Fast Automatic Marking Also Puts Things in Order

Made for pens, but also suitable for other applications, LASIT’s Penfeeder system allows the laser marking of large volumes of cylindrical components. In order to speed up production, LASIT has also designed an unloading system that makes it possible to better manage storage. The company has also integrated a second laser system to mark twice as many components.

by Giordano Bracco

Penfeeder is an automatic system designed by LASIT for marking cylindrical components. Patented for pens, it can adapt to different types of components; the system is ideal when it is needed to respond to large production volumes.
Thanks to the complete automation of the system, the operator’s job is reduced to a minimum. In fact, by loading the pens randomly in the storage device, Penfeeder independently ensures their orderly positioning on the chains by means of specially designed V-shaped fins. The Lift and Rotation system then moves the pens in order to align the clips, guaranteeing the precision of work and time optimization in the next step. The Marking and Rotation system allows the automatic 360° rotation, and therefore the marking, of the pens, moving them so as to mark all around the circumference. There is therefore no need for additional tools, resulting in a reduction in both costs and risk of breakdowns.

Unloading is ordered
The software is customized, which allows, with a single machine, a wide variability of drawings and process adjustments. With the orderly unloading system designed by LASIT, it is also possible to manage the storage of pens in boxes, specifically thanks to the Pick & Place system which, after marking, picks up the pens and rotates them to optimize the capacity of the boxes. Such a system simplifies the operator’s job and reduces the time required, as well as making it possible to order the pieces in the desired number.
Moreover, the boxes are ready indeed for the next step on the line.
The software is used to set the number of pens per box. The pens move neatly on the belt up to the storage position; every three boxes filled, a sensor detects their presence and they are pushed onto a mobile carriage. The operator only removes the trolley only after nine boxes have been collected.

Double laser for double production
With the integration of a second laser of the same type, LASIT is able to mark twice as many components, from 1.800 to 3.600 pieces per hour.
With the integration of a second laser of a different type, however, it is possible to use the Penfeeder for marking totally different material components, thus optimizing production with an integrated system for multiple applications.