The Difference Between Laser Marking Machines

Semiconductor pumped lasers generate less waste heat and require a small cooling system. Generally, only a 1-horsepower chiller is needed. Lamp-pumped lasers generally require chillers of more than 2 horsepower, and a larger water pump is required to provide a larger cooling water flow. Therefore, the operation noise of the lamp-pumped laser marking machine is relatively loud, and the huge chiller will generate more heat, especially in the summer in the south, when the ambient temperature is high. This excess heat will make the workers' working environment worse, or more air conditioning systems will be needed to adjust the temperature of the working environment, increasing production costs.
1. Better marking effect
Since semiconductor diodes emit almost only one wavelength of light, the laser generated by it has better monochromaticity and better laser mode. A good laser mode will make the laser focus smaller and more concentrated, achieving better marking effect;
Both semiconductor and lamp-pumped lasers use ND:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) crystals as laser generation materials, which can convert 808nm visible light into 1064nm invisible laser, but another more critical factor in outputting lasers is the pumping source that makes the crystal rod output lasers. Semiconductor pumping uses semiconductor diodes to emit 808nm light waves; while lamp pumping uses light emitted by krypton lamps for pumping, but the spectrum of light emitted by krypton lamps is wider, with only a slightly larger peak at 808nm, and other wavelengths of light eventually become useless heat and dissipate.
2. Small size
The semiconductor laser module itself is small in size, and its laser mode is good, so the volume of semiconductor pumped lasers for CNC machine tools is nearly one-third smaller than that of lamp pumped lasers.
In short, the use of semiconductor lasers is slightly higher than that of lamp-pumped lasers. Although the price of each marking machine is slightly higher, the cost of each marking machine within 3 years can be accurately calculated to save 119,050 yuan, which does not include the loss of production caused by the shutdown of lamp replacement (the user can calculate it by himself), the expenses of lamp replacement personnel, and the waste caused by uneven lamp quality, the increased air conditioning and cooling costs for maintaining the production environment, etc.
3. Maintenance-free, no need to replace krypton lamps
Semiconductor diodes have a long life, and their rated working time is greater than 10,000 hours, while the life of krypton lamps is only a few hundred hours (generally around 400-600 hours), so lamp-pumped lasers need to replace krypton lamps after working for a period of time, especially for metal marking, which requires a large amount of energy and the life of krypton lamps will be more affected. Therefore, CNC machine tool semiconductor pumped lasers are also called maintenance-free lasers, which means that they work without consumables and do not require maintenance for a considerable period of time. In order to more effectively extend the service life of the semiconductor laser diode pump source, our company adopts pre-combustion plus frequency conversion control technology, that is, under the premise of ensuring that the light-emitting tube is not affected by current shock, according to the workload and intensity, the current density passing through the light-emitting diode is reduced to the maximum extent, thereby effectively extending the service life of the semiconductor diode. According to the different production tasks of different users, the service life of the semiconductor laser light-emitting diode can be guaranteed to be between one and three years. Each semiconductor pump marking can save the cost of lamp replacement consumables: more than 12 lamps/year * 350 yuan/piece * 3 years = 12,600 yuan.
Lamp-pumped laser marking machines need to be shut down frequently to replace krypton lamps, which is unacceptable for many large production lines. Due to the different lifespans of krypton lamps, this may cause more waste in the use of krypton lamps due to the uneven quality of domestic lamps. Therefore, switching to a semiconductor marking machine can save the loss of manpower and material resources caused by shutdown maintenance to a large extent.
IV. Power saving
Due to the high conversion efficiency and good mode of semiconductor pumps, it is easier to focus high-energy light spots of smaller area. When marking the same object, the external energy required will be smaller. At the same time, the waste heat it generates is much less than that of a lamp-pumped laser, which means that it does not require a large cooling system like a lamp-pumped laser. Therefore, the power consumption of a semiconductor-pumped laser system is much smaller than that of a lamp-pumped laser.
The power consumption of a 50W lamp-pumped laser marking machine is about 6KW, while the power consumption of a 50W semiconductor laser marking machine is only about 2KW. For example, if it works 24 hours a day and 28 days a month, and the industrial electricity consumption is 1.1 yuan per kilowatt-hour, a semiconductor laser saves (6-2) KW*24 hours*28 days*12 months*3 years*1.1/kilowatt-hour=106,450 yuan in electricity consumption compared to a lamp-pumped laser.