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Laser Marking Machine | Permanent Engraving Metal and Non-metal Materials
Laser marking machines are widely used for permanent marking, engraving, and identification on metal and non-metal materials. Compared with traditional marking methods, laser marking offers higher precision, faster speed, and long-lasting results without physical contact or consumables. For modern manufacturing, laser marking has become an essential process for product traceability and branding.
Our laser marking machines are designed for industrial applications, supporting stable operation, high marking accuracy, and consistent quality. They are suitable for both small workshops and large-scale production lines.
What Is a Laser Marking Machine?
A laser marking machine uses a focused laser beam to mark text, logos, serial numbers, barcodes, or patterns on the surface of materials. The marking process changes the material surface through heat or oxidation, creating clear and permanent marks without damaging the structure of the part.
Laser marking is commonly used for product identification, brand logos, date codes, and traceability marks in industrial manufacturing.
Types of Laser Marking Machines
Fiber Laser Marking Machine
Fiber laser marking machines are mainly used for metal and some plastic materials. They offer high marking speed, excellent precision, and low maintenance requirements. Fiber lasers are widely applied in electronics, automotive parts, tools, hardware, and industrial components.
CO₂ Laser Marking Machine
CO₂ laser marking machines are suitable for non-metal materials such as wood, acrylic, leather, glass, paper, rubber, and plastics. They are commonly used in packaging, crafts, signage, and consumer product marking.
UV Laser Marking Machine
UV laser marking machines provide cold marking with minimal heat effect. They are ideal for high-precision applications on plastics, glass, and sensitive materials, especially in electronics, medical devices, and fine components.
Technical Parameters
| Brand | iGOLDENLASER |
| Laser Power | 20W, 30W, 50W, 60W, 70W, 80W, 100W, 130W, 150W, 180W, 200W, 300W |
| Laser Source | Fiber laser, CO2 laser, UV laser |
| Laser Generator | IPG, Raycus, JPT |
| Laser Wavelength | 10.6 μm, 1064 nm, 355 nm |
| Marking Depth | 0.01~0.5mm |
| Marking Speed | ≤15000mm/s |
| Marking Content | Letters, Numbers, Signs, Logos, Patterns, Pictures |
| Price Range | $3,000.00 – $70,000.00 |
| Cooling Way | Air cooling, Water cooling |
| Operation System | Microsoft Windows |
A fiber laser marker is an automatic engraving machine that uses a focused fiber laser beam to etch the surface of a substrate, changing its properties and appearance to create high-quality engravings with permanent text and patterns. Fiber laser generators are available from well-known brands such as IPG, Raycus, JPT, and Max. 20W, 30W, 50W, 60W and 100W power options are available for engravings of various thicknesses. A fiber laser marking machine features with high speed, high quality, high precision, no pollution, safety, convenient operation, maintenance-free, and low cost. A fiber laser etcher can engrave permanent marks including letters, numbers, signs, logos, patterns, pictures on 2D/3D surfaces of bare metals and coated metals including carbon steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver, gold, titanium, iron and alloy, as well as fiberglass and plastics including PVC, PLT, PS, ABS, PBT. With a higher power, it can do relief engraving and deep engraving on metals. With a rotary attachment, it can do rotary engraving on rings, cups, and cylinders. With a belt conveyor, it can do marking on the fly in industrial assembly line manufacturing. In addition, with a MOPA laser source, it can do color engraving on stainless steel, chromium and titanium.
Materials Suitable for Laser Marking
Laser marking machines can process a wide range of materials, including stainless steel, aluminum, brass, carbon steel, plastics, rubber, wood, leather, glass, ceramics, and coated surfaces. Different laser sources are selected based on material type, marking depth, and surface quality requirements.
Key Advantages of Laser Marking Machines
Laser marking provides permanent and wear-resistant marks that do not fade over time. The non-contact process avoids tool wear and material deformation, ensuring stable quality even during long production runs. Laser marking machines also support high-speed operation, low operating cost, and easy integration into automated production lines.
Typical Applications
Laser marking machines are widely used in industries such as electronics, automotive manufacturing, hardware tools, medical devices, packaging, jewelry, and industrial parts production. Common marking applications include serial numbers, QR codes, barcodes, logos, technical data, and decorative patterns.
How to Choose the Right Laser Marking Machine
When selecting a laser marking machine, it is important to consider the material type, marking size, required speed, marking depth, and production volume. Laser source type, power level, marking field size, control software, and after-sales support are also key factors that affect long-term performance and reliability.
Reliable Laser Marking Solutions
Our laser marking machines are built with high-quality components, stable laser sources, and user-friendly control systems. Each machine is designed to meet industrial production standards and support continuous operation. Whether you need a compact marking solution or an integrated industrial system, our laser marking machines provide reliable performance and consistent results.
