Apr. 28, 2025
Machinery
Is your production line bogged down by outdated direct part marking methods?
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Imagine achieving clean, permanent markings on your parts with unmatched speed and precision — all while reducing maintenance headaches and boosting productivity. That’s the promise of fiber laser marking technology.
Fiber laser technology has become a pivotal tool across industries because of its precision, durability, and efficiency. Whether you’re marking intricate details on medical devices or ensuring traceability on industrial components, fiber lasers stand out for their adaptability and high performance.
Let’s explore the unique advantages of fiber laser marking machines, shedding light on why they’re increasingly chosen as the go-to solution for modern manufacturing challenges.
A fiber laser marking machine is an advanced industrial tool that uses a focused fiber laser beam to create permanent, high-precision marks on various materials. The laser alters the surface properties of the material, producing sharp, clear markings such as serial numbers, barcodes, logos, and other identifiers. This technology is highly valued for its precision, speed, and durability, offering consistent results with minimal maintenance.
Fiber laser marking machines are widely used across industries where permanent, high-quality markings are essential for traceability, branding, or compliance. Industrial laser marking applications include:
Fiber laser marking changed industrial processes with its cutting-edge technology, delivering precision and efficiency like never before. This solution combines exceptional performance with a compact, versatile design, all while keeping maintenance and costs to a minimum.
These lasers have been a staple for decades, and here are seven reasons why:
Fiber lasers offer exceptional precision, making them well-suited for intricate and detailed cutting applications. Their high beam quality allows for a finely focused spot, which results in sharp, clean edges with minimum material waste.
This level of accuracy is especially critical in industries such as aerospace and electronics, where precision is non-negotiable. With fiber lasers, manufacturers can achieve these results consistently, often eliminating the need for additional finishing work.
Fiber lasers are known for their high energy efficiency, converting a significant portion of electrical power into laser light and minimizing energy waste. This efficiency translates to lower operating costs and a reduced environmental impact. Choosing this technology helps businesses save on energy expenses and promotes a more sustainable approach to manufacturing.
Fiber lasers are exceptionally well-suited for direct part marking, offering unparalleled precision and versatility across a wide range of materials. From metals like steel and aluminum to non-metals such as plastics and wood, fiber lasers create detailed, durable marks that stand up to the demands of industrial and commercial applications.
Featuring a smaller footprint than many other laser types, fiber lasers are known for their space-efficient design. This compact form allows them to fit easily into existing setups, even in facilities with limited space.
This streamlined design optimizes space usage and simplifies workflow integration, enabling businesses to enhance productivity without needing extensive modifications. The result is a more efficient and adaptable operation that meets the demands of modern manufacturing environments.
Fiber lasers stand out in demanding applications that require intense, focused energy, thanks to their high output power. This capability ensures smooth, uninterrupted performance, even during continuous operation at elevated power levels.
Equipped with advanced heat dissipation systems, fiber lasers efficiently manage heat to prevent overheating and maintain stability during extended use. This reliability makes them ideal for applications where consistent, dependable output is critical.
Two key advantages of fiber laser systems are their exceptional reliability and minimal maintenance needs. Their enclosed optical path protects the lasers from dust and debris, reducing the frequency of upkeep and ensuring consistent performance.
Fiber lasers maintain dependable operation even in challenging environments with extreme temperatures or vibrations. This robustness translates to smoother workflows, fewer interruptions, and greater peace of mind for businesses.
Fiber lasers offer significant cost savings due to their exceptional energy efficiency and low maintenance requirements compared to traditional laser systems. Lower power consumption and minimal upkeep translate to reduced operational expenses. The solid-state design also minimizes the need for costly consumables and reduces repair frequency.
In high-volume production environments, this efficiency can accelerate return on investment (ROI) by lowering per-part processing costs and improving overall profitability, making fiber lasers a cost-effective long-term investment.
