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30/12/2010

Electrox announces the launch of a new laser marking system - the Raptor - the first laser
marker to be powered by a revolutionary new laser technology platform, EF Technology,
developed by Electrox. EF Technology offers the optimum balance between performance, price
and product lifetime and enables Electrox to provide customers with aggressively priced laser
marking systems which perform to the highest standards of quality and reliability. Such is its
faith in this new laser marking platform that Electrox is able to give EF Technology a four year
warranty - the longest warranty available anywhere in the laser marking industry.

One of few fully integrated manufacturers of laser marking systems, Electrox is renowned for its
incomparable combination of state-of-the-art laser technology and exceptional customer
support. By applying innovative laser research to the industrial environment, Electrox has
created a laser marking technology which combines simplicity, versatility, exceptionally high
reliability, low maintenance and an extremely competitive price.

Howard Moore, General Manager said ³We have brought together some of the best laser
physicists and industrial engineers from around the world. Applying cutting edge laser
principles and a unique light management system, Electrox has created EF Technology which
unites the very best of the existing technologies with the very best of the new. With our new
technology we have initiated an entirely new laser marking configuration to provide the total
³price-performance´ package which end users and OEMs have wanted but hasn¶t been
available until now. Our new Raptor laser marker is the first system to use EF Technology and
it will be available to ship from the beginning of September´.

EF Technology provides very short energy pulses - 25ns compared with anything from 70ns to
200ns in other systems ± which enables high peak powers (up to 10kW) combined with low
pulse energies. This permits high contrast, low damage marking on metals and plastics. The
highly controllable beam virtually eliminates surface damage around the mark, enabling EF
Technology to be used for marking components where surface finish and retention of material
integrity are paramount, especially in demanding aerospace or automotive applications.

Near perfect beam quality and exceptional energy stability over the entire operational range
mean EF Technology delivers very small spots - typically 70µm from a 254mm lens. Smaller
spots are possible (down to 25µm) with high speed, self tuning Digital Signal Process (DSP)
galvos. This creates high energy intensities to give a substantially improved performance
compared with more traditional systems. This high beam quality also facilitates large depths of
focus so laser markers built on EF Technology are better able to mark complex, curved or
awkwardly shaped components. There is no ramping in or out of the power and pulse
frequencies range from 0.1kHz to 100kHz. The temporal pulse pattern permits bit maps etc. to
be marked easily and with high definition.

The Raptor is a compact new laser marking system with a very small laser head, incorporating
an optical unit, fully sealed to IP67, to ensure extremely low maintenance, even in hostile
environments. An annual health check is normally all that will be required. The system is
entirely air cooled - eliminating the need for water or refrigerant circuits - and takes power direct
from a single phase socket outlet. Raptor ships as modular units for production line integration
but can equally be supplied with a safety workstation as a turnkey solution. The 5U, 19´ rack
electronics enclosure is about the same size as a tower PC. As with other laser marking
systems built on EF Technology, Raptor is equally at home in high or low volume applications.

Howard Moore concluded, ³EF Technology and Raptor are the result of our determination to
supply customers with systems and solutions that we have designed and developed ourselves,
from scratch. We believe that because we take total control of all stages of manufacture,
including the control electronics, laser scanning head and marking software, customers can
have complete confidence in Electrox laser marking systems´.

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