The FOBA M2000: When Programmable Axes Change the Marking Workflow

There is a moment in every marking project where the machine stops being the problem and the fixture becomes the problem. The laser marks fine and the contrast is right. But the part has three marks on two faces, or it arrives in a tray of forty, or the position tolerance is tighter than hand placement can hold. So somebody quotes a fixture, it costs more than expected, and it only works for one part number.

The FOBA M2000 is the mid-size housing in the M-Series, and that fixture problem is its reason for existing. It is a manually loaded Class 1 workstation offered in three configurations — worktable, three-axis, and two-station rotary — with the same Y-Series lasers, MarkUS software, and through-the-lens vision available across the series. All three run on single-phase 110/230 VAC, draw under 2 kW, and occupy roughly 0.95 m².

Three Models, One Housing

The model letter is the most consequential decision in the spec, because it sets the part-handling strategy for the life of the machine. It is not a field change.

All three carry an electric lift door as standard — worth noting against the M1000’s manual door, because on a machine running hundreds of cycles per shift, door actuation is cycle time, not convenience.

The Axis Envelope Is What You Are Buying

The difference between the B and P models is not "more automation." It is whether the machine can move the part relative to the marking field, which decides what counts as a single-setup job.

• Z-axis (all models): 590 mm at 25 mm/s. A lot of vertical range for a manually loaded machine — it covers both a thin plate and a 450 mm-tall part without re-rigging the head.
• X-axis (P model): 315 mm at 100 mm/s.
• Y-axis (P model): 225 mm at 100 mm/s.
• Expansion: the P model builds out to five axes, with more available on request.

Compare that against the marking field. The CP10 head takes f = 100, 163, 254, and 420 mm optics, giving fields from roughly 60 x 76 mm up to 315 x 368 mm. On a B model, the field is the reachable area for one setup — anything outside it means the operator repositions the part. On a P model, 315 x 225 mm of travel is added on top of the field, so a tray of small parts or a large part with several mark positions runs as one program with no operator intervention.

That is the economic argument for the P model: it converts operator handling into programmed motion, and programmed motion is repeatable in a way hand placement is not.

The R Model and the Load-While-Marking Cycle

The rotary model attacks a different constraint. On a B or P machine the cycle is door open, load, door close, mark, door open, unload — and the laser is idle for most of it. The M2000-R replaces the worktable with a motorized two-station rotary table (ø 650 mm) and a turning bulkhead wall, so one station sits inside the interlocked chamber while the other sits outside for the operator.

The trade is straightforward. Maximum load drops to 2 x 10 kg and part height to 200 mm, because the load now sits on a rotating table rather than a fixed surface. If the parts are small serial components — fittings, tools, instruments, trim pieces — and volume is real, the rotary configuration removes load and unload time from the cycle entirely. If parts are large or heavy, it is the wrong branch of the family.

Utilities and Safety

• Electrical: 1/N/PE, AC 110/230 V, 50/60 Hz. Single phase, under 2 kW depending on the integrated laser.
• Laser class: 1 (DIN EN 60825-1), supply room IP4x. The integrated source is Class 4 on its own; the enclosure makes the machine Class 1.
• Ambient: 15–35 °C (up to 40 °C depending on laser), 10–90 % humidity, non-condensing.
• Cooling: air-cooled — no chiller, no process water.
• Floor loading: approximately 630 kg (B/P) or 700 kg (R) excluding laser and external components. Confirm against mezzanine or raised-floor ratings before the machine ships.

Exhaust systems are an option, not standard equipment. For plastics, coated parts, and paint removal, treat extraction as a line item from the start.

Lasers, Vision, and Integration

The M2000 accepts the Y-Series pulsed ytterbium fiber markers — Y.0100 (10 W), Y.0200 and Y.0201 (20 W), Y.0300 (30 W), Y.0301, and Y.0500 (50 W), all at 1064 nm — and FOBA also lists UV laser integration for this housing where a fiber source is the wrong tool.

Vision is where the M2000 earns back fixture cost. Both camera systems view the part through the marking lens and galvo mirrors, so alignment references the same optical path as the mark rather than a separately calibrated external camera.

• Point & Shoot: WYSIWYG mark placement on a screen image, integrated into MarkUS Designer. It can even build a job from an existing pre-marked part without a drawing.
• IMP: automatic part detection with pre-mark verification (confirming the correct, unmarked part is present) and post-mark verification on position, orientation, and scale. Includes the Point & Shoot feature set.
• MOSAIC: FOBA’s patented fixtureless marking, aligning content to wherever the part sits. Requires IMP.

FOBA’s own published example is an M2000-P with a 20 W fiber marker running vision-assisted bearing marking with detection of missing and inverted rollers — a fair template for what the machine does at the top of its configuration range.

On the data side, MarkUS marks and reads back DataMatrix (ECC200), QR, BC128 A/B/C, and BC39, with a verification tool that passes or fails on read content or contrast. Remote access runs over TCP/IP, Profibus, or serial, and interfaces for client process integration are optional — the path to tying the cell into an MES or plant traceability database.

Spec It With HESCO