Parametric analysis of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) laser marking using fiber laser
摘要
Laser marking is the operation to mark the surface with minimal heat interaction and time. The heat interaction of laser with PMMA causes the materials to melt and their melting rate are greatly impacted by in-depth radiation absorption. The paper highlighted the comparative studies of laser marking of red and white PMMA with the view to produce good quality laser marked surface for product identification and traceability. A fiber laser beam with a wavelength of 1064 nm with a spot diameter of 21 µm was used for marking of PMMA material. The laser process variables such as laser irradiation, pulse rate and scan rate were varied to analyse its effect on PMMA materials for achieving the better marking characteristics. Experimental studies revealed that for marking white and red PMMA, high power laser was essential for producing desired marking characteristics and it is the most dominant factor as compared to other laser process variables. Better value of marking characteristics were achieved at laser irradiation of 100 % of 50 W, pulse rate of 85 kHz, and scan rate of 35 mm/s, respectively.