Every product or component must be marked, as we all know. However, some of them need to be painted after being marked to protect them against external agents or oxidation. This is a very common problem that many manufacturers face every day. The thickness of the paint depends very much on the product itself, from a few microns to a larger paint coating such as in the case of valves in theOil & Gas industry, greatly affecting the legibility of the marking itself. So how is it possible to practice markings that are legible even after painting?
The marking technology is the first thing to analyze:
1)Striking marking: the machine must be very powerful and the dies, plates or characters must have a 90-degree cutting profile. They must also remain very, very sharp and be changed when the cutting profile becomes blunt.
2)Rolling technology: for deep, clear markings on circumferences we strongly recommend the use ofelectrio-pneumatic rolling marking machines. For types and more see what has already been written in item 1
3)Micro-percussion marking technology: these machines must be used with special angled tips to produce a micro-cavity on the material.
By doing so, the paint will enter inside the formed cavity, but once dry, the marking will still be perfectly legible. See the image below
4)Smear marking : smear or "scratch" markers can also be used, but we suggest using the more powerful one, called ASM40150 , from Automator. This is the only one that will ultimately guarantee you complete success.
5)Laser marking: we personally do not recommend using this technology for marking on painted materials, for the following reasons:
- if the laser is marking the paint, there will be chemical reaction fumes that are not at all safe for the health of the operators and must be compulsorily aspirated
- laser marking will remove the paint and "attack" the material. In this way it will remove all the paint and protection, so it could be a starting point for rust
- we normally suggest that the laser acts only on the paint and tries to modify it without going through it
