OKW adds laser marking to customisation services
Enclosures for electronic equipment and components can be customised with laser marking, a new service added to the suite of customisation services available from OKW.
Laser marking legends and logos to enclosures is waterproof, smudge-proof and durable. It is suitable for very small machine-readable markings such as sequential QR codes or barcodes. Consecutive numbering can be carried out quickly, easily and cost effectively, adds OKW.
Using a laser to mark an enclosure provides a more resilient solution than printing because it physically changes the colour of the surface. Dark and light plastic parts turn grey at the point of marking.
There is a selection of materials that are suitable for laser marking, these include ABS, ASA+PC and ASA+PC-FR, polycarbonate, polyamide (and PA GF) and aluminium. Depending on the material used, off-white, pebble grey, light grey, lava and black are effective colours for enclosures with high-contrast laser marking, advises OKW.
OKW continues to offer photo-quality digital printing (up to 1,800 x 1,800 dots per inch (dpi) on surfaces with a height difference of up to 2.5mm. Like laser marking, the set-up costs for digital printing are much lower than those for traditional silk screen and tampo methods. This makes digital printing and laser marking particularly suitable for lower volume production runs.
OKW’s enclosure customisation options also include CNC machining, lacquering, decor foils, special materials, EMC shielding, installation and assembly, fully bespoke enclosures, membrane keypads and touchscreens.
