Customer focus: Laser marking components with Van der Graaf

Trotec's range of industrial galvo laser machines are used by many industrial companies worldwide. Mechanical engineering and drive technology is a large sector, where lasers are ideal for flexible marking of components and nameplates. Engine specialist Van der Graaf uses Trotec SpeedMarker industrial laser machines for this purpose, as they provide flexible marking solutions for their proprietary manufacturing processes.

Headquartered in Canada, Van der Graaf is a leading international manufacturer of drum motors. Most of its customers are manufacturers of transport and conveyor systems, used worldwide for a variety of purposes and in a wide range of conditions. The applications range from conveyor belts in industrial manufacturing processes to baggage handling systems at airports and conveyor technology for parcel sorting systems.
The reliable core of these conveyor systems consists of the completely enclosed drum motors. At the company's Canadian site in Brampton, Ontario, a SpeedMarker 700 industrial laser is used to mark components and nameplates for these engines.

Van der Graaf have to mark a range of components and nameplates of different shapes, which requires production flexibility. To achieve this they have created several jigs for marking their componentswhich can be quickly changed ready for laser marking. The jigs can be exchanged in under a minute ready for the laser marker to go back into action. Van der Graaf have also created corresponding templates in the laser software which can be called up manually or automatically via the production order. The workpiece carriers don't need to be completely filled to process the workpieces.

By connecting SpeedMark laser software to the ERP system, the laser machine's operator can scan the barcode on the production order using a hand-held scanner. The laser software will then receive the information on the part type and the laser marking content, including part numbers, serial numbers and quantities from the ERP system. The information and placement on the component is stored within the laser software. The operator only needs to load the components, scan the order and begin the laser marking process. 

Optimal operation of a laser machine varies between companies. The HMI (human machine interface) of our laser marking machines canb be adapted according to company requirements, to provide a suitable and simple graphical user interface in addition to the standard laser software. In standard operation, individual user interfaces can be used for operation with the jigs. If new components or jigs need to be set up for marking,  the interface in SpeedMark laser software can be updated at any time.