Laser Marking for Improved Traceability in the Aluminum Industry

摘要

Traceability is becoming increasingly important across the aluminum supply chain. Aluminum, from ingots to semi-finished products to car body structures, requires permanent and reliable marking to ensure traceability. The markings may be in the form of human readable labels and/or 2D barcodes, which vary depending on the needs of the facility. Primary and secondary casthouses, for example, may want to mark their ingot, sow, or billet to ensure the correct size and alloy is delivered to the customer. In addition, they might need to confirm things like recycling content or carbon footprint of their raw material through 100% traceability. Meanwhile, individual products processed at an extruder, foundry, or rolling mill need to be identified from the beginning of the manufacturing process (e.g., completion of casting or when a profile is extruded) in order to optimize casting or extrusion parameters. In subsequent process and machining steps, more data may then be added. Once the product is marked, the data becomes readily available for quality control, both internal and external.