Overall, the company, Raval, has installed more than 20 CO2 laser-marking systems in factories in the USA, China and Europe to mark alphanumeric traceability codes on the vent valves used in fuel tank systems.
The permanent machine-readable traceability codes produced by Foba’s laser marking system (TLM Laser, 0845 260 2220) are used to track where and by whom the fuel tank venting parts and valves have been made, processed, stored and shipped. Should any defects be identified or problems regarding the fuel venting systems arise, the history of any part must be readily available to identify at which point of the production process the defect or error occurred.
In addition to the consistency and clarity required when marking, Raval also required marking times below one second to match production line rates. Also, the marking process has to be economical, as automotive component manufacturers such as Raval experience cost-down pressure from OEMs.
Foba products feature the company’s Holistic Enhanced Laser Process, a three-stage closed-loop marking approach that ensures process reliability before and after laser marking. Parts are validated prior to marking, and with the combination of a through-the-lens vision system and intelligent mark positioning, only the correct mark will be applied in the correct position and only on the correct part.
