Linx Laser Webinar – Advanced Print Control Advanced Print Control An explanation of Laser Coder settings and their effect on handling print elements

Linx Laser Webinar – Advanced Print Control

Advanced Print Control

An explanation of Laser Coder settings and their effect on handling print elements

Linx Laser Webinar – Advanced Print Control Slide 2

Table of Contents• Overview – the basic concepts that take us to Advanced Print Control

• Speed vs. Quality• Materials• Message design

• Message Elements (fonts, graphics, bar codes - better to vector)• Advanced Controls

• Jump Speed• Jump Delay• Marking Speed• Mark Delay• Stroke Delay• Mark Intensity• On Delay• Off Delay• Frequency• Line Width, Overlap, Min. Vector, Max. Vector


Table of Contents Cont’d• Default settings• Complex messages/Index Steps• Q&A/Feedback• Laser Updates:• Current activity• SL1 status• Fiber Laser Market Review

• End of Presentation


Overview – Speed vs. Quality• Looking back on previous presentations, you

can see that in laser coding we look to get great quality at appropriate speeds, usually by following the below process:• Print samples are done within the AVAILABLE

TIME/TIME TO MARK given the parameters of the application (Line Speed, Pitch; Code Complexity, Substrate)

• SAMPLE MARKING determines the Marking Field and Energy

• The customer accepts the print samples as appropriate quality for their product marking

• The quality “fits” within the time allowed (until variables are changed)


Overview – Materials (Substrate)• Materials factor into print control/quality and speed in multiple ways…• Some materials take longer to mark than others, affecting the time to print,

narrowing the range of quality• Materials differ in the way they take a mark from a laser, which in turn affects

their presentation• Papers can be burnt• Coated materials ablate away a top surface• Plastics melt and flow, plus they can change colors• Glass is fractured

• Many materials have curved surfaces affecting the focal distance within a message and this can affect the overall quality – some materials are more forgiving than others


Overview – Message Design• Message Design also plays into print control/speed and quality in

multiple ways as well:• Choice of Message Elements on the material affects appearance. Large or

dense elements can cause burns or melting.• Complexity of the design increases the time to mark the code. So to get more

“stuff” in the message you might have to code harder and faster than is optimal• Bar codes are dense objects that require special handling, again increasing time

to code (and also possibly altering material appearance)• Graphics quality and file format affect time and appearance (NOTE: always use

vector type graphics and not bitmap type files when possible. This works better and faster with lasers)


Message Elements• Message Elements Include:• Text• Variable Text• Date & Time• Shapes• Graphics/logos (Remember, use vector!• 1 D Bar Codes• 2 D Bar Codes

• Lasers mark elements by drawing them in strokes, which are divided into vectors and jumps


Advanced Controls• Once we have designed the message,

we have the ability to change the “settings” that affect print quality via the “Current Parameter Set” in LinxDraw or “Mark Settings” in LinxVision.• These include up to 13 settings that

affect the vectors, jumps, beam intensity and frequency• Mostly we will use Marking Head

parameters (those controls affecting the galvos/mirrors) and Laser parameters (those controlling the laser tube/beam itself)


Advanced Controls – Jump Speed

• Jump Speed is part of the Marking Head Parameters or part of the settings for galvos/mirrors

• It is measured in millimeters per second, from 500 to 40,000• The laser is turned off during the jump or the distance between the last printed and next

vector.• When the value is low, it increases the mark time. However, high jump speeds can cause

the mirrors to vibrate at the end of the jump, this vibration can cause issues with print quality

• You would increase the Jump Speed to reduce mark time, but fast jump speeds could cause enough vibration to overcome the Jump Delay (see next slide) and affect mark quality

For the messages at left, one was done at the default settings, the other done at maximum Jump Speed – the difference? You can’t see it but is’t about 170ms of marking time.


Advanced Controls – Jump Delay

• Jump-Delay is also a Marking Head Parameter but measured in microseconds.• Because there is some vibration in the mirrors, the laser

beam cannot start a new stroke immediately after a jump. Jump-Delay begins at the end of a jump and allows time for the mirrors to stop vibrating.• If the Jump-Delay value is low, the stroke can start while

there is still vibration, causing some distortion at the start of the stroke.• Long Jump-Delay values allow the vibration to stop and

improve mark quality, but increase the overall marking time.


Advanced Controls – Marking Speed

• Marking Speed is the most often adjusted Marking Head Parameter and is measured in millimeters per second with a range of 1 to 30,000 for the SLX02 coders• This parameter controls the speed of the movement of the laser across the

substrate• Marking Speed is often adjusted with Mark Intensity to generate the best

results for substrate and material.• Marking Speed is also one of the factors affecting temperature of the

substrate• You would increase Marking Speed to get a code within the time needed

for an application, but this may cause a light or poor quality mark.


