Aluminum Laser Marking and Engraving

For marking and traceability, fiber laser engravers generate a wide range of grays (from white to black) on the surface of aluminum. They are used to:

  • Permanently mark QR codes, data matrix codes, serial numbers, and logos.
  • Engrave various aluminum parts such as castings, ingots, sows, slabs, billets, sheets, and extrusions.
  • Etch all types of aluminum, including anodized aluminum and common alloys (Aluminum 380 and 6061).


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Benefits of Aluminum Laser Marking & Engraving

  • High-Speed Marking for Inline Production

    High-Speed Marking for Inline Production

    You can add markings to aluminum products as they move along the production line without causing delays. With a configuration optimized for aluminum, our 100W laser marker can etch a 16x16 data matrix code in just 1.40 seconds. If you add 16 alphanumeric characters to the process, you only add 0.38 seconds of marking time.

    Laserax offers up to 500W of laser power for aluminum laser engraving. This is more than enough to ensure the efficiency of your manufacturing process.

  • High-Contrast Markings

    High-Contrast Markings

    Lasers generate high-contrast black marks on white backgrounds. Black marks are easy to scan with standard barcode readers.

    Our laser markers and engravers offer the largest focus tolerance for the aluminum industry. This means you can obtain high-contrast marks even when parts aren’t positioned perfectly. Our 3D technology also makes it possible to generate high-contrast marks on curved, tilted, multi-level, or any non-flat aluminum surfaces.

  • Traceability Through Post Treatments

    Traceability Through Post Treatments

    To meet advanced traceability requirements and mark at the start of production, laser markers can be integrated before surface treatments. Aluminum surfaces can be shotblasted, e-coated, powder coated, or heat treated. Barcode readers will still read the identifiers.

  • Reliable Technology with Low Maintenance

    Reliable Technology with Low Maintenance

    Laser marking machines can operate with minimal maintenance in the world’s harshest production lines—including aluminum foundries and smelting plants. We build our machines with robust components and include features such as air knives and dust extraction units to minimize the maintenance caused by dust.

    Since laser technology is a non-contact method that operates without consumables, downtime is kept to a minimum. The fiber laser source has an MTBF of 100,000 hours, meaning you can mark parts 24/7 for more than 10 years with the same laser.

 

Industrial Laser Marking of Aluminum

Lasers are used throughout the aluminum supply chain to identify a range of aluminum parts.

  • Aluminum Casting

    Lasers are used to mark a unique identifier onto each casting as soon as they’re created. Common aluminum castings that are laser marked include engine blocks, transmission cases, battery trays, shock towers, oil pans, and housings.

  • Primary Aluminum

    Aluminum smelters all over the world use industrial laser marking systems to mark primary aluminum products, including billets, sows, ingots, bundles, anode rods, and slabs.

  • Aluminum Extrusion

    Part identification is implemented at the exit of the press to mark aluminum extrusions on the fly with permanent data matrix codes and serial numbers.

Aluminum Castings

Laser Etching Aluminum Die-Castings

Laser Etching Aluminum Die-Castings

Laser etching is the fastest way to permanently mark aluminum castings with high contrast marks.
Vision Analysis of Aluminum Die Casts

Vision Analysis of Aluminum Die Casts

Vision systems can be used to analyze the geometry and position of aluminum parts to adjust the laser marking process accordingly. This is ideal for marking rough, irregular, rounded, or slanted metal surfaces.
How to Move the Marking Operation in the Casting Plant

How to Move the Marking Operation in the Casting Plant

In this guide written by Laserax and aluminum expert Martin Hartlieb, we explain what it takes to achieve traceability compliance and tackle challenges unique to casting environments.

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Primary Aluminum

Laser Marking Aluminum Sows

Laser Marking Aluminum Sows

Rio Tinto and Alcoa use fiber lasers to etch their company logo, a 2D code, the date and time, and other alphanumerical characters on aluminum sows.
Laser Marking Aluminum Ingots

Laser Marking Aluminum Ingots

Lasers create permanent markings resembling labels on aluminum ingots.
Hydro’s Laser Engraver for Aluminum Billets

Hydro’s Laser Engraver for Aluminum Billets

This laser engraver for aluminum billets is powered by a 100W pulsed fiber laser. In only in 9.4 seconds, Hydro’s logo, a data matrix code, and three lines of alphanumeric characters are marked on the aluminum surface.

The enclosure is custom sized for the billets and certified for laser safety. The laser system’s configuration can work with the conveyor’s imprecision to ensure high-quality markings.

Aluminum Extrusions

Laser Marking Coated & Uncoated Extrusions

Laser Marking Coated & Uncoated Extrusions

For coated extrusions, the laser must first selectively remove the coating. DMCs, logos, and alphanumeric characters can then be etched. For uncoated extrusions, the marking process is much faster.
Laser Marking to Match the Extrusion Speed

Laser Marking to Match the Extrusion Speed

Laser marking can be implemented at the exit of the press to meet the latest automotive standards. A 100W laser can mark alphanumeric characters on aluminum extrusions moving at 70 m/min (230 ft/min), ensuring the laser keeps up with the throughput of the extrusion press.

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How Aluminum Laser Marking Works

There are two laser processes used to mark aluminum: laser etching and laser engraving. While laser etching is a process optimized for speed, laser engraving is optimized for durability.

Laser Etching Aluminum

Laser Etching Aluminum

Laser etching of aluminum is an efficient, high-speed process during which laser radiation modifies the microsurface of the metal. The process generates different shades of gray (from white to black).

Blackened and whitened surfaces don’t scatter light the same way. Whitening is created using a surface texturing of small amplitude, which results in diffuse reflections. Blackening is created by a surface texturing of greater amplitude. This increases the absorption of the light that hits the material.
Laser Engraving Aluminum

Laser Engraving Aluminum

Laser engraving aluminum creates durable identifiers that can be read after abrasive treatments like shotblasting and sandblasting, allowing traceability to be implemented at the start of production.

To vaporize the aluminum and create deep marks, the engraving process sends high-energy pulses to localized areas. Because the laser beam has a small spot size and the pulse a short duration, the heat affected zone (HAZ) on the aluminum surface is negligible. During engraving, aluminum vaporization occurs at 2,327°C (4,220.6°F), where it instantly goes from solid to gas without melting.
Laser Marking Anodized Aluminum

Laser Marking Anodized Aluminum

During the laser etching of anodized aluminum, the laser beam selectively removes the anodized layer from the aluminum surface, resulting in high quality marks. This process creates a high color contrast between the anodized aluminum background and the mark created by the laser.

It is also possible to engrave or etch the bare aluminum before the anodization process.

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Fiber Laser Engravers for Aluminum

To mark aluminum, the most efficient type of laser is a fiber laser engraver (not a CO2 laser). This is because aluminum absorbs the wavelength generated by fiber lasers (1,064 nm) more efficiently than the one by CO2 lasers (≈9.3–10.6 µm). CO2 laser engraving is only possible if the surface is covered with a specialized marking spray (such as CerMark).

Here are the fiber laser machines we recommend for aluminum engraving.