PART MARKING & TRACEABILITY ID FOR COMPONENTS
marking head accordingly.
Then there was the challenge of verifying
the marks. The laser system burns through
layers of paint on to the vehicle and into the
metal below, but the appearance of the
resulting mark differs, depending on the
colour of the vehicle, showing up white on
dark vehicles, and black on light ones. To
ensure these marks could be read and
veri ed automatically, Pryor developed an
adaptive lighting system that alters both the
colour and angle of the cell illumination after
marking. Dedicated veri cation software
then takes images from the camera on the
robot end-effector and checks each mark for
clarity and accuracy. By providing this 100%
quality check, rejections for mark quality
have fallen to zero since implementation.
JLR initially commissioned Pryor to
provide marking cells for its plants in Solihull
and Halewood. The contract called for two
identical cells, with the second acting as a
back-up to keep production running in the
event of a failure in the rst. In a steelbodied
vehicle, laser-marking a single VIN
takes only four seconds, compared with the
30 seconds required by the old scribe
marking system. On some vehicles, the VIN
can be applied in up to three separate
locations on the body in a single production
cycle, an added security feature that appeals
to insurers and service personnel alike.
Following the success of the Solihull
project, JLR has commissioned Pryor to
install further cells at one of its
manufacturing facility in China.
PERFORMANCE MARKING
Retaining the car theme, since its formation
in 1982, Gibson Technology has built up a
strong reputation among motorsport
engineering companies. Previously known as
Zytek Engineering, the company designs and
manufactures high performance race
engines for various categories of motorsport
worldwide. In last year’s Le Mans 24-hour
race, all 20 entrants on the grid for the
LMP2 race were powered by Gibson
Technology engines made at its
headquarters in Repton, Derbyshire.
When deciding on the best solution for
the consistent and reliable marking of
components used in its race engines,
Gibson Technology enlisted the help of Laser
Lines (https://is.gd/tuzemo) to understand
more about the different laser marking
systems that were available.
“Performance and reliability are critically
important attributes in the class of racing
engines that we design and manufacture
here at Gibson Technology,” explains
operations director John Manchester.
“In case there is a problem with a
component, we need to mark every part
used in each engine with a unique
manufacturing batch number to provide full
traceability of when it was produced, the
material speci cation that was used and the
engines in which the parts have been tted.”
Across the different classes of racing,
Gibson Technology manufactures and
services around 80 engines per year. Every
engine is made up of approximately 3,500
parts, each of which requires marking.
Gibson Technology needs to be able to mark
anything from carbon bre, titanium and
steel, through to aluminium and plastic, in a
variety of shapes and sizes.
“The Datalogic Ulyxe laser marking
system from Laser Lines came out on top of
our assessments,” says Manchester. “While
there are many different systems out there,
the speed and accuracy of the marks
produced by the Datalogic system were far
superior.”
In addition to supplying the 6 W laser
marker itself, Laser Lines provided an
appropriately sized workstation.
“Reducing the process time from the
shop oor, through inspection, to actual
assembly, has been a big advantage,”
Latest laser marking news & products in brief
SIC Marking (https://is.gd/adahov) has acquired Zaniboni Srl of
Italy. As a result, the company has been renamed SIC Zaniboni.
Established in 1977, Zaniboni is located near Turin, where it
specialises in the design, manufacture and sale of customised
marking and laser traceability solutions for the automotive and
mechanical engineering sectors. In over 40 years, Zaniboni has
succeeded not only in becoming a reference in Italy and
internationally, but in establishing strategic partnerships with
international OEMs such as SKF, for which it has delivered several
hundred solutions globally. Further details: https://is.gd/uwugik
Panasonic (https://is.gd/teyuxi) has introduced its Workstation
LC 1000, which is designed as a safe and compact manual
manufacturing space for the laser marking of small-to-mediumsized
workpieces. Offering 550 mm height and 510 mm width,
Workstation LC 1000 houses a Class 1 laser and an electrically-
driven Z-axis. An integrated perforated plate allows users to x
components accurately to ensure precise marking.
concludes Manchester.
TYKMA Electrox
(https://is.gd/izetex)
has struck a
partnership with
Cerakote, a
company that
provides thin- lm
ceramic coating for a number of
materials and applications.
The partnership is setting out to
TYKMA Electrox is
partnering with Cerakote
advance the process of applying
images on products, with Cerakote
coatings being combined with TYKMA Electrox’s laser marking
abilities on various 3D objects, which include knives and rearms.
Cerakote coating is a polymer-ceramic composite coating that is
designed to enhance a number of physical features on a product,
including abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical
resistance, impact strength and hardness.
78 September 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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