Choosing the right laser for direct part marking is crucial for achieving high-quality results. While fiber lasers offer distinct advantages, it’s important to understand how they compare to other types. Let’s take a look at three different lasers and compare them:
Fiber lasers excel at marking metals, providing the speed and precision necessary for creating sharp, durable marks. Their focused, high-intensity beam delivers consistent results, making them ideal for applications where accuracy and clarity are critical, such as serial numbers or barcodes.
CO2 lasers, by contrast, are better suited for non-metal materials like wood, plastics, or acrylic. While they are excellent for detailed designs on these surfaces, they lack the efficiency and precision required for high-quality metal part marking, giving fiber lasers the edge for industrial applications.
Fiber lasers offer unmatched stability and beam quality, essential for consistent and precise direct part marking. Their fiber-optic design ensures a consistently focused beam over extended distances, maintaining accuracy and detail for intricate marking tasks.
Bulk lasers, however, are typically used in applications requiring short bursts of high peak power, such as specialized material processing. While they may be cost-effective in environments where fiber systems are impractical, they lack the precision and reliability of fiber lasers for direct part marking.
Direct diode lasers are known for their speed and efficiency, particularly with reflective materials like copper or brass. However, they lack the beam quality of fiber lasers, making them less suited for fine, intricate markings that demand high contrast and sharp detail.
Fiber lasers combine exceptional beam quality with robust performance, delivering precise and permanent markings across a variety of materials. Their reliability and low maintenance requirements make them the preferred option for industries requiring consistent, high-quality direct part marking.
Fiber lasers typically have a higher upfront cost compared to other laser systems, such as CO2 or direct diode lasers. This is due to their advanced technology, higher energy efficiency, and durability. However, the lower operational costs—thanks to minimal maintenance, no consumables, and reduced energy consumption—make fiber lasers a cost-effective choice in the long run, especially for high-volume production environments.
Fiber lasers excel at marking metals and certain non-metals like plastics and composites. However, they are less effective for marking materials like wood, glass, or fabric, where CO2 lasers perform better. Fiber lasers might not be ideal for applications requiring extremely high peak power in short bursts, such as bulk laser applications in medical or specialized fields.
Fiber lasers require minimal maintenance due to their solid-state design and enclosed optical path, which protects them from dust and debris. This design eliminates the need for consumables like gases or inks, significantly reducing operational costs. Over time, businesses benefit from lower repair frequency, consistent performance, and reduced downtime, making fiber lasers a reliable and cost-efficient option for long-term use.
Fiber laser marking machines are renowned for their precision, speed, and efficiency, making them an excellent choice across several applications. Their low-maintenance design and energy efficiency reduce downtime and help lower operational costs, providing a reliable and cost-effective solution for modern manufacturing.
There are many differences between a fiber laser and CO₂ laser, and if you want to determine which laser engraving machine is better, you may be surprised to learn that both laser machines can work together to expand your laser engraving capabilities.
Fiber lasers, also called galvo laser engravers, are utilized for laser marking and engraving metals and hard plastics. CO₂ lasers engravers work best with softer materials like wood, acrylic, rubber, and much more. CO₂ laser engraver owners can instantly expand their laser engraving materials list by acquiring a galvo laser.
This fiber laser vs CO₂ laser engraver guide will detail the differences between the two lasers and teach CO₂ laser engravers why adding a fiber laser to their workshop can advance your laser engraving business.
I got my 60W CO₂ laser (MF-60) in March , and I quickly found myself loving the ability to engrave and cut a variety of materials. At one point early on, I got a large order for 150+ powder coated mugs. For this round surface engraving, I would need to use my laser rotary attachment all day long.
I had to put all my laser engraving projects off for two weeks, as it was taking me 14 minutes to laser engrave each mug. I did have some friendly people from the online laser communities who were kind enough to help test my files and were able to run speeds of 9-12 minutes. That was still a lot of time when you have dozens of mugs to do. It took me a good week to get my rotary axis dialed in, and then I spent 6 to 8 hours a day running mugs like there was no tomorrow.
