Laser engraving technology explained.
During laser engraving, a laser beam hits the material, exposing it to a lot of heat. Depending on the exposure time, the colors change and contrast, or the material evaporates or burns. The resulting laser engraving is permanent and extremely wear-resistant.
Laser engraving is as easy as printing.
First, create an engraving layout in your favorite graphics program (CorelDraw, Photoshop, AutoCAD, Illustrator, InkScape, etc.). Then use the printer driver to send the graphics to the laser. With the push of a button, your chosen material is laser engraved or laser cut according to the stored settings. Advanced settings can be set in the supplied Atomstack laser software if required. The flow types stored in the printer driver make daily work easier by automatically optimizing the flow required for graphics.
Raster and Vector Engraving: Two Different Types of Laser Engraving
Raster engraving is the standard process for laser engraving. Here, graphics built from pixels are engraved line by line, point by point.
In vector engraving, on the other hand, the graphic consists of curves and straight lines that the laser traces and engraves "vector by vector" one by one. Vector engraving is often called "scribing".
For large area applications such as filling letters, images, postage stamps or wood carvings, raster engraving is the appropriate method.
However, if you are only engraving thin lines, vector engraving is more advantageous and faster.
Advantages of laser engraving compared to mechanical engraving
Larger field of application The laser beam is a universal tool for many materials such as wood, glass, MDF, textiles, cardboard, paper, foil, metal and many more.
Contactless Material Processing
In mechanical engraving, the material often has to be clamped or held in place with a vacuum. This takes time and damages the material. For laser processing, this is not necessary. Here, machining is contactless, so there is no chipping and relatively little dust. All this saves time and money.
No tool wear Thanks to the non-contact material processing of the laser, there are no tool costs for tools and drills.
Maximum precision and the finest details
Laser technology makes it possible to achieve the finest patterns with the highest precision. Almost anything that can be drawn can be engraved and marked with a laser.
Economical production Production of single pieces or small series as well as large series is cost-effective and economically feasible.
