All you need to know before buying a MOPA laser, the truth about MOPA technology
There are many questions about the MOPA laser engraving, how many color can engrave? can engrave deep? whats the difference between a MOPA laser and other laser technologies? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the MOPA laser technology?
Speed engraving
At the moment to chose a MOPA laser, the customers are expecting to engrave colors over metals with the same speed as a Fiber laser engraver machine. But this is not possible, this two technologies are different, when engrave with color effects, the machine needs to mark at high frequencies with minimal hatch effect. This makes the engraving resolution high, but at the same time, makes the speed engraving very slow in comparison with other laser engraving technologies. For these reasons, you must reconsider buy this kind of technology if you are planning to engrave hundreds or thousands of pieces in one day. This technology is designed to mark a few pieces a day; it is not designed to mark many pieces per minute.
What is the right way to use this technology?
Even with the disadvantages that this technology may have, it is clear to say that the plastic engraving is rapid, smooth, and bright in comparison with a fiber laser engraving (q-switch), which makes it one of the favorite technologies for those that require to engrave plastic.
But, Is not the UV laser the best technology for engraving plastic? Yes, the UV laser tech is the best technology for engraving all the plastics family, but there are many kinds of popular plastic use in the market that doesn't need a UV laser and can be marked with a MOPA laser. And remember that one of the main differences between a MOPA laser and a UV laser technology is the price, the UV laser is one of the most costly laser technologies in the market.
But, what about the color engraving? There are still many applications for this color engraving, and every client is free to choose this technology for engraving color over stainless steel.
The purpose of this blog is to advice about the advantages and disadvantages of this technology, before our clients purchase a MOPA laser.
