Reducing piece costs: Integrating part marking into the machining process. Integrating the marking of parts into the machining process can result in substantial cost savings. With zeus marking tools, turned-parts or components of different materials can be marked within seconds, as the engraving takes place on the processing machine. This technique is also suitable for plastic-components, as is demonstrated in the application report at hand. For this specific application, Hommel+Keller has carried out an internal test series with the following results:

• the overall processing time could be reduced
• a separate production step was eliminated
• the quality of the marking improved

The marking of turned-parts with production dates, serial numbers or product numbers is in most metal-working industries a precondition for successful order completions. If the marking is realized in a separate production step, additional setting and production costs are incurred, resulting in increased unit costs. Hommel+Keller offers different tool systems for the integrated part marking on autolathes.

Compared to other marking methods, integrating part-marking yields a number of advantages:

• Reduced overall production time
• No additional machine setting
• No additional transport or handling of the work pieces
• No additional manual process step
• Increased process reliability: Constant quality, no mix-ups
• Reduced piece costs

Marking in less than a second

zeus marking tools are also applicable for plastics. In the test series at hand the material PA66 was marked with the following results:

Hitherto method:

The component was hitherto marked after machining on an engraving machine. Machine setting times, manpower, transport and handling time boosted the unit costs increasingly. Long marking times and limitations in the marking quality of this material have finally led to the customer´s search for a more efficient and cost-effective alternative.

Result

After analysing the application requirements and environment, Hommel+Keller conducted a test series to define the optimal parameters for the use of a marking roll and a marking segment roll. In both cases, the marking tool retracts after a single unwinding of the text to its starting position by means of a spring.

No extra costs

Part marking has become an essential part in the machining process. Part-marking enables a reliable traceability of supplier dates, product identification and production dates. By integrating the marking process into the machining process, extra costs can be eliminated, manual work reduced and process reliability further increased. As part of the Hommel+Keller support, internal test series can be conducted to optimize the operation.

* Application pictures have been reconstructed for reasons of confidentiality.