Stamping Production Improvements | KEYENCE Laser Marking

Stamping/Laser Marking Characteristics

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Stamping characteristics	- Low initial cost - Easy to use - Mistakes can be erased	- Characters can be missing or faint - Marking may fade - Running costs are incurred - Difficult to mark curved surfaces and soft products - Pin holes may occur - Difficult to make subtle changes to the marking details
Laser marking characteristics	- No occurrences of missing or faint characters - Marking does not fade (marked with a laser) - Low running costs - Stable marking even on curved surfaces and soft products - No need to worry about pin holes occurring - Detailed traceability down to the second is possible	- High initial cost - Large equipment size

Comparison of Stamping and Laser Marking

Comparison details	Laser marker	Stamping
No missing or faint characters	Very good	Poor
No need to perform product tooling changes	Very good	Very poor
Marking does not fade	Very good	Very poor
Ability to perform automatic marking for calendars and counters	Very good	Very poor
Support for high-speed lines	Good	Poor
Ability to perform clear marking on curved surfaces, rough surfaces, and soft parts	Very good	Acceptable
Ability to perform clear marking of small characters	Very good	Acceptable

Improvement from Stamping (Using Ink) on Individual Wrapping Film

The method used to mark individual wrapping film has been changed from a method using ink, such as the conventional stamping method, to contrast marking using a laser marker.
Because the materials themselves are discolored and processed, the marking is accurate and does not fade.
This enables accurate marking on products. Especially those to which substances, such as salad dressing and other oils and alcohol in the pharmaceutical industry, adhere.

1. Improvement from Stamping (Using Ink) on Individual Wrapping Film

Application Examples

Pouch

Key Points to the Improvement

1Quality: Accurate marking that does not fade due to contact with oil or alcohol is possible.

2Cost: The running costs of ink ribbons and maintenance components, which increase according to the number of sheets used, are eliminated.

3Work efficiency: It is possible to greatly reduce the amount of work, such as tooling changes for different models and the replacement of ink ribbons, required.

4Environment: The elimination of garbage such as ink ribbons contributes to environmental initiatives (CSR).

Improvement from Stamping on Cartons

Laser markers are used to perform direct marking on soft cartons. This enables high-quality marking with no faint or missing characters, which improves the product image.
Marking inspections using an imaging camera and operation of stable lines with no erroneous detections are both possible.

3. Improvement from Stamping on Cartons

Application Examples

Carton

Key Points to the Improvement

1Quality: Stable marking is possible with no marking defects, such as missing or faint characters, even on rough surfaces.

2Cost: The running costs of ink ribbons and maintenance components, which increase according to the number of sheets used, are eliminated.

3Work efficiency: There is no need to stop the production line; products can be marked while they are being conveyed. The model can be switched with the touch of a button, which improves productivity.

4Environment: The elimination of garbage such as ink ribbons contributes to environmental initiatives (CSR).

Improvement from Roller Stamping on Cables

Direct marking can also be used on cables transferred at high speed.
With a laser marker, the surface material is colored, so the marking is accurate and does not fade.
Stable marking is possible even for small wire diameters and on rough surfaces.

4. Improvement from Roller Stamping on Cables

Application Examples

Cable (contrast marking)

Key Points to the Improvement

1Quality: Transcription and stable marking with no marking defects is possible on high-speed lines. Accurate marking is possible even on products with rough surfaces and small wire diameters.

2Cost: Detailed traceability is possible, which makes it possible to minimize damage even in the worst case.
With a laser marker, there are no running costs, which greatly reduces the overall cost.

3Work efficiency: There is no need to refill the ink every few hours and the work required to change the marking details is greatly reduced.

4Environment: Because no ink is used, no organic solvents are used as well, which contributes to environmental initiatives (CSR).

Improvement from Using Ink on Bottles

Laser markers can be used to perform clear marking on bottles as well. Even if there are multiple models having different shapes, so long as KEYENCE's 3-Axis control laser is used, clear marking that requires no tooling changes is possible.
Because no ink is used, there are no running costs and there is no need to perform maintenance.

5. Improvement from Using Ink on Bottles

Application Examples

Cosmetics bottle

Key Points to the Improvement

1Quality: 3-Axis control enables stable, beautiful marking on multiple bottle shapes.

2Cost: Detailed traceability is possible, which makes it possible to minimize damage even in the worst case.
With a laser marker, there are no running costs, which greatly reduces the overall cost.