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A Guide to Automotive Coding Products

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Automotive coding and marking systems must meet the highest traceability standards, which are under rigorous examination. The ability to track and document the complete lifecycle of a vehicle and its parts, from manufacturing and production stages to distribution and beyond has never been more important.

If you are looking for coding and marking equipment that can meet the demands of your automotive application and future-proof your processes, contact Needham Laser Tech.

We offer modern coding solutions for a variety of automotive sectors, including vehicle manufacturing, electrical equipment coding and commercial marking. Our product line is adaptable by design, so you can choose from a range of cutting-edge laser systems in several sizes and for specific advantages that align with your needs. From mobile to benchtop silhouettes, you can meet all your automotive coding and marking needs in your smart factory with our range of systems.

Purchasing from Needham Laser Tech allows you to take full benefit of our unrivalled service support. From first contact, we will be at hand to help with the seamless installation and integration of your chosen system, as well as provide you with continuous technical support.

To learn more about how our range of automotive coding and marking equipment can deliver real benefits for your organisation, call Needham Laser Tech on +44 (0)1948 660011, or fill out our online contact form to arrange a call back.

Our Automotive Applications

Needham Laser Tech sells marking and coding technology to well-known automotive manufacturers across the UK’s most prestigious vehicle sub-sectors. These products provide market-leading quality and adaptability in challenging production situations, offering efficient and cost-effective solutions.

These benefits are critical for companies involved in heavy industrial and manufacturing activities, where huge output volumes and tight regulatory scrutiny need supply chain efficiency whilst meeting rigorous traceability standards. Our marking and coding solutions are often used by high-value automotive organisations at the forefront of innovation, and those who want to future-proof their applications - including Formula 1.

Pushing Traceability Standards in Formula One

The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship introduced a new set of regulations that have impacted the way each team uses car parts over the course of their season. The FIA, the sport’s governing body, regulates the sport and ensures teams are limited to a certain number of car and engine parts.

Given the huge number of car parts used to build a Formula One car, each part must be traceable. The ability to trace each part is vital for engineers to understand the individual part’s batch number, lifecycle and product label - each item of information provides an overview of the parts that are being used at any given time in a car, allowing for instant inventory management data control.

The nature of Formula One means that each car part is under an enormous amount of stress and friction, and crashes are frequent, resulting in damage to the car parts. Understanding which part has been damaged and replaced plays a vital role in ensuring that the car is fitted with safe components at all times.

The 2023 Formula One season has given the racing teams an opportunity to modify their car design and introduce revolutionary mechanisms to the car’s functioning, which has meant venturing into the unknown. Each car is limited to the hours during which it can be tested on the track, meaning that engineers must quickly adapt to real-time data and modify components to make the car as fast as possible. Such huge changes in the sport introduce natural challenges; in the build-up to the new season, no team can guarantee that their car will function exactly as intended, and mechanical failures are frequent. Therefore, there is an expectation that parts will fail and need to be replaced.

For the instant identification of individual parts and the ability to store data on the lifecycle of a component, Formula One teams are using Needham Laser Tech’s products to make precise, permanent marks directly on the car part. In the event of a batch failure, engineers can identify each part that needs to be recalled.

The traceability rules of Formula One are some of the most stringent in any industry. Thanks to the precise marking of Needham Laser Tech’s systems, regulating bodies and the competing teams can access data on any part at any moment, creating a fully-traceable inventory network that guarantees safety and compliance.

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Our Coding, Marking and Printing Applications

Our coding and marking equipment is often used for the following printing applications:

  • Barcodes
  • Batch numbers
  • Logo printing
  • Inventory management data
  • Quality marking
  • Product labels
  • Product tracking IDs

Our coding and marking systems offer you total visibility and traceability across your production lines, as well as improved control over quality assurance and product recall processes. By doing so, you will be able to guarantee that your company meets the requirements of automotive industry regulatory bodies, as well as your clients and end users.

Needham Laser Tech’s Automotive Coding and Marking Systems

With over 60 years of experience, we offer the most advanced automotive coding systems available, with high-performance printing and durable designs. What’s more, our marking systems commonly come bundled with their own software packages, designed to be user-friendly and ready to be integrated into your production line.

For industrial coding and marking applications, we propose the following printer solutions:

N-Lase Desktop

The N-Lase Desktop is our entry-level laser marking system for industrial identification applications, perfect for marking, etching, engraving and annealing all metals, coated metals, plastics and some organic materials.

The Desktop is the ideal solution for low to mid-volume throughput and is an affordable alternative to more traditional methods of marking, such as dot peen, electrochemical etching or hand marking. Despite being entry-level and affordable we haven’t sacrificed on quality or efficiency; our N-Lase Desktop comes with either our 20 Watt or 50 Watt MOPA fiber laser with a MTBF of 100,000 marking hours and a 3-year comprehensive warranty, as standard.

