Laser Marking

A Single Source: EB Industries For Both Welding AND Laser Marking

If you are using one company to weld your part and a second company to mark the part, you’re likely spending more time – and more money – than you need to. Here’s a better solution:

EB Industries can both weld AND mark your part, saving you the costs and time of shipping, handling and managing a second vendor.

We offer precision electron beam, laser, TIG and MIG welding. Leveraging our expertise in laser welding, we provide laser marking with:

Unmatched durability: Our laser markings withstand extreme temperatures, chemicals, abrasion, and harsh environments without degradation.
Versatility: We work with a variety of metals, including stainless steel, titanium and aluminum.
Structural integrity: Whether your part is heat-sensitive or thin-walled, we ensure that marking won’t compromise its strength or functionality.

From part numbers to serial codes, QR codes, logos and barcodes, we weld and mark your parts with precision, efficiency, and care.

By consolidating your welding and marking needs into a single-source solution, we simplify your supply chain, reduce administrative overhead, and provide a seamless experience with a single point of contact.

What is Laser Marking?

Product identification, traceability and authentication have become critical requirements across all manufacturing sectors. Regulatory compliance, quality control protocols, warranty validation and counterfeiting prevention all demand permanent, precise, and reliable marking solutions. Traditional marking methods often fall short when faced with challenging materials, complex geometries or harsh operating environments. Based on our expertise in laser welding, we utilize laser marking technology to address these challenges, offering our clients a superior solution that meets the most demanding industrial requirements while integrating seamlessly into modern production processes.

Laser marking is a non-contact process that uses a focused laser beam to create permanent, high-precision marks on material surfaces. The technology works by directing concentrated light energy onto the workpiece. The light energy interacts with the material through various mechanisms—including annealing, engraving, etching or color change—depending on the specific application requirements. Unlike mechanical marking methods, laser marking introduces minimal heat into the surrounding material, preserving the structural integrity of precision components while providing marks that remain legible throughout a product’s entire lifecycle.

Benefits of Laser Marking

The advantages of laser marking extend beyond simple product identification. This versatile technology offers:

Permanent identification: Laser markings withstand extreme temperatures, chemicals, abrasion, and other harsh conditions without degradation.
Compatible with a wide range of materials: Stainless steel, titanium and aluminum.
Preserves structural integrity: Safely marking of heat-sensitive and thin-walled products.
Consistent quality: The non-contact nature of laser marking eliminates mechanical stress and tool wear.
Complete automation: Seamless integration into automated production lines.
Environmentally friendly: Does not require inks, solvents or consumables.
Traceability throughout the product lifecycle: Supports quality assurance, warranty management and regulatory compliance.

Applications

Laser marking helps the medical industry ensure the traceability of medical devices during their useful life. The technology can create permanent biocompatible marks on surgical instruments, implantable devices, and diagnostic equipment without compromising material integrity or creating crevices that might harbor contaminants. The non-contact nature of laser marking is particularly valuable for delicate medical components, as it eliminates the risk of mechanical stress or deformation that could compromise functionality.

The aerospace industry presents extensive challenges for component marking, with requirements for exceptional durability, precision, and traceability. Laser marking provides the serialization of safety-critical parts, allowing lifecycle tracking from manufacturing through maintenance and eventual decommissioning. Durable marking ensures regulatory compliance and airworthiness certification.

The electronics industry demands marking solutions that accommodate miniaturization trends while maintaining legibility and avoiding damage to sensitive components. Laser marking can create permanent identification for electronic connectors with markings that withstand multiple mating cycles, exposure to cleaning agents and thermal cycling.

Quality Management

We maintain the highest standards of quality and precision for our laser marking services. Our advanced quality management system ensures every project meets strict industry and customer requirements:

ISO-certified processes: We adhere to international standards, such as ISO 9001:2015, to guarantee reliability and precision.
State-of-the-art laser systems: Our cutting-edge laser technology provides superior control over marking processes.
Stringent inspection and testing: We utilize high-resolution metrology and automated quality checks to verify accuracy.
Expert engineering support: Our team of laser specialists collaborates with clients to optimize laser marking parameters for the best results.

As a full-service precision welding company, EB Industries offers a unique advantage by combining our expertise in laser, electron beam, TIG and MIG welding with laser marking in one facility to reduce both your project timeline and overall costs. Our cross-functional expertise allows us to optimize both processes for compatibility, ensuring that marking operations don’t compromise weld integrity and that welding parameters preserve mark legibility. Components can move seamlessly from welding to marking stations within our facility, minimizing the risk of damage or contamination during transport.

EB Industries delivers more value with fewer complications. Contact us to discuss how our welding and laser marking expertise can address your requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is laser marking?

Laser marking is a technology that uses a focused laser beam to create permanent marks on a material’s surface. This technique is commonly used for engraving serial numbers, barcodes, logos and other identifiers on metals, plastics and ceramics. Unlike traditional marking methods, laser marking is precise, durable and does not require physical contact, reducing wear and tear on equipment.

How do laser marking machines work?

