The history of laser marking machine

On our news papers, we like to regularly emphasize new technologies, trends and innovations, but we also like to review key points in the history of manufacturing to show how far this field has gone.For this article, we think we should look at the history of laser marking machine and address the technological leaps required to bring about these processes. Let's see!

The following knowledge points are listed below:

The creation of lasers

Various marking forms and the rise of bar codes and serialization

The rise of laser marking machines

1.  The creation of lasers

The history of laser engraving machine begins with the story of the first laser. Let's take a look at some key developments:

In 1954, Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow invented the "maser," meaning microwave amplification by stimulated radiation. This breakthrough prompted them to propose in 1958 to create a more advanced technology they called laser, or amplified light by stimulated radiation. Later, the two wrote a scientific paper outlining their theoretical operations that helped inspire many scientists.

In 1960, Theodore Maiman invented the first ruby laser, and it is now considered the first viable optical laser in existence.

However, in 1958, Gordon Gould also began to study lasers, and historians now often consider him to be the earliest inventor of lasers. Gould's failure to apply for a patent for his device in a timely manner led to the rejection of the patent application, which gave other companies and scientists opportunities. Although Gould eventually received a belated patent in 1977.

In 1965, Western Electric developed the first laser for manufacturing to drill holes in diamond molds.

A focused carbon dioxide laser beam for laser cutting machine was first introduced in 1967, and in the following years, researchers at Boeing pioneered the technology and in 1975 built a modern carbon dioxide laser cutting machine.

All these advances were written into the history of laser engraving machine, and eventually paved the way for the development of laser marking machine and laser engraving systems and were incorporated into a wide range of industries.

2. Various marking forms and the rise of bar codes and serialization

Of course, laser marking machine is not the only form of product marking, but as we have outlined before, using a laser marking machine is better than other methods such as dot spray, electrochemical, inkjet, etc.

However, all of these forms of marking, including laser marking machine, have been greatly affected by barcodes and serialization. Without these specifications, product identification will be more restricted, and some forms of identification may not be developed, and may not be considered necessary or valuable.

Let's examine some of the key points of serialization, as it is the key to a comprehensive understanding of the history of laser engraving and marking.

Prior to the implementation of barcodes, stores did not have a reliable way to track their products to see how many items were on sale or how long it would take a new order. This has a particularly large impact on the grocery industry, as it usually goes much faster from acquiring a product to selling it than in many other areas.

In 1932, punch cards were once thought to be used to record the type and time of purchase, but later abandoned the idea because it was too expensive and complicated.

But in 1948, graduate student Bernie Silver discovered the problem of grocery tracking and told his teacher Norman Woodland. Over the next two years, the teacher experimented with various data collection techniques and eventually created the first basic bar code on the modified Morse code.

In the 1950s and 1960s, David Collins of the railway industry developed similar code systems to track trams, which used colored lights and sensors to read information.

In the 1960s, Collins changed the way he worked, added a laser beam, and built the first modern barcode scanner, paving the way for the technology we know today.

After years of testing and improvement, the bar code finally entered the commercial market in 1974 and was first used by a grocery store to scan 10 packets of Wrigley Gum.

By 1984, 33% of grocery stores were using barcodes. By the end of the century, this technology will be widely used in grocery and retail stores.

3. The rise of laser marking machines

With the popularity of barcodes, lasers are not only used to read product information, but also to create information. As new technology advances, lasers are beginning to be able to mark or engrave materials to create barcodes, serial numbers, 2D codes, UDI codes, logos, designs, and more.

Let's take a look at the key points in the history of laser engraving and marking and see how we have come to this day.

In the 1970s, in order to improve the computer engraving machine that was popular at the time, Bill Lawson of LMI began to test the feasibility and possibility of laser engraving machine.

Prior to Lawson, a company called Laser Process had developed some primitive laser engraving techniques, but their systems required the use of stencils, which were actually "blasting" the material with a laser beam. These templates are also difficult to control.

However, the system used by Rosen can scan black-and-white artwork, information or designs and sculpt white or black parts at the operator's will, which greatly improves the final result.

In the 1970s, Electrox became the first laser company to develop and manufacture a commercial fast axial flow CO2 laser, helping to advance the field and establishing Electrox as a key source of laser marking machine systems.

Technology, especially computer systems, made significant advances in the 1980s and 1990s, which led to the direct integration of computers into laser engraving machine systems.

These advances have led to lower prices, making laser systems more economical than ever. Although many companies have seen the value of technology before, but price is an issue, the modern systems of the 1990s and beyond were a more practical investment for many businesses.

After reading this article, do you know the history of laser marking machine now?