Developments in laser marking

For example, the TruMark Station 5000 will be on display at Machineering on the stand of distributor V.A.C. MACHINES, a flexible all-rounder that takes labeling your products to a new level. With the new TruMark laser 6030, you can now also work in full 3D.

In automotive, the traceability of each component must be guaranteed before the car can roll off the production line. So it should come as no surprise that laser marking technology is already firmly established there. After all, lasers provide clean and permanent labeling. Product manager Lasertechnology Nico Velghe: "A trend that is now sweeping over to traditional workshops. They too are confronted with higher quality demands from customers. Laser marking is the perfect answer to identify and trace products. After all, high-tech products require a high-tech appearance. And that is what laser marking can add to piece identification and tracking." V.A.C. MACHINES is responsible for TRUMPF's laser marking solutions for the entire Benelux and sees that the differences are quietly being eliminated. "The Dutch market has certainly not stagnated, but we now see that Belgian companies are catching up. They have clearly discovered laser marking as a professional labeling technique. The addition of vision to marking is also on the rise to realize piece detection. An important additional control in, for example, the medical world."

Laser marking in 3D

In order to further expand its solid market position, TRUMPF continues to invest in innovation. V.A.C. MACHINES has its own marking lab at its home base in Bruges. "We can show the different combinations between lasers and stations there. Customers appreciate that they can already get to know the touch & feel of marking stations from TRUMPF and see their own pieces marked," says Velghe. One standout there, which will also be on display at Machineering, is the new laser head TruMark 6030. The first solid state laser in TRUMPF's range to have full 3D operation. "Most applications can be covered with a 2D laser head. But with this introduction, we are again creating additional possibilities for users to mark their pieces in 3D without any additional manipulation. By the way, this is done entirely optically, so there is no mechanical movement along the Z-axis. The step from 2D to 3D does not even have to happen right away. As soon as the user has the products for it, the 3D functionalities can be activated via an adjustment in the software," Velghe indicates.

One-Box laser: getting started with marking like this

Another notable solution within TRUMPF's laser marking range is the One-Box laser. "Only the size of a shoebox, but everything is inside to integrate laser marking into your production or machine. Laser head, power supply, video output ... An interesting stepping stone for companies to laser marking," Velghe summarizes. "After all, this marking laser has all the functionalities of its bigger brothers, but not the extensive option package. So it's a standard product, for which we check together with the customer whether it is sufficient in function of the time the laser marking may take and the quality desired. In many cases, our One-Box-Laser turns out to be a perfect solution. Its comprehensive interface also makes it very easy to integrate, by the way."

Service

Another element in which all TruMark solutions excel: their low-maintenance operation. "In in-line applications, an entire production line can stop when the marking station fails. They are therefore very reliable devices with very few failures. And should there nevertheless be a problem, our customers can count on the good service we are known for in the market," Velghe concludes.