International laser systems provider Trotec Laser has expanded the product portfolio of the Galvo marking lasers with a new laser source, MOPA.

The new laser source allows expanded possibilities for users when marking metals and plastics. With the MOPA laser, users are able to also mark plastics in greater contrast and achieve more legible results, mark (anodised) aluminium in black or create reproducible colours on steel.

In addition, the MOPA laser allows for the production of industry-standard qualitatively equivalent markings, which are often produced faster than with the conventional fibre laser. In addition to this improvement, it notably still retains the advantages of the conventional laser sources – being maintenance-free and air-cooled, and having a long life and an economical purchase price.

The MOPA fibre laser is, moreover, posited to provide more possibilities for users. Compared with conventional fibre laser sources, the pulse duration of the MOPA fibre laser can be variably adjusted and reduced to a few nanoseconds. Thus, owing to the short pulses as well as the lower pulse energy, the material is heated less.

Moreover, it facilitates higher contrast and more homogeneous laser markings on plastics. For some plastics, the MOPA fibre laser can make full use of its strengths – short pulses and thus less material heating. Therefore, plastics which are difficult to mark with a conventional fibre laser can be laser-marked with the MOPA laser in a more aesthetically suitable and more homogeneous manner, with less burning and foaming. This is especially the case for dark plastics, as the shorter pulses often produce ‘vivid’, lighter markings, which results in a higher contrast. Thus, some plastic parts, which could not be adequately marked with a fibre laser before, can now be laser-marked in a clearly (machine) readable manner.

The MOPA fibre laser also makes it possible to mark natural anodised aluminum in black, thereby extending its reach of advantages to metals. This process is also used to mark high-quality smartphones. Further, faster and corrosion-free annealing on steel is possible. In general, the MOPA laser with pulse durations of between 4 and 200 ns is posited to offer a wide spectrum of possibilities for marking on most products.

To make full use of the numerous advantages and possibilities for the marking of plastics and metals, an extensive application knowledge is necessary. In order the ensure this level of quality control, application experts from Trotec provide detailed advice to customers.