Can You Laser Engrave Stainless Steel?

Stainless steel is an extremely common material, and there are few industries that don’t make use of this versatile metal. With so many industrial and domestic applications, it’s important that metal fabrication companies can work with stainless steel effectively.Stainless steel is commonly used for medical equipment, car parts or automotive equipment, where parts can be engraved with bar codes, serial numbers or logos for traceability.  Stainless steel jewellery and other personal items can also be engraved with text and designs, whether individually or as part of a production run.

stainless steel can be laser engraved. It’s a misconception that engraving is never suitable for stainless steel. Feasibility will depend on the application, environment and laser engraving equipment available.

A method called deep engraving is also commonly used to mark stainless steel. It is similar to engraving, but the material undergoes multiple passes. That means calibrating your machine to emit relatively low power at a slow pace, then repeating the process multiple times. When this process is used on stainless steel, more material is removed to produce cleaner engraving designs.

Stainless steel is a strong and affordable material, and its corrosion-resistant properties make it an ideal material for a range of applications. Laser engraving is often used amongst industrial companies to mark stainless steel with:

Serial numbers

Part numbers

Tracking information

Barcodes

ID codes

Company logos

What Is the Best Method to Mark Stainless Steel?

When deciding to laser engrave stainless steel, there are several ways to go about it. A CO2 laser can engrave stainless steel with a pre-treatment applied, or a fiber laser can also engrave or etch stainless steel.

What Kind of Laser Do You Need to Engrave Stainless Steel?

A fibre laser engraving machine is ideal for engraving stainless steel. A CO2 laser can also be used,

Let’s look more closely at these two varieties of laser engraving technology and how they perform on stainless steel.

A CO2 laser is a gas laser. At its core, it typically uses carbon dioxide or helium-neon gas. As the older of the two methods, CO2 laser engraving is still in common use, but it is less efficient to run than a fibre laser.

A CO2 laser cutter can engrave wood, plastic, and metals, including stainless steel. However, a CO2 laser cannot engrave the metal directly as the laser beam reflects from the surface

Fibre laser machines are a more recent development in the industry, and are more efficient than CO2 lasers. Nowadays, this has become the preferred option to engrave or mark stainless steel.