N-Lase Desktop Pro

The N-Lase Desktop Pro is the most popular laser in our N-Lase range. Designed for marking, etching, engraving and annealing almost all materials in mid to high-volume applications, the Desktop Pro is a full turnkey solution which includes an integrated All-in-One PC and an automatic door function to ensure maximum efficiency and simple operation.

The N-Lase Desktop Pro can be fitted with either our 20 Watt or 50 Watt MOPA fiber laser sources with a MTBF of 100,000 marking hours. Like all products within our N-Lase range the Desktop Pro comes with a 3-year comprehensive warranty, as standard.

N-Lase Benchtop

The N-Lase Benchtop is the ‘big cousin’ to the Desktop Pro. It has the same style and design but on a much larger scale, so maximum versatility for industries wishing to mark, etch and engrave big parts. As the name suggested, the Benchtop is designed to sit on a bench/worktop within existing manufacturing cells and processes.

Due to its larger footprint and modular design, the N-Lase Benchtop can offer a broad range of optional extras such as XY marking tables for increased throughput, large marking area lenses (up to 280mm x 280mm), big rotary attachments for circumference marking on large diameter parts and power sources from 20 watt up to 100 watt for maximum speed and depth.

With our 3-year comprehensive warranty, the N-Lase Benchtop is the ideal solution for the efficient and reliable etching of heavy-duty parts in industrial environments.

N-Lase Workstation

The N-Lase Workstation offers our biggest enclosure mounted onto a portable base to offer maximum flexibility. The Workstation can be located within an existing manufacturing process or operate as a standalone marking and traceability station. With an integrated PC and auto door function, the N-Lase Workstation is a truly turnkey solution; simply wheel into the desired location and start etching.

With such a large enclosure, the N-Lase Workstation can be fitted with a wide range of options to further increase efficiencies and offer maximum throughput. Options include XY marking tables to facilitate the loading of multiple parts, large marking area lenses (up to 280mm x 280mm), big rotary attachments for circumference marking on large diameter parts and power sources from 20 Watt up to 100 Watt for maximum speed and depth.

As with all our N-Lase range, maximum reliability and robustness is assured with our 3-year comprehensive warranty.

N-Lase Integrated

Designed for integration into production, manufacturing and assembly lines, our N-Lase Integrated models offer high reliability, speed and flexibility in a convenient form factor. A wide range of laser power outputs on our standard system allow marking on a diverse variety of substrates, whereas the Integrated Max is suitable for more powerful hungry applications and much larger laser modules. N-Lase Integrated systems are maintenance free and will provide you with years upon years of trouble-free operation

N-Lase Handheld

Laser without limits with the N-Lase Handheld. This model allows you to move the system to wherever (and whatever) needs to be marked. Ease and usability is at the forefront of the design, including a counterbalanced laser head to ensure safe movement and use. Whether it's a plaque on a wall or a plate on the floor, this model is ready for the challenge.

Why Choose Needham Laser Tech?

Since 1962, we have placed great importance on supporting British industry, becoming one of the most trusted suppliers of industrial marking and coding equipment.

Laser marking systems are not labour-demanding since they are virtually totally automated, allowing technical operators to focus on more involved parts of the manufacturing process.

Because of the low amount of user intervention, laser engraving technology is exceptionally precise and reliable. Thanks to the few moving parts in our laser marking systems, they require less maintenance than other comparable technologies.

Needham Laser Tech has supplied industrial coding and marking technology to major multinational corporations such as Barbour, Pepsi, AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, The Royal Air Force, Mars, Morrisons, and more.

Find Out More

If you want to know more about finding an industrial coding and marking system that will serve the needs of your application, get in touch with Needham Laser Tech today.

Give us a call on +44 (0)1948 660011, or fill out our online contact form to arrange a call back.

60+ years in industry

Heritage & market-leading knowledge

The Needham Group and its subsidiaries have been a part of the ever-developing coding and marking industry since 1962; identifying industry needs whilst simultaneously importing and developing exciting, practical and innovative products to suit.

Community-driven

Customer service at our core

Every day we share our passion and excitement for British manufacturing and innovation in laser technologies with each of our partners; from supplier and supply chain right through to end-user.

Short lead times

Delivery in weeks, not months

We design, develop and manufacture our lasers at our HQ in Shropshire; allowing for lean manufacturing, better efficiencies and speedy response times in our manufacturing, ultimately getting your products to you in weeks rather than months.

Made in Britain & Safety Regulations

We are proud to wear the Made in Britain badge, where all of our lasers are manufactured at our HQ in Shropshire. Combining over 60 years of company heritage with exquisite design and Great British engineering, we take great pride in our heritage and our commitment to producing quality products that represent the very best of British craftsmanship. Our loyal customers can be assured that when they choose us, they are investing in a product made with the utmost care and attention to detail.

The UK has the world's most rigorous regulatory requirements for laser safety.
We are proud to align our UK design and manufacturing with said regulations.
We are also certified members of AILU. - https://www.ailu.org.uk/

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