Laser marking of components at the engine specialist Van der Graaf

All over the world, a variety of industrial companies use Trotec galvo laser systems. A large portion of these companies are in mechanical engineering and drive technology, industries in which lasers are perfect for the flexible marking of components and nameplates. Engine specialist Van der Graaf uses Trotec Speedmarker series marking lasers for this very reason. They appreciate the adaptable nature of these machines for their proprietary production processes.

With headquarters in Canada, the Van der Graaf company is a leading international producer of drum motors. The majority of its customers are manufacturers of transport and conveyor systems, used worldwide for many purposes in a large variety of conditions. Possible applications can range from conveyor belts in industrial manufacturing to baggage handling machines at airports to conveyor technology for parcel sorting systems.
The dependable core of these conveyor systems are the encased drum motors. At their Canadian location in Brampton, Ontario, Van der Graaf uses a SpeedMarker 700 to mark the components and nameplates for these motors.

So that it can flexibly mark flange parts or nameplates, the Trotec Galvo laser at Van der Graaf has been customized multiple times. For example, several workpiece carriers were created which can quickly be changed to support a large number of different parts and nameplates. Changing the carrier on the laser machine doesn't even take a minute. Corresponding templates were made in the laser software for each workpiece carrier and type of component or nameplate. These templates can be called either manually or automatically through the production order. Since the workpiece carriers don't need to be full, any amount of parts can be marked at any time.

When the Trotec SpeedMark laser software is connected to the ERP system, the machine operator can scan the barcode on the production order with a handheld scanner. This gives the laser software the information from the ERP system about the part type and the marking content such as part numbers, serial numbers, quantities, etc. The information about the location of the marking on the component and the workpiece carrier is stored within the laser software. The employee only has to appropriately load the system, scan the order and begin the marking process.

Each company has different methods for optimally operating a machine. Therefore, the HMI (human machine interface) of the Trotec laser marking machine can be changed accordingly so as to give a fitting and simple graphical user interface alongside the standard software. During standard operation, the personalized user interface suitable for the operation and workpiece carrier can be used. If a particular item needs to be marked or if a new workpiece carrier requires setup, the SpeedMark program's interface can be modified at any point in time.