Claims
- 1. A method for continuously marking characters on a running electric cable, said electric cable having a conductive core, coated with an insulating coating, comprising the steps of:
- (a) covering said insulating coating on said electric cable with an inner layer of varnish;
- (b) covering said inner layer of varnish with an outer layer of varnish based on polytetrafluoroethylene and having a thickness in the range of 10 .mu.m to 20 .mu.m, said inner and outer layers of varnish being of contrasting colors;
- (c) illuminating said outer layer of varnish by a single laser beam generated by a pulsed CO.sub.2 laser and passing through one of said characters in a mask bearing said characters, the power of said pulsed CO.sub.2 laser being adjusted so as to obtain an energy density in the range of 8 J/cm.sup.2 to 15 J/cm.sup.2 at the outer layer of varnish; and
- (d) scanning said laser beam parallel to the running direction of said electric cable, there being no movement of said laser beam relative to the cable while the scanning is occurring.
- 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the energy density is in the range of 10 J/cm.sup.2 to 13 J/cm.sup.2.
- 3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the energy density is approximately equal to 11 J/cm.sup.2.
- 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the running speed of the cable is in the range of 0.1 m/s to 1 m/s.
- 5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the running speed of the cable is approximately equal to 0.5 m/s.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
90 12535 |
Oct 1990 |
FRX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a Continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 08/197,559 filed Feb. 17, 1994 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/836,281 filed as PCT/FR91/00780, Oct. 4, 1991.
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Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
197559 |
Feb 1994 |
|
Parent |
836281 |
Mar 1992 |
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