Mobile Dot Peen Marking of Flanges and Large Workpieces

In the past, workpieces were marked using hand stamps that led to a high risk of injury for employees. The great strain of punching into material with hand stamps for several hours a day using a hammer weighing up to 3 kg was reflected in a high number of medical leaves. Next to injuries caused by the hammer itself, reports about tenosynovitis and carpal tunnel syndromes were increasing. These days, many suppliers to the oil and gas industry now mark their components using the portable battery-operated MARKATOR® FlyMarker® handheld dot peen marking system from Rocklin Manufacturing Company (Sioux City, IA). It saves time and manpower of the employees and increases their working safety. Bringing this mobile marking unit directly down on big, unmovable workpieces simplifies the marking of the workpieces significantly, as high quality marking and constant marking depths are achieved at the push of a release button. And using the preview function in the software, wrong markings can be avoided.

The economic and fast marking FlyMarker provides flexible, automated data input. Enormous time can be saved when marking several lines, different character heights and changing information. Several hundred logos and marking files can be saved directly on the internal memory storage of the system. The character strings or logos that need to be marked can either be programmed directly on the marking unit or can be transferred via an electronic interface (USB, Ethernet) onto the marking unit. Substitutes, such as auto numbering, can also be inserted. All of this results in almost zero injuries, time saving and effortless work for employees. Operators report reducing their marking time to one quarter of what marking previously required. Some shops report that their health insurances or other insurances participated in the acquisition costs of the mobile dot peen marker, with medical expenses up to five-figures per year being offset by the purchase costs.

MARKATOR also offers their compact MV5 U65/30 INTEGRAL dot peen marking head with an integrated control unit that no longer requires wiring between the marking head and control unit, and no space is necessary for an external control unit in the control cabinet. This dot peen marking head only weighs approximately 3.0 kg, meaning it can be mounted on a robot arm without any problems, even when the space is limited. Despite the low device dimensions, the integration unit has a big marking area of 65 mm x 30 mm. The drive of the marking pin is electromagnetic and no compressed air supply is needed, which reduces operating costs and makes the price-performance-ratio of this dot peen marking head even more attractive.

Data transfer can be guaranteed using optional Ethernet (TCP/IP). For communicating with the SPS, an optional available function block developed from MARKATOR can be used and synchronized via four digital In- and Outputs. Several hundred marking files can be saved and administered on the internal memory of the marking head. Six status LEDs are located directly on the marking head for fast function checks of basic position, error, etc. This marking head marks several materials up to a hardness of 63 HRC. The marking force of the specially developed solenoid can be adjusted individually to the material and the marking depth required to guarantee precise marking of nearly all materials. High quality, double-guided linear guides in X- and Y-direction guarantee high repeatability and exceedingly precise and warp-free marking results. The marking head can be mounted in any position and the electronics and mechanics can be protected using an optional protection cover.

Rocklin Manufacturing Company, 110 South Jennings Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, 712-255-7957, Fax: 712-252-5619, www.rocklinmfg.com, www.flymarker.com.