3D Engraving: The Benefits of Incorporating a 3D Laser Engraving System

As we’ve written about in the past, there are a wide variety of benefits to utilizing a laser marking or engraving system. And when compared to other forms of marking and engraving technologies—such as dot peen marking, electrochemical marking, and inkjet marking—laser marking and engraving stands out even more.

With this post, we wanted to explore one key aspect of the laser engraving field that’s becoming more and more common, 3D laser engraving. There are a range of advantages that companies in diverse industries can enjoy by way of 3D engraving, so let’s take a look!

3D Fiber Laser Marking Machine Advantages

Like 2D laser engraving and marking, 3D laser marking can help businesses in significant ways. Some of these ways include:

Providing increased speed and efficiency for the necessary marking in their facilities
Reducing time needed to complete marks, engravings, and etchings
Providing high-quality marks that are designed to last
Supplying clean mark edges
Offering a system with a compact size
Providing exacting, micron accuracy ensuring repeatability and reliability
Being more cost-efficient by not needing consumable materials, unlike methods such as inkjet marking

But along with these standard benefits for laser engraving systems, 3D fiber laser systems are able to provide etchings, engravings, and markings on non-flat surfaces. Examples include:

Conical shapes
Spherical and round shapes
Cylindrical shapes
Parts with convex portions
Parts with concave portions
Sloped and slanted surfaces
Triangular surfaces

Stairstep marking is also a unique and worthwhile capability of 3D laser engraving. If you have a part that features different “planes” of flat or curved surfaces, like stairsteps, the z-axis of a 3D laser engraving system can be altered very quickly, adjusting to the needed height and producing the clean, reliable marks you desire.

Additionally, because of the 3D computer modeling that is possible through 3D engraving, a system operator can insert any 3D model of an object into their software and determine how best to incorporate graphics, bar codes, logos, serial numbers, and any other markings or engravings necessary.

How 3D Laser Engraving Could Be Utilized in Your Industry

A host of businesses in varied fields can benefit from the diverse capabilities of 3D laser engraving. Let’s examine a few ways that a 3D fiber laser marking machine could be employed in your operations.

Medical Industry – The medical field has an abundance of materials that need effective marks, such as laboratory equipment, surgical tools, syringes, and more, with many of them featuring curved, ergonomic surfaces. By marking your parts with a 3D engraving system, you can additionally ensure that you are adhering to current UDI compliance

Aerospace – This field, with its very exacting standards and requirements, as well as its use of many curved and aerodynamic parts, can certainly utilize the marking and engraving capabilities offered through 3D laser engraving.

Tooling – With many hand tools, cutting tools, and drills having convex and rounded surfaces, 3D laser engraving can help facilitate marks in these areas for whatever a company requires. Also, 3D engraving is particularly well-suited for molds, so any new or prototype parts can receive engravings on their molds with ease.

Automotive – With the hundreds of parts required to make an automobile functional, and the need to provide serialization and part traceability for many of these components, utilizing 3D laser engraving really is an obvious solution.

Military and Defense – Much like the aerospace and automotive fields, the military utilizes equipment that incorporates a range of parts, with many of them being cylindrical, or featuring concave or convex surfaces. Products ideal for 3D laser engraving include firearms, gun scopes and sites, optics equipment, knives, flashlights, and more.

Electronics – This is another industry with very intricate and varied parts. While standard 2D laser marking can suffice for many parts like circuit boards and the flat cases of products, as electronics have advanced many of the hard edges have been removed, with smoother, rounder surfaces more and more becoming the norm. 3D engraving can certainly help with such curved surfaces.

Home Goods – A 3D laser engraving system can greatly benefit products within the home goods industry. Consider the possibilities for logos and graphics on curved surfaces like those found on pots, pans, cutlery, tumblers, and many more.

Oil and Gas – Plenty of tools, pieces of equipment, pipes, tubes, valves, and more can benefit from the abilities supplied by 3D laser engraving. If you’re in the oil and gas field, we highly recommend investigating the possibilities for incorporating a system into your operations.

Industrial – Much like many of the sectors listed above, the industrial field utilizes a wide variety of components and parts, with many of them necessitating curved or rounded surfaces. Both 2D and 3D laser engraving and marking can help in part traceability, serialization, and graphic and logo implementation.

Exceed Your Production Expectations with a Laser Engraving System

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Choose the Zetalase XL as Your 3D Fiber Laser

As you can see, a 3D laser engraver can supply a host of benefits for a large variety of industries. Our Zetalase XL laser system, in addition to its 3D capabilities, can also provide you with: