- Black metal etching produces a high contrast, durable, black mark on stainless steel and other hard metals.
- The black metal etching process is resistance to chemicals such as acids and bases, UV exposure, abrasion and extreme temperature.
- We use Cermark, the best product on the market today, to create the best permanent, high contrast, high resolution marks for black metal etched applications.
- Used in a wide range of industries: Aerospace, defence, industrial, outdoor signage, presentation plaques
Laser etching a high contrast black mark on stainless steel
Cermark is resistance to chemicals such as acids and bases, UV exposure, abrasion and extreme temperature.
Cermark’s patented laser bonding technology offers a unique solution for creating permanent, high contrast, high resolution marks on a wide variety of surfaces, including most metals, ceramic, glass and many plastics.
These materials have been individually scientifically formulated for the best permanent chemical bonds possible.
TherMark materials are easy to use: simply apply them to the surface to be marked, put the coated part under a CO2 or Fiber laser marking system and laser mark the pattern you wish applied.
Some of the materials that can black metal laser etched: Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel – Bright Annealed, Galvanized Steel, Brass, Aluminum, Copper, Chrome Plating, Nickel Plating, Titanium and Pewter.
Some of our work
Revolutionary technology | Laser etching materials with Cermark
The revolutionary Cermark process uses precise lasers and marking materials scientifically formulated to permanently fuse to metals, hard metals, steel, mirror finish steel and other hard surfaces creating high-contrast, high-resolution marks. Cermark’s patented technology offers an unmatched combination of benefits that stems directly from the chemistry involved in its laser marking process.
Cermark’s marking materials, or inks, consist of traditional ceramic glazing material, with the addition of a thermal absorber. The ceramic glazing material is a mixture of glass frit – small particles of partially fused glass designed to melt at a much lower temperature than ordinary window glass – with pigments for colouring.
The traditional use of such glazing material requires it to be applied to the surface of a ceramic object, and then baked in a very hot kiln for more than an hour. Once fired, the glass frit and pigments combine to form a thin layer of coloured glass that is further fused onto the surface of the ceramic object.
The patented Cermark process used for laser metal etching
The patented Cermark method uses a laser as the heat source to fuse the ceramic glaze instead of a kiln. All this happens in microseconds as opposed to hours, consuming far less “energy” and, consequently, without compromising or damaging the material being marked. It is the thermal absorber within the Cermark marking materials which enhances and speeds the heat absorption from the laser beam, improving the transfer to the glaze.
The thermal absorber is also instrumental in allowing the substrate to be marked using multiple laser types. For example, a CO2 laser cannot mark most metal because the beam cannot be absorbed by the substrate. Because of the absorbers, Cermark facilitates marking metals with a CO2 laser, increasing the range of applications the laser system is capable of. The inclusion of pigments in the Cermark marking materials not only enables the creation of high-contrast, high-resolution marks, but also provides the ability of tailoring the colour to the application.
The pigments used are chemically similar, in many cases identical, to the ones used to decorate fine china, ceramics and tile. Some of these pigments undergo no chemical change during the laser firing process and either dissolve into or are simply encapsulated by the melting glass frit. Others react with the molten glass frit and with each other to “develop” the desired colour under the laser’s heat. For example, Cermark uses a proprietary cobalt compound as a pigment which develops a deep blue colour by reacting with the silicates in the glass frit to form Co-silicate.
In all cases, the result is a high-contrast, coloured mark composed of inherently stable pigments which are further protected in capsules of inert glass.
The use of chemically stable pigments is one of two keys to the formation of permanent marks within the Cermark process. Equally important is the thermal bonding process. As the glass frit melts, it chemically bonds to the substrate’s surface.
In the case of unglazed ceramic or metal, silica atoms in the frit bond to metal atoms in the ceramic or metal surface, again through an oxygen atom as shown in Illustration 2B. These chemical bonds are as strong as the bonds holding the glass together and result in a mark that can stand up to severe abrasion and corrosion.
Detailed explanation courtesy of Cermark.
The Engraving Crew only use technology supplied by the leading manufactures of laser marking equipment and accessories.