Surface Annealing   Draws carbon and/or oxides from the base material to get contrasting mark Marking beam produces sharp contrasting line to surrounding area with little or no penetration Excellent for applications such as medical implants, bearings, tooling, or other applications where a smooth, undamaged surface and contrast is important         Surface Etching   Ability to change the surface finish of a metal thus altering its reflectivity and enhancing contrast Penetration depth is typically no more than 0.0001” deep One of the most common forms of laser marking             Ablating   Removes a coating, paint, or other surface treatment from a base material to create contrast without damaging the base material Typically done with anodized aluminum, backlit buttons, and painted steel                 Thermal Marking   Controls heat using different laser parameters such as marking speed, pulse frequency, power, and focus Applied to certain alloys resulting in color variations (i.e. titanium)                   Specialty Marking   Commonly used in plastics Contrast can occur naturally in some plastics by heat or coupling with a wavelength causing a chemical change Additives can be used with most plastics to achieve different colors             Engrave Marking   Vaporization of base material sufficient to produce depth required, typically 0.0001” to 0.005” Vaporization process identical to surface etching Increased depth of the mark requires repeated passes       Profile Material Samples Aluminum Wood PVC Carbide Titanium Steel Polyurethane Plastic Stainless Steel Glass Ceramic Rubber Types of Marks Application Guide Material Index Best IR Applications Best Green Applications Best UV Applications Application Request Form

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