*when laser marking powder coated metal
Then, I saw a video from another creator on Instagram who mentioned he was laser engraving mugs in under a minute on his 20W fiber laser marker. I pushed this aside for a while, continuing with my work until another large order came around. At this point, I was so busy with my CO₂ work, I figured now that my CO₂ laser was all paid off, I’d invest in a fiber laser, or galvo laser engraver, with a rotary attachment to laser engrave mugs faster. I ended up purchasing my 30W fiber laser (model FM-30) in the fall of and started off with an order of 60 mugs. I was amazed that what was taking me 14 minutes on my CO₂ laser took about 2 minutes with my fiber laser. It was a night and day difference. My galvo laser engraver is now my dedicated mug machine.
My biggest challenge was learning how to use fiber laser software — EZCAD. I’m a Mac user and ended up using a Windows-based laptop my Dad had available that I could install the EZCAD software on. There are many new things to learn with fiber laser software, like frequency, loops, polygons, and all that fun stuff. I purchased a pre-existing library from a creator because I wanted to avoid the trial and error of finding the best laser settings.
If you’re familiar with Lightburn software for CO₂ laser engravers, you will be happy to know that LightBurn is planning to release a galvo laser software for fiber lasers in the near future.
Adding a fiber laser engraver to your laser engraving business can not only bring new product offerings, but can also enhance what you already have with your CO₂ laser engraver.
For example, if you were in the same boat as me and don’t want your CO₂ being held up by lots of mug work, a fiber can take that over. Better yet, if you have a very large mug order, you can run both the CO₂ laser and the galvo laser at the same time (with separate laser rotary attachments for both machines).
From my personal experience, setting up the fiber laser engraver wasn’t hard. It was a simple matter of unboxing it, plugging it in, loading up the software, and I was ready to go. The biggest setup issue I had was the engraving being off-center from where the light was, but I quickly learned how to adjust the red light pointer in the configuration panel. Other than that, it was a matter of learning what focal height worked best for what material and so on.
I ended up laser marking some clear tape and color-coding it, putting it next to certain settings I liked. For example, when I engrave on the laser rotary attachment, the focal height is much higher than something flat.
Learning how to dial in my settings was a bit challenging, but there are a lot of helpful blogs and Youtube videos out there. I also purchased my library set from a galvo laser creator within the laser community. To me, it was best to support other makers and have something in my pocket to reference moving forward.
You can open up new markets and customers by adding a fiber laser marking machine to your arsenal. New product offerings can help grow and expand your business in new and fun ways. Not to mention, a lot of people seem oddly curious about metal marking. I've had people reach out simply because they wanted more durable metal keychains instead of wood or acrylic.
These are a few products you can customize with a fiber laser engraving machine:
Using a fiber laser marker is drastically different than a CO₂ laser engraver. With a fiber laser, you don’t have to adjust any laser mirrors or level the bed. At the moment, the software is also limited to Windows (unless you run a virtual machine on Mac), however, that will be changing in the future once LightBurn releases their new laser software for fiber lasers. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the fiber laser vs CO₂ laser specs and uses.
Which software can you use with CO₂ lasers?
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Further reading:RDWorks (Windows only)
LightBurn (Mac + Windows Compatible)
Setup and testing include:
What materials can a CO₂ laser engrave/cut?
Materials you can engrave/cut with a CO₂ laser:
Other concerns with CO₂ lasers:
Safety Equipment for CO2 lasers:
Optional Upgrades for CO2 lasers:
Which software can you use with fiber lasers?
EZCAD (Only Windows Compatible at the moment)
LightBurn is scheduled to release fiber laser software in
Setup and testing include:
What materials can a fiber laser engrave?
