FOBA M1000 vs. M2000 vs. M3000: How to Size an M-Series Laser Marking Workstation

Most laser marking machines get specified backwards. Someone asks how many watts, and six weeks later the machine arrives and the real constraint turns out to be that the part is 40 mm too tall for the chamber, or the fixture pushes the load past the table rating, or three mark positions require three setups because the machine has no X-axis. The laser was never the hard part.

The M1000, M2000, and M3000 are three housing sizes running the same laser sources, software, and vision — so choosing between them is a part-handling decision, not a marking-technology one. Here is the sequence we work through: envelope, handling model, axis travel, throughput, facilities.

Step 1: Start With the Part Envelope

Run your worst-case part — not your typical part — against this table first. Fixture dimensions and weight count.

Two thresholds do most of the deciding. Cross 25 kg or 200 mm of height and the M1000 is out. Exceed 620 mm of part width and only the M3000 remains. Note too that on both floor-standing machines, the P model costs 20 kg of load capacity and buys 110 mm of part depth.

Step 2: Choose the Handling Model

On the M2000 and M3000, the model letter defines how parts move relative to the head. It is not field-retrofittable, and it affects cycle time and fixture cost more than any other choice.

• B — worktable with programmable Z. The general-purpose configuration and the highest load rating. Right for single parts, mixed part numbers, and one mark position.
• P — programmable X, Y, and Z. The part moves under the head between marks. Right for trays of small parts and for large parts with marks outside a single field. Expands to five axes.
• R — two-station rotary. One station inside the marking chamber, one outside for the operator, separated by a turning bulkhead wall. Right for serial parts at volume; lowest load rating at 2 x 10 kg.

A useful frame: B optimizes for part size, P for setups per part, R for parts per hour. Choose by whichever constrains your process today.

Step 3: Match Axis Travel to Where the Marks Are

This step gets skipped most often, and it is where "the machine fits the part" quietly becomes "three setups per part." The CP10 marking field runs from roughly 60 x 76 mm (f = 100 mm) up to 315 x 368 mm (f = 420 mm). If mark positions are spread wider than that, the axes make up the difference.

Two things stand out. The M2000 carries more Z travel than the M3000 (590 mm versus 350 mm), counterintuitive for the larger machine — if tall parts matter, check this figure specifically. And the M3000-P’s 520 mm of X travel is its own argument: on a part that fits either machine but has marks spread across 700 mm, it may win on setup reduction alone.

The M1000 has no X or Y axes — only manual head adjustment during operation, which is workable for occasional repositioning but not a substitute for programmed motion on a repeating job.

Step 4: Work Out the Throughput Math

On a manually loaded workstation the cycle is rarely dominated by mark time, but by door, load, position, unload — which is why model choice matters more than wattage.

• Mark time scales with content: up to 1,000 characters per second, or 1,200 with High-S tuning. A serial number and data matrix code lands in the low seconds.
• Door time is manual on the M1000 by default, electric as standard on the M2000 and M3000.
• Load and unload disappear from the cycle on an R model, running in parallel with marking — on the M3000-R, a 1.7-second index.
• Setup and alignment is where vision pays. IMP aligns the mark automatically; MOSAIC removes the fixture entirely — often a bigger saving than anything the laser source contributes.

If your marking step takes two minutes and eighty seconds of that is handling and alignment, a bigger laser will not help. An R model or a vision package will.

Step 5: Check the Facility Requirements

All three are undemanding to install: single phase and air-cooled, with no chiller loop, no process water, and no three-phase drop. The M1000 draws 400 VA with the listed fiber sources; the M2000 and M3000 stay under 2 kW depending on the laser. All are Class 1.

Three notes. Exhaust systems are optional across the series, so extraction belongs in the initial budget for plastics, coatings, or paint removal. The floor-standing machines run 630–750 kg before the laser — confirm against mezzanine or raised-floor ratings. And the M3000-R ships 230 V standard, unlike its siblings.

What Does Not Change

Whichever housing you choose, you get the same Y-Series fiber sources (10–50 W at 1064 nm), the same CP10 head and optics, the same MarkUS software, the same code marking and verification (DataMatrix ECC200, QR, BC128, BC39), and the same vision options. For a plant adding capacity, that commonality is worth real money: jobs, training, and spare optics carry across.

Quick Selection Guide

• Under 25 kg and 450 x 250 x 200 mm, tight on floor space → M1000.
• Up to 620 mm wide, one mark position, mixed part numbers → M2000-B.
• Trays of small parts or multiple mark positions, up to 620 mm → M2000-P.
• Small serial parts at volume, under 10 kg each → M2000-R or M3000-R.
• Wider than 620 mm → M3000, B or P by load rating and mark distribution.
• Marks spread across a large part in one setup → M3000-P.
• Tall parts or a wide range of heights → check Z travel; the M2000 leads here.

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