Specifications

High-Precision Motion Control for 3D Laser Engraving
Electronics Assembly
China
15
Introduction
Although lasers have become a widely accepted tool in the industrial market, many 3D laser
engraving machines are still being driven by proprietary systems. While functional, these
systems lack the high-performance and high-accuracy capabilities that many of today’s
demanding optoelectronic applications require.
For a machine producer in China, Advantech products were used for upgrading their laser
engraving system to a PC-based system with higher performance, higher accuracy, increased
speed, and better stability.
Project Requirements
A customer needed to engrave 3D patterns with over
10,000 cuts into tiny plastic cubes. To engrave these
intricate patterns on such a small scale requires an
extremely accurate laser with precise control of
timing, energy, and accuracy.
Additionally, our customer wanted to increase
their production runs. This could be accomplished
through quicker loading of the pattern files into the
production line.
Solution Description
The process starts with the operator placing a tray
of 12 plastic cubes onto the machine’s fixture, and
then loading the 3D pattern file. A button is pressed
on the fixture to start the laser engraving process.
A signal is sent to a digital input channel on the PCI-
1240U motion control card, the pattern file is read,
and the moving table goes to the highest point of the
vertical Z-axis and the starting point for the X and Y
axes. The twelve mirrors and lenses are moved in
position over the 12 cubes.
By engraving one horizontal layer at a time, a simple
stepping motor can be used for vertical control,
while a more complicated servo motor can be used
for horizontal control to allow greater speed.
33