Marking Systems for the Plastics Sector

The plastics industry and all its subdivisions are a highly innovative and very diverse sector in the marketplace. For many companies, protecting the identity of their product is extremely important and there really is no better way of achieving this than marking directly onto the part itself with one of our permanent marking solutions as apposed to ink marking or labels which can be easily damaged or removed.

The plastics industry includes a wide range of marking possibilities from manufacture through processing to final assembly/packaging. This applies both to the raw materials and components, as well as complete final assemblies. Product traceability through product identity is a very common requirement nowadays and is becoming more and more essential. Information regarding the production history of a product is vital for parts which may fail and provide the manufacturer with important data to improve their parts/processes moving forward.

The energy of a laser beam changes the optical characteristics of existing pigments in the material while marking plastics. The result of this procedure is a visible mark being produced whilst the surface remains virtually unchanged. This durable and abrasion-proof plastic marking method is described as colour change. The addition of pigments which are laser sensitive can improve plastic marking by providing higher contrast and contour sharpness and even allow marks in different colours.

Another option for marking plastics is Foaming. Gas bubbles melt the part surface and they stabilise to become part of the material as it cools down. The light refraction properties are altered due to the bubbles and therefore appear lighter where the mark appears than in the surrounding material. Many results can be created this way such as lettering, symbols and logos.

We would be very pleased to answer any of your questions and offer sample marks on your components to confirm suitability. Our laser marking solutions for the plastics sector are highly reliable but also very flexible as they are capable of marking a very wide range of different types of materials.