Laser surface colouring of titanium for contemporary jewellery

Abstract

This paper describes work which emerged through a need to understand more about the potential of laser surface engineering for use in the creative industries. The method of creation of contemporary jewellery pieces and the resultant 'Ocular' jewellery series are described from the points of view of an artist and an engineer. The work demonstrates how laser controlled oxide growth on commercially pure titanium under ambient conditions can be used as an artistic tool by producing even, defined colours or by reproducing a simulation of freehand drawings on a titanium surface. It also asks the question: how different are artists from scientists and engineers?

The influence of process parameters on the laser-induced coloring of titanium

“…Laser color marking of metals can be important in advertising (having the logo appear in a company's brand color), electronics, automotive industry, jewelry [7,8], art (new designs), and in many other fields. Some examples of laserinduced color marking on titanium are shown in Fig.…”

“…Another interesting feature of such coatings is related to their visual aspect. Titanium oxide films, present a range of colors, which allows them to be used in decorative applications [6], electronics, the automotive industry, and art-for new designs, advertising, and jewelry [7,8].…”

“…Various techniques can be used to obtain a titanium oxide coating: cathodic deposition [9], plasma deposition [10], laser deposition [11], magnetron sputtering [12], thermal oxidation [13], electrolytic oxidation (anodizing) [7,14], and laser oxidation [8,14,15].…”

“…The two main methods of laser coloring of metals have been approached in published literature. The first utilizes a laser as a heat source, which allows a transparent or semitransparent oxide film to form on the metal surface [6,8,14,17,18]. White light illuminating the sample is reflected from the surface of both the oxide and metal.…”

Experimental investigations on fiber laser color marking of steels

“…. [1][2][3][4]. More, colors production on metallic surfaces represents a specific process that is achieved for particular applications, since color could be a key potential differentiator.…”