Materials you can engrave with a fiber laser:
Other Concerns with Fiber Lasers:
Optional Upgrades for Fiber Lasers:
Setting up a new CO₂ laser requires more steps than setting up a fiber. Another interesting thing I would like to point out is the OMTech CO₂ laser engraving machines are flatbed lasers while the fibers are galvo lasers. Flatbed lasers shoot the beam through various mirrors aligned on the different axes within the laser while the galvo has a dynamic internal mirror that rotates with specific drives.
That is why galvo laser engravers are so much faster than CO₂ laser engravers. While there are galvo CO₂’s out there, they are not nearly as common as their flatbed counterparts.
Another added bonus with fiber lasers is the light function — you can actually see an outline of where your engraving will take place with the design in all, unlike the CO₂ where you just have the pointer light.
While Lightburn laser software is the most popular program for CO₂ laser engravers, most fiber lasers use EzCad software. As I mentioned before, my biggest hurdle was understanding EzCad software and how it worked. It is a lot different than LightBurn, but once you familiarize yourself with its functions, it gets easier to use.
When I started, there wasn’t much for resources available that were in English. I ended up subscribing to various Youtube channels where I was able to grasp how some of the different functions worked. When it comes to learning how to laser engrave with a fiber laser vs CO₂ laser, there are more educational resources out there for CO₂ laser engravers.
I also use my laser software secondary to my design software. I usually draw in Procreate, bring it into Adobe Illustrator, and convert it to a vector there.
Fiber lasers are not necessarily any more powerful than co₂ lasers. Fiber lasers are simply better absorbed by harder materials because they have a low wavelength of 1,060 nm that is more easily absorbed by metals and other hard materials. Because CO₂ lasers have a relatively high wavelength in the 10,600 nm range, the laser beam will actually bounce off most metals.
However, you can use laser marking agents to mark metals with co₂ lasers.
OMTech fiber lasers do not cut metal. For laser cutting metal, you would need an industrial fiber (around W or higher) and/or a plasma cutter or water jet. Galvo lasers can, however, achieve some engraving depth of roughly 1mm on softer metals.
OMTech offers two basic styles of galvo laser machines: split fiber and non-split. Both laser machines have most of the same specifications internally. The only difference is with the non-split, it’s a rolling and portable version that allows you to set a computer and monitor up if you choose. I ended up going with the non-split version simply because it was portable and I could use the inside as storage for all my fiber-specific materials.
Which wattage fiber laser is best for me?
The OMTech CO₂ lasers range from 40W all the way up to 150W, whereas the fiber laser marking machines range from 20W to 50W. As with the same rule, the bonus of the higher wattage means faster speeds and more engrave depth. For the average user who wants to engrave simple metals and jewelry, a 20W or 30W fiber laser will provide sufficient power.
If you need deep engravings — or if you plan on doing anything with firearms — a 50W fiber laser will be the best option for you.
Most galvo fiber laser engravers come with special F-Theta lenses, sometimes called galvo lenses (short for galvanometric scanning). Galvo, or galvo head, actually refers to the galvo scanning head, which is a set of two mirrors on motorized mounts that bounce the fiber laser beam through the laser lens in coded movements that create your laser engraving artwork. Through the galvo scanning motors and with the help of EzCad laser software, you can manipulate the laser beam to mark and engrave incredible images, logos, text, and just about anything you can imagine.
However, there are additional F-theta lens options you can purchase, which may be worth it depending on the use you have in mind.
The size of the field lens corresponds to the laser marking area. Smaller lenses concentrate the laser beam in a smaller area, making them more powerful than larger lenses (of the same wattage laser). Larger lens sizes distribute the laser beam over a larger area, so they lose some power at the same wattage.
For example, if you wanted to maximize your laser power, you could potentially put the smallest lens on the strongest fiber laser.
If you care more about laser engraving large metal designs, you could potentially maximize your marking area by placing the largest lens on a less powerful galvo laser engraver.
OMTech Fiber Laser Markers come with the following lens sizes:
As mentioned above with the in-depth comparison, the main fiber upgrade you will want to look into is the laser rotary attachment. The fiber allows for a chuck rotary attachment, while the CO₂ offers a chuck style and 4 wheel rotary axis. One of the advantages of the fiber’s chuck rotary is it will allow you to engrave on extremely tiny things, such as rings.
