| Why
mark parts ? |
| |
You make parts to sell, but why bother to mark them? Is counterfeiting
a problem? Do you want your customers to recognize your parts? Do
you require traceability for warranty returns? |
| Who
is your supplier ? |
| |
Your
supplier needs to be reliable to support you in the future. Does the
company you are buying from have a global presence? Are they growing?
Do they have experience in your market? |
| Why
traceability ? |
| |
Are you ISO compliant? Do you need to maintain a part history for
safety critical parts? |
| How
should you mark your parts ? |
| |
Now
that you have decided to mark, how should you do it? There are a lot
of different technologies; how do you choose? Hand marking is easy
to implement, but slow, inconsistent, labor intensive and when a hammer
smashes a thumb it can be expensive. Ink jet is fast and programmable,
but it is not permanent, the ink is not cheap and the solvent is an
environmental liability. Presses can make fast permanent marks, but
they are not very flexible, setup is time consuming, they can’t
be used on hard or fragile parts and they can be dangerous. Chemical-etch
is inexpensive, but slow and inconsistent. |
| Why
micro-percussion ? |
| |
Do you
need fast, flexible, safe, programmable marking? Do you need to mark
date codes and/or serial numbers? Are your parts fragile? Does the
mark need to be permanent? |
| What
can you mark ? |
| |
Many
types of marks are required by different industries on many materials.
What can you mark with this type of equipment? Can it mark all types
of metal? Up to what hardness? What about plastics and other materials?
Is it possible to mark logos? What about bar codes? Will it damage
fragile parts? |
| What
type of micro-percussion ? |
| |
There
are two ways to activate the marking tool: air and electricity. How
do you choose? What is your cycle time? Is air available? Is it good
quality? Are you marking text only or text and DataMatrix™ codes?
Do any industry norms mandate a technology? |
| Why
scribing ? |
| |
As flexible
as it is, Micro-percussion is not the answer for every application.
Are you marking sheet metal or tubes? Is noise an issue? |
| Do
you require machine readable marks ? |
| |
Are
you familiar with DATAMATRIX™? Are you an aerospace manufacturer?
Do your parts need to be SPEC2000 compliant? How much space do
you have for the mark? Does the mark have to survive in a difficult
environment? Do you need to encode a large amount of data? |
| How
good is the service ? |
| |
How
many service technicians does the company have? Do they have multiple
service locations? Are they available 24/7? |
| How
good is the quality ? |
| |
Is
the product designed for industrial marking? Are the components
robust? What type of warranty is offered? |
| Can
you get spare parts if you need them ? |
| |
Things
break, things wear out - it is inevitable. When this happens, will
your supplier be there? Do they stock spare parts, components, systems?
Are there parts you should stock? How critical is your production?
Do you run night shifts and/or weekend shifts? Are spare parts kits
available? |
| How
difficult is maintenance ? |
| |
All
equipment needs maintenance. How difficult is it to maintain the
equipment? Does it require special tools? Does it require special
training? How often does it need to be maintained? Can it be done
in-house? How long does the maintenance take? Is a preventative
maintenance plan available? |
| What
do you do when you need a part repaired ? |
| |
Eventually
the equipment will require repairs. When you send in the equipment
how fast is the turn-around? Are priority repairs available? Is on-site
repair an option? Is rental equipment available during a repair? Does
the repaired equipment come with a warranty? |
| Will
you be shown how to use the machine ? |
| |
Once
you have purchased the equipment, how do you get it running? Is phone
support available? Is it free? Is on-site training available? What
types of training are available: start-up, preventative maintenance,
mechanical, software? |
| How
big is the system ? |
| |
Space
is at a premium in most applications. Can the equipment fit into
your existing application? Are different marking tools available
to reach past obstructions? Is it possible to move the marking
head if it interferes with the part? |
| How
good is the software ? |
| |
No two
applications are the same. Does the software make it easy to program
the system?. Is the software built into the controller ? Is it easy
to use? Is Windows®-based software available? Does it have print
preview? |
| What
about custom software ? |
| |
Bolting
in the mechanical bits and plugging in the electronics is only part
of most applications; software completes the package. No matter how
good the standard software is, it can not meet every need. Can your
supplier offer a custom interface? Do they do this in-house or through
a third party? Can you write your own software? |
| Can
I get a customized solution ? |
| |
Every
application is different, can your supplier manage the customization?
Do you have to work with one of their integrators? If you choose the
integrator, will the supplier provide support ? |
| Is
it easy to integrate ? |
| |
Most
systems are not stand-alone, they need to function with the other
systems in your plant. Does the system have input/output capability?
Can it receive serial strings? Can it communicate with your PLC, your
database programs? |
About Technifor
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