A leading manufacturer of automotive products needed an automated spot marking solution as part of the internal quality testing procedure. Products included clutches, power steering, suspension and air conditioning hoses. The customer wished to replace their manual identification process as part of the quality pass testing for the hoses as this was time consuming and open to operator error. In addition to this, the customer also wanted to reduce the costs associated with the manual marking process. Other printing systems and technologies were not compatible with the available space inside the testing assembly and were also susceptible to the speed and movement of the automated marking process.
Although the mark requirement itself was very basic (i.e. a simple spot to identify a product pass) the challenge for this application centred around:
- The limited space within the testing machine
- The requirement for a robust design to cope with the high speed movement and start/stopping of the head
- Operating distances for the print head
- Drying time of the ink
- The facility to operate multiple print heads from one system
Xact were able to offer a low cost solution to meet all of the customer requirements. Multiple 1v print heads offering standard controller and PLC control, with our 1ltr ink supply unit incorporating a low level ink sensor and alarm. The heads operate our DPI411 fast-dry ink. The flexibility to expand our system and switch fluids to suit different products and test requirements was also a significant advantage to the customer.
Following the success of the first three head system additional systems have been installed.
For further information about MPERIA™ and our range of printing technologies, please call Xact on 0151 479 3020 or email info@xactpack.co.uk
Click below to see a video of the machines in action
[vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/165574759″]