[watsondesigns]

Been having an issue with our 30W fiber laser. Out of nowhere the markings have become faded and are no longer pop as much as they once have, it's like they have a heathered appearance now. I've tried everything listed below with no luck still. Is this something that can be fixed, is it degradation with the laser, or something else entirely?

I've included a photo below of the issue, you can really see the patchyness in the upper engraving compared to the one below. It's the same laser settings too, the only thing that has changed is I did the lower one a few weeks ago

--- Troubleshooting ---
- Double check if laser is in focus
- Swept laser in and out of focus to double check focal length
- Turn laser off and on
- Restart computer and software
- Cleaned laser lens
- Tried different USB port on computer
- Tried increasing or decreasing laser marking settings (speed, frequency, power)
- Resorted back to original laser software installation with default settings (both marking and laser settings reset to default)

[elephantcnc]

Do you think it is the following reasons?We use fiber laser marking machines or semiconductor laser marking machines to mark metal or stainless steel products first and then passivate them, and fading often occurs. You may be confused whether it is passivation first and then marking, or fading. Some users use an eraser to poke after marking (no passivation treatment before and after marking), and it still fades. In fact, the so-called color is metal oxide, and the passivation process is also an oxidation process. The oxide changes and fades. Fading when eraser is rubbed is the peeling of the oxide layer. You can use a fiber laser marking machine to mark and then process a waterproof or anti-oxidation layer on the surface.