Colour Laser Marking Stainless Steel

In this guide we show you how to colour mark stainless steel, making use of the Wimbledon logo. This can be applied to bottles, nameplates, flasks, and much more.

Replicating colours with laser marking can be a challenging process, especially if you are intending to get as close to the original logo as possible.

In recent years technology and processes have evolved to allow for colour changing of some metals using a 1µm wavelength fiber laser. Metals suitable for this process are aluminium, which when anodised silver can be altered to black, white or silver finishes only or brass, titanium and stainless steel, where it’s possible to produce effects of gold, red, purple, brown, green and blue.

Stainless steel offers the widest range of controllable colour changes. All of these metals change colour when exposed to laser radiation by forming thin oxide layers that alter the degree of reflection and wavelength of visible light. Successful results can deliver an impressive aesthetic and add significant value to the item being marked.

While the result is not fast to achieve it is permanent and unlike the alternatives of print or paint processes, colour changing metals by laser does not require any chemicals and does not produce any hazardous by-products as a part of the process, so it’s a cleaner process that is environmentally more responsible too.

 

Tutorial

  1. Advised Tools
  2. Preparation and Artwork
  3. Trial Run
  4. Parameters & Marking
  5. Finishing Up

Other Sections

colour marking stainless steel materials
01.

What you’ll need

To achieve the widest range of colours, this application requires extremely fine control of the material, high performance equipment and a meticulous process. The better the control the better the outcome.

In terms of hardware you must use a MOPA fiber laser with a wide variation of pulse width and pulse frequency control. The more variations the system can deliver the wider range of effects can be produced. We recommend at minimum this should be 16 pulse widths from 1-350ns and a pulse frequency range of ideally 1kHz-2,000kHz. Beam delivery must be via an accurate 2-axis (galvo) beam deflection unit because best results can require alternating scan angles (plotters only scan in one angle) and focusing must be precise and extremely stable.

A combination of F100 and F254 F-theta lenses provides for the capability to achieve maximum colour range and mark detail. Any of our Meta range of MOPA fiber laser marking machines are capable of this process.

In this example we used the µMeta MOPA Fiber Laser System

View the system we used
02.

Preparation

Best results are achieved on materials with a reasonable thickness and mass that can dissipate the heat of the laser. For sheet materials 3mm thickness or above is best.

The material type, thickness, the surface shape and surface finish all have a significant influence on outcome including uniformity of the mark. Brushed surfaces tend to produce the best results for some colours.

The material being marked should be at room temperature (21c) before it is processed, held stable and perfectly perpendicular to the plane of the lens. Best results are achieved over smaller areas and where the mark is delivered as close as possible to the centre of the scan area. Artwork must be in a vector format.

Download the graphics below and import it into your graphics software. Modify as necessary.

Download Logo SVG
Screenshot wimbledon
03.

Alignment & Trial Run

To ensure the graphic is placed where you want it, you may also draw an outline around the graphic and send it to the laser with 100 speed and 0 power, then turn on the red dot pointer.

04.

Parameters & Marking

By variation of the artwork hatch density and scan angle, the beam delivery speed (mm/s), average power (W), pulse width (ns), pulse frequency (kHz) and sometimes a precise degree of deliberate defocusing, when exposed to the laser the material will heat and an oxide layer will grow.

In some cases there will also be a restructuring of the material surface texture.

Contact an application specialist
Lotus Laser Systems Wimbledon colour marking stainless steel by uMeta 02
05.

Finishing Up

Once your graphic has finished marking, clean off any surface oxidization and unwanted material with a cloth and some of the rubbing compound and admire your work!

For tutorials, advice and more see our website or get in touch.

Find out more
Laser Tips

Achieving a higher quality mark

There is no ‘perfect setting’ for any one material type in relation to a desired colour. All parameters are specific to the entire process, not just the laser control. This is why many people cannot achieve consistent results with colour marking by laser.

However, through trial and error the perfect combination can often be found and repeated time and time again as consistently as the process and material stability allows.

Inspiration

More Guides & Examples

Introducing the Upgraded Rotary V5

Take a look at how the Rotary V5 builds upon the success of its predecessor,...

Brand New Accessories for Marking and Engraving Efficiency

The Breadboard and Locating Posts are about to revolutionise production processes…

Maximising Efficiency with the Breadboard and Positioning Square

Introducing the Breadboard & Positioning Square to reduce cycle time...

Lotus Laser’s Scandinavian Reps Visit

We had the pleasure of hosting our esteemed representatives from Norway and Sweden...

Revolutionary HMI Sets New Industry Standard

Our new HMI marks a significant leap in user interaction and operational efficiency...

A Christmas Pop-Up with Topl at Soho Farmhouse, Oxford

We took our uMeta to a Christmas pop-up at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire...

Watchfinder Used Lotus Laser Machines to Destroy Fake Watches

A fun day in the office melting the faces off fake watches with Watchfinder...

Lotus Laser’s Commitment to the Environment: Why We Choose Aluminium for our Machines

By using aluminium at the core of our systems, we contribute to the reduction of...

More on Colour Marking

Find out how we can help you

Laser Engraving Machines Speak to an Expert