formation was observed. In order to prevent such effects, we propose water assisted ablation. During tests, water assist helped to prevent surface oxidation and debris formation near the processing area. Also, there is a potential to increase the ablation rates of 1.5-2.5 times. However, adding the water assist to the ablation process will alter the surface roughness depending on the process conditions and materials.