Laser marking machines use a high-powered, focused laser beam to alter the surface of a material, creating permanent marks such as model numbers, serial numbers, barcodes, logos and text. The laser interacts with the material in different ways depending on the technique used. Techniques include engraving, etching, annealing and foaming. These processes create high-contrast, wear-resistant markings without damaging the integrity of a part.

Is laser marking permanent or does laser marking wear off?

Laser marking creates permanent identifiers on metals and other materials through physical surface modifications that cannot be easily removed or eroded through normal use and environmental exposure. Laser marking achieves its permanence by changing the material’s surface structure through annealing, engraving or color change mechanisms that become integral to the component. The technology controls precise marking depth while not affecting structural integrity. This permanence makes laser marking ideal for applications requiring long-term traceability in challenging environments, such as medical implants, aerospace components, automotive parts and industrial equipment exposed to harsh conditions.

How is laser marking different from chemical etching?

Laser marking and chemical etching are both used for permanent part identification, but they differ in process, precision and durability. Laser marking uses a focused laser beam to alter the material’s surface, creating high-contrast, wear-resistant marks without physical contact or the need for chemicals. It is precise, environmentally friendly and ideal for industries requiring fine detail, such as aerospace and medical devices. Chemical etching involves applying acid or other chemicals to remove material and create a mark. While effective, it requires chemical handling, may not be as precise as laser marking and can wear faster under harsh conditions.

What are the alternatives to laser engraving?

Several marking methods can serve as alternatives to laser engraving. Each method has its own advantages depending on the application. Chemical etching uses acids or chemicals to remove material and create markings. It’s effective for certain metals but requires chemical handling. Dot peen marking is a mechanical process that uses a stylus to indent the surface, creating permanent marks. It is durable but less precise than laser marking. Inkjet printing applies ink to the surface for non-permanent markings. It’s fast and cost-effective but can wear off with time. Electrochemical marking uses electricity and electrolyte solutions to etch metal surfaces. It is commonly used for stainless steel but lacks the precision of laser engraving.

How much material does laser etching remove?

Laser etching is a shallow material removal process, typically removing 0.001 inches (25 microns) or less from the surface. The laser alters the material’s texture and creates high-contrast markings without significantly affecting the part’s structural integrity. This advantage makes laser etching ideal for applications requiring permanent identification without compromising precision components, particularly thin-walled components.

How deep does laser etching go?

Laser etching typically penetrates 0.0001 to 0.001 inches (2.5 to 25 microns) into the material’s surface. Laser etching is a shallow marking process that creates high-contrast, durable marks without significantly altering the material’s structure. Because laser etching only modifies the surface, it is ideal for applications requiring permanent identification without compromising the integrity of delicate or precision components.

What materials are used in laser ablation?

Laser ablation can be performed on a wide range of materials, including metals, stainless steel, titanium and aluminum, as well as ceramics, polymers and composites. The process is commonly used to remove coatings, oxide layers, or contaminants without damaging the underlying material. The material’s properties determine which laser type, fiber, CO2 or ultrafast, is most effective in achieving the required precision and minimal thermal impact. Industries like aerospace, medical device manufacturing, and electronics rely on laser ablation for high-accuracy surface treatment and micromachining applications.

Can lasers go through metal?

Lasers cannot pass through solid metal, but they can cut, engrave, or weld it by focusing intense energy on the surface. High-powered industrial lasers generate enough heat to melt, vaporize or fuse metal, making them excellent for precision welding, marking and cutting applications. In laser welding, the beam creates a controlled melt pool to join metal pieces together. For laser marking, the beam alters the surface of the metal without deep penetration. High-powered industrial lasers can cut through thin metal sheets by melting or vaporizing the material. Advanced laser systems can be precisely calibrated for specific material thicknesses and compositions, allowing for exact control over the depth the laser penetrates the metal. This precise control has made laser processing a standard process in aerospace, medical device production and other industries requiring highly accurate metal fabrication and marking.

What is metal ablation?

Metal ablation is a process that uses a high-power laser for the precise removal of material from a metal surface by vaporization or sublimation. This technique is commonly used for cleaning, removing coatings, texturing, engraving and microfabrication in industries such as aerospace, medical and electronics. Unlike traditional machining, laser ablation is contactless, highly accurate and produces minimal heat-affected zones, preserving the integrity of the surrounding material. Laser ablation is used on metals such as stainless steel, titanium and aluminum, creating durable and precise surface modifications.

What tools are used for ablation?

Ablation processes primarily rely on high-powered laser systems, particularly pulsed lasers and ultrafast lasers that deliver concentrated energy in controlled bursts for specific materials and applications. Modern ablation systems include precision motion control equipment and specialized optics. The systems are typically computer-controlled with sophisticated software that translates design specifications into precise ablation parameters. Beyond lasers, alternative ablation methods include plasma systems and ultrasonic tools, often paired with vision systems and automated monitoring equipment. The appropriate ablation tool depends on the specific application requirements, target material, desired precision and production volume. Experienced industrial service providers carefully evaluate these factors when recommending solutions.