Advanced Controls – Mark-Delay

• Mark Delay is also a Marking Head Parameter and measured in microseconds• This delays occurs at the end of each vector, and allows

the coder time to finish each vector and generate the next.• However, if set too short and the next vector is in a

different direction, an error is visible• Set too long, and the beam can burn the substrate at

the end of each vector, but not at the end of the stroke (depending on the stroke delay)


Advanced Controls – Stroke-Delay

• The Stroke Delay is added at the end of each stroke to make sure that the final vector is complete.• This is a Marking Head Parameter and is measured in

microseconds, with a range of 0 to 2000• A short delay can cause distortion at the end of the last

vector in a stroke.• A long delay helps with mark quality but increases the

overall marking time.


Advanced Controls – Marking Intensity

• Marking Intensity is the most often used Laser parameter and is measured in a scale of %, 1 to 100%.• The percent value indicates the output of the laser beam based on it’s

rating, i.e. a 30 watt tube set to 50% should have an output of 15 watts (however tubes often have a higher output than their rating but also the power can degrade over time).• Used in conjunction with Marking Speed, Intensity is adjusted to give

the best beam characteristics for the substrate and line speed.• Several different theories prevail about power settings, typically any

application requiring over 70% out of the box needs to have the next higher power laser or a different head and lens configuration.


Advanced Controls – On-Delay

• On-Delay is a Laser parameter and is measured in microseconds. It has a range of -1000 to +1000• Before each stroke, the mirrors cannot start moving

immediately, so a delay parameter is added to the start of the laser.• Set too short, On-Delay will allow the beam to burn the

substrate at the start of each stroke. • Set too long, and the mirrors can move before the laser

is turned on and the coder can fail to mark the start of the vector.


Advanced Controls – Off-Delay

• The Off-Delay is also a Laser parameter and measured in microseconds with a range of 0 to 1000.• Off-Delay helps make sure that the laser beam is off

when the mirrors stop moving. • If set too long, the laser can burn the substrate at the

end of each vector. • If Off-Delay is set too short, the end of the last vector

in a stroke can fail to be marked.


Advanced Controls – Pulse frequency

• A laser does not generate a continuous beam of laser radiation, but rather pulses of radiation. The Pulse Frequency controls the rate of the pulses. Different lasers have different ranges for Pulse Frequency:• SL102 – 50Hz to 20,000Hz• SL302 – 50Hz to 25,000Hz

• A high frequency makes a smoother stroke as the pulses are close• A low frequency can give visible pulses (perforations) and can be

useful in marking glass and some plastics


Advanced Controls – Line Width, Overlap, Min. Vector, Max. Vector

• The filling parameters of Line Width and Overlap affect filled objects, not individual lines (or vectors). That is, you can’t make things bolder by changing this setting, just affecting how filled objects are marked.• The Vector Length parameters of Minimum Vector

and Maximum Vector control the allowable length of each individual vector. Typically these are not changed.NOTE: Power Intensity and Marking Speed will be the most often changed

parameters, delays will follow when needing to tweak Mark Time, and the above parameters will be the least often changed.

In the print samples to the right, the bottom was done at default, the middle at twice the Mark Speed, and the top was done at half the power.


General/Default settings• These are Default

Settings for the SL102/SL302 in LinxVision but can be modified to suit a specific application:


Complex messages/Index Steps• When creating a message with different types of message

elements (text, graphics, bar codes) it is helpful to use Index Steps.• Index Steps are a way of creating a set of marking

parameters for individual or a group of elements.• Like elements would be in the same “Index”, so a message

might have 3 text elements in “Index 1” a logo in “Index 2” and a bar code in “Index 3”.• In a message you can have up to 10 Indexes.• The Index parameters are set from the current parameter set

screen, then each element is edited for which Index it is in.


Q&A/Feedback• Now you have had the presentation……• Any Questions?• Any Open Projects this information will help with?• Any other laser related questions?


Laser Updates• Current activity• SL1 status• All parts and pieces for SL1’s are in stock in St. Charles• Most any application covered by a SL102 SHC60 unit can be covered with an

SL1• Price Package offer coming out soon

• Fiber Laser Market Review• Need your info – what prices and opportunities do you see?


End of Presentation

Thank you for your time!

Documents

Linx Laser Webinar – Advanced Print Control Advanced Print Control An explanation of Laser Coder settings and their effect on handling print elements