Laser Marking Options Provide Time and Cost-saving Benefits

Traceability is a fast-emerging trend in the manufacturing industry, and is defined as the ability to retrieve the full history or location of an item or product by means of recorded identification. In the tool making industry, the requirement to trace an individual tool and the ability to determine its usage and/or re-grinding history has become an industry standard, allowing end users to maintain the highest tool quality and productivity.

Tool laser marking is a necessary step that not only serves the purpose of providing basic tool geometry information, but also includes information pertaining to tool provenance and regrinding history, according to ANCA (Wixom, MI).

A basic requirement of laser marking is to have identification that is clear, and easy to read and understand. Lasers produce an indelible mark which is crucial for easy identification throughout the lifetime of the tool. The quality is consistently excellent with high contrast and minimal surface disturbance — both of which are important for cutting tool performance. Secondly, laser technology is mature and ensures consistent high reliability for many years.

ANCA offers two automatic laser marking options for a range of applications and individual requirements. The RoboMate LaserEtch is an integrated laser system that can be added to the ANCA RoboMate loader for the TX and MX platforms, allowing laser marking of individual tools in-process. After grinding, the tool is automatically laser marked, for example tool ID and graphics such as a company logo — all without any increase to tool takt time.

The AutoMarkX, an automatic stand-alone laser marking station, is the latest addition to ANCA’s family of tool production solutions. An operator simply loads up to two full pallets of tools and the robot performs the laser marking operations, freeing up staff to take care of other tasks in the factory. The unit can accommodate a wide range of tool sizes, making it a versatile proposition for many manufacturers. Flexible marking means the message can be etched on a single side of the shank or on opposite sides of the shank at the end of tool. The last option is particularly useful for applications where a unique tool identification code (e.g. Datamatrix) needs to be etched on the tool. Codes like Datamatrix are usually etched on the shank where they risk the exposure to excessive surface wear, rendering them unreadable. The end of tool is the best location to etch this type of code to overcome this issue.

This laser system is ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System (AIMS) ready.

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