The application areas for Laser Marking continue to expand as the process is used to replace alternative technologies such as labelling, dot matrix marking and printing. Automation Systems Limited recently presented Rofin-Baasel UK Limited with yet another application for the technology, with a requirement to Laser Mark the “Airbag” text onto the passenger side of the Instrument Panel Topper Pad for the latest variant of the Mini.
On some vehicles the “Airbag” logo is moulded into a portion of the Instrument Panel, which involves detail work within the mould tool. This also means that the location of the “Airbag” logo has to be determined and fixed at the mould tool production stage. The ability to Laser Mark the “Airbag” logo enables the position, size, shape, font and contrast of the logo to be reviewed and enhanced to achieve the best overall result.
This application presented a series of challenges for Rofin and Automation Systems Limited, as the system would have to be capable of producing a Laser Marked Image which would be clearly visible on the Instrument Panel, when viewed from different angles both inside and outside of the vehicle.
This is an essential requirement for the Emergency Services when dealing with a vehicle which has been involved in a collision, making them aware of the presence of Airbags which may not have been deployed.
The system would also have to be capable of producing the Laser Marked Image on Left Hand Drive and Right Hand Drive product variants automatically, by reading a Bar Code label on the component and correlating this information with the input from sensors on the component location fixture within the machine.
A series of laser marking trials were conducted by Rofin-Baasel UK Limited at their Daventry facility using a PowerLine E-10 Laser, which has a broad field of application. This laser marks different materials with alpha-numeric content, vector graphics, grey-scale, bar codes or matrix codes, and with its short pulse capability, provides a high contrast mark on dark surfaces.
Several trials were conducted to determine the optimum laser power settings, number of passes, speed and line width etc. which would produce the required “Clean” image with good contrast against the background material, and within the target cycle time of 25.0 seconds. The requirement to be able to process Left Hand Drive and Right Hand Drive variants within the same machine was achieved by incorporating a Beam Switch and Dual Marking Heads to the Laser System.
The combination of the PowerLine E-10 Laser, together with the Beam Switch / Dual Marking Head concept and Rofin’s extensive application experience, provided the optimum solution to Automation Systems Limited. This enabled Automation Systems to provide their customer with a machine which was easy to load and unload, simple to operate and which benefits from Rofin’s many years of experience in the development of Lasers and Laser Optics.
Rofin laser systems offer the benefits of non-contact, abrasion-resistant, permanent marking onto many different types of material which are used within the Automotive Industry.