The increase in production line speeds combined with the quantity of information to code products with, means that laser coders now have far less time to cool down while in use. Known as the “application duty”, the period that the laser is actually coding a product, has increased from 50% to 80% in recent years.
In addition, the ambient temperature in many manufacturing plants will vary significantly, particularly in the summer months when it may be particularly high.
Without an effective cooling system, this temperature variation can weaken the laser source power and impact negatively upon print quality. In combination with the increase in application duty, high ambient temperatures can rapidly cause laser coding solutions to overheat. This will damage the laser source and limit its lifetime. Such overheating will also result in a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes downtime, severely affecting production line efficiency and incurring unnecessary costs.
The advanced mechanical integration seen on modern production lines also means that laser coders must be capable of operating effectively in dusty environments and situations where the laser printhead may come into contact with liquid projections.