Exhaust is another upgrade you can do for your fiber laser and is a good call to do if you plan on doing any powder-coated engraves, especially mugs. OMTech makes goose-neck fume extractors that you can use which will vacuum up the fumes, just position it behind your work area. I've also seen some great DIY enclosures that involve a plexiglass or acrylic box around the main work area which offers a cut-out hole that hooks up to a tube and inline fan, venting outside.
I have a plan to eventually make my own DIY laser engraver enclosure in the future because I’d prefer my machine to have some DIY laser shielding for better laser safety. My goal is to have a split connector sharing my current CO₂ laser inline fan and have it also hook up to my galvo laser engraver.
At the moment when I run a powder-coated job and/or any job that produces a lot of fumes, I open up the doors (5 feet from my fiber laser), run a fan on high to blow fumes towards the doors, and wear a respirator with dual filters in the meantime.
Additional Features: Autofocus Fiber Lasers
OMTech also has a new fiber laser marker: the Autofocus Galvo and MOPA. Coming in 20W, 30W, and 50W options for the Galvo and 20W, 30W, and 60W options for the MOPA, the Autofocus is a new addition to the OMTech fiber laser lineup that deserves acknowledgment. The convenience of having a machine that can achieve optimal focal height at the press of a button saves time for users, making it worth the consideration.
Laser safety with a fiber laser vs CO₂ laser is similar, although fiber lasers require additional safety measures. Because OMTech fiber laser engravers have open workbeds with no protective enclosure, you MUST ALWAYS wear specialized laser eyewear anytime you fire up your fiber laser. OMTech provides a pair of these special glasses with their fiber lasers, so you can start laser engraving right away.
CO₂ laser engravers from OMTech have fully enclosed workbeds with a transparent window cover coated in a protective sepia tint. The enclosure and tinted acrylic window provide sufficient eye protection from laser light, as well as a convenient hookup for exhaust ventilation.
Since fiber lasers have open workbeds, it’s important to have adequate ventilation — like a laser fume extractor or DIY laser exhaust system — especially if you are running any powder coated jobs. When powder coatings are heated and vaporized, they burn off harsh chemical coatings that you really don’t want to inhale.
One exhaust method is to run your fiber laser in a plein-air garage setting with a powerful household fan blowing across the laser work area and out the open garage door. While this setup is popular and can be successful, it is not recommended for galvo laser engraving.
I use a full-face Honeywell respirator (they have three sizes) and the dedicated cartridge filters. This was the PPE recommended to me a couple of years back when I joined the resin community because of the multi-use cartridges and full protection of a fill face. With the cartridges as well, they serve a dual purpose for fumes and for debris like sanding, so I use this respirator for other uses as well (painting, staining, resin work, powder coated laser jobs, etc). If you do plan on purchasing a respirator, make sure you perform a FIT test prior to any use and make sure you purchase the correct filters for whatever the use is that you have planned for them.
One of the tests that I was advised to try, is when you have your respirator on with your filters in place, open up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and/or something very strong smelling. If you can smell it through the mask, the respirator is either not fitted correctly (try to tighten it more), and/or the filters are bad. If you just opened the filters and they are new and you have adjusted your mask, chances are you will need a different size.
You must have a snug fit — you don’t want any air getting into that mask. It can almost feel suffocating at first, but you do get used to it. I also don’t advise wearing it for long periods of time as you can overheat. I only wear mine when I run certain jobs and try to not have it on for more than a half-hour. When filters are not in use, make sure to store them in an air-tight ziplock with the air removed as best as you can. Most filters are good for roughly 40 hours of use.
Pro Tip: If you are doing a long or deep engraving job on metal with your fiber laser, the metal can heat up and burn you if you pick it up too soon after a job has been completed.
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