Laser markability

Laser marking enables permanently abrasion-resistant, waterproof and smudge-proof lettering on plastics. In this method, the surface of the material to be marked is locally changed in color under the influence of laser light. The process and the energy input are material-specific. Depending on the absorption of the laser beam, plastics are differently suited for this type of marking. With the aid of laser marking, it is possible to apply very small machine-readable markings such as the QR code or the DataMatrix code directly to products.

By adding suitable pigments and additives, plastics that are difficult to laser-mark can be made uniformly markable. The BARLOG Plastics test laboratory is equipped with a vanadate grayscale laser system (Nd:YVO4) with a wavelength of 1064 nm for tests and contract laser marking.

The laser marking system is often used for material developments, here especially for tests regarding the investigation of the markability and contrast of components.