Principle
Laser marking is a new type of non-contact, non-polluting and non-damaging engraving process, which integrates laser technology, computer technology and mechatronics technology. It is currently the mostly used advanced manufacturing technology. The principle is a marking method that uses high-energy-density laser to irradiate the workpiece locally to vaporize the surface material or undergo a chemical reaction of color change, thereby leaving a permanent mark. The process can be divided into the following steps:
Step 1: The laser acts on the surface of the material. The beam used in the field is usually a pulsed laser, and it outputs a pulse within a specific period of time. To control the beam acting on the material, it is necessary to control important parameters such as scanning speed and scanning distance.
Step 2: The material absorbs the laser energy. After the beam acts on the surface of the material, most of the energy is reflected, and only a small part of the energy is absorbed by the material and converted into heat. It needs to absorb enough energy to melt/vaporize the surface material.
Step 3: Local expansion occurs on the surface of the material, the roughness changes, and the mark is formed. When the material is melted and cooled in a short period of time, the roughness of the material surface will change, forming a permanent mark, which includes texts, patterns, signs and graphics.
There are both 2D mark for flat surfaces, and 3D mark for curved surfaces.
2D Marking System
The mirror galvanometers are used to scan the beam and mark on 2D surface. The f˜ lens is used to concentrate the light on the 2D surface.
3D Marking System
The mirror galvanometers are used to scan the beam and mark on 3D surface. They will move the focus lens (instead of f˜ lens) back and start adjusting the beam not only on X axis and Y axis, but also on Z axis.
Marking Process
The system has six different marking processes include annealing engraving, marking, staining, foaming, removing and carbonizing, which is widely used in industrial manufacturing applications, school education, small businesses, home business, small shop and home shop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between laser marking, laser engraving, and laser etching?
A: Laser marking changes the surface color or appearance without removing material (e.g., annealing on stainless steel). Laser engraving physically removes material to create a recessed cavity. Laser etching melts the surface to create a slightly raised mark. All three processes use the same machine but differ in power settings, speed, and focal depth configuration.
Q: Can a fiber laser mark on raw aluminum without pre-treatment?
A: A standard fiber laser produces a light gray mark on raw aluminum that may lack contrast for some applications. For high-contrast black marks on bare aluminum, a MOPA fiber laser with adjustable pulse width is recommended. Alternatively, anodized aluminum marks beautifully with any fiber laser because the beam removes the anodized coating to reveal bright metal underneath.
Q: How do I choose between 20W, 30W, and 50W fiber laser power for part marking?
A: 20W handles surface marking, serial numbers, barcodes, and logos on most metals at standard speed. 30W is the sweet spot for general workshop use, offering faster marking and the ability to engrave slightly deeper. 50W is necessary for deep engraving applications (over 0.3mm depth) and high-speed production lines where cycle time matters.
Q: Is a CO2 laser or fiber laser better for marking plastic parts?
A: It depends on the plastic type. Fiber lasers produce high-contrast marks on hard plastics like ABS, PVC, PBT, and polycarbonate. CO2 lasers work better on organic materials and some softer plastics. For heat-sensitive polymers where burn marks are a risk, a UV laser delivers the cleanest results because its shorter wavelength minimizes thermal impact.
Q: Do I need a safety enclosure for a desktop laser marking machine?
A: Yes, for workplace compliance and operator protection. Fiber and UV laser beams at 1064nm and 355nm wavelengths are invisible to the naked eye and can cause permanent eye damage from even reflected beams. At minimum, operators need OD5+ rated laser safety glasses. A full enclosure with interlock switches is strongly recommended, and is required in most commercial and industrial facilities to meet OSHA and CE safety standards.
Q: Can a laser marking machine engrave round or cylindrical parts like rings and cups?
A: Yes, with a rotary attachment. Most desktop and portable fiber laser markers accept a rotary chuck accessory that spins cylindrical objects (rings, cups, pens, tumblers, barrels) under the laser beam during marking. The rotation is synchronized with the marking software to produce consistent results around the full circumference.
Q: What file formats do iGOLDEN laser marking machines support?
A: All iGOLDEN laser markers run EzCad2 or equivalent software that accepts DXF, AI, PLT, BMP, JPG, PNG, and TIF files. Vector formats (DXF, AI, PLT) produce the sharpest results for text and logos. Bitmap formats (BMP, JPG) are used for photo engraving and halftone image marking on metals and plastics.
Q: How long does a fiber laser source last, and what happens when it fails?
A: Quality fiber laser sources from IPG, Raycus, JPT, and MAX are rated for 100,000+ hours of operation, which translates to over 10 years of continuous single-shift use. When a source eventually degrades, it is replaced as a modular unit without replacing the entire machine. iGOLDEN provides replacement sources under extended warranty and through direct parts ordering.
Q: Can I use one laser marking machine for both metal and non-metal materials?
A: A fiber laser marks metals and certain hard plastics but cannot mark wood, leather, or acrylic effectively. A CO2 laser marks organics and some plastics but cannot directly mark bare metal. If your workflow requires both, consider either a MOPA fiber laser (which handles the widest range of metals plus many plastics) or a dual-machine setup with a fiber unit for metals and a CO2 unit for organics.
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