Traceability solutions
Prevent counterfeit rolling bearings
Counterfeits have been appearing on the bearing market for several years now, and this can have devastating consequences.
According to the World Bearing Association, no fewer than 5.4 million jobs are at stake; in addition, the global economy could suffer losses of up to 36 billion euros.
These alarming figures are prompting the major bearing manufacturers worldwide to mark their components accordingly. On the one hand, this is intended to improve internal traceability and facilitate subsequent maintenance. On the other hand, the companies are also and above all concerned with strengthening their corporate identity through unmistakable and aesthetically pleasing markings.
Diverse requirements for labeling
Every year, millions of bearings are manufactured for a wide range of industries. Examples include the automotive and aviation industries as well as the energy and medical sectors. Due to their wide range of applications, bearings are not a standardized product, but are made of various materials (steel, ceramics or other treated metals). They are also manufactured in different dimensions (with larger or smaller diameters and in different widths). Ideally, it should be possible to mark as many bearing types as possible with one marking system.
The markings themselves are not always the same either. A wide range of information must be applied to the bearings. These range from alphanumeric character strings for production or the product (place or date of manufacture) to data matrix codes or logos. All markings must be high-contrast, legible and durable. The latter applies in particular if the bearings are exposed to heavy mechanical or thermal loads.
But that's not all. A marking solution must also be suitable for marking differently shaped parts. As bearings consist of an outer and an inner ring, both are usually marked. And these rings have both flat and circular, concave and convex areas. In addition, cycle times of just one second sometimes have to be adhered to in the production of bearings.
Laser marking systems, a state-of-the-art technology
SIC Marking, specializing in industrial marking and traceability solutions, has been developing marking solutions that meet the stringent requirements of the industry for over 30 years. Thanks to its many years of experience, the French group can now offer a wide range of state-of-the-art laser marking systems as well as numerous automatic recognition systems for reading data matrix codes.
The integrable laser heads from SIC Marking are particularly suitable for marking ball bearings. The surface is irrelevant for these systems. They are equally suitable for marking plastic as they are for marking ceramics or hard metals and always deliver clear and permanent results. Various optional functions such as 3D marking and autofocus also help to ensure that a perfect marking pattern can be achieved on all bearing surfaces (outer or inner ring).
The SIC Marking range is rounded off by the three marking lasers L-BOX, XL-BOX and XXL-BOX. These can be integrated into any production line, but can also be used as stand-alone marking stations. The size of the production series is irrelevant. If required, the dimensions of the marking systems can be adapted to the existing systems. The stations can also be extended with additional devices or additional axes (Z-axis, rotary axis) if required.
Individual support worldwide
But SIC Marking not only impresses with the high quality of its products. Another of the company's strengths is its customer focus. The 300 employees always have their customers' needs in mind and can therefore offer them tailor-made solutions.
SIC Marking has three competence centers in Europe, America and Asia. This enables the company to develop exactly the solutions that the customer needs, based on the respective local conditions. Often, several locations and different production areas have to be supplied, with different production managers involved. The team then travels to the site and gets an overview of the available space, the technologies available for parts handling and the environmental requirements that need to be taken into account. It is precisely this flexibility and prudence that medium-sized companies value just as much as large international corporations, which is why they rely on products from SIC Marking.
SIC Marking was able to demonstrate the quality of its products to a large Swedish ball bearing manufacturer with a branch in Germany. The Swedish company wanted to mark steel bearings with a diameter of 150 to 600 mm with an alphanumeric sequence of numbers and a data matrix code. The marking solution should not only be suitable for parts of different sizes, but also be able to be integrated directly into the production line. In addition, the device had to be able to mark the bearings in two places simultaneously and read data matrix codes.
Thanks to its many years of experience, SIC Marking was able to offer the customer a customized laser marking solution. This is equipped with an IPG 50W laser for marking the bearing end faces and an IPG 3D laser automatically controlled via two axes for marking the outer circumference of cylindrical workpieces. The laser marking system also has a reader that can be used to check the applied markings immediately. Thanks to the integrated conveyor belt, the marking station can be easily integrated into any production line.
SIC Marking impressed with a solution that was perfectly tailored to the customer's needs. The good cooperation, the dedicated support from the German subsidiary and a large-scale test series involving expert laser specialists also spoke in favor of the device from SIC Marking.
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