To achieve permanent, high quality, non-contact marking, automotive manufacturers use laser marking processes. But, the ability to accurately position small characters in a limited space, to recognize the proper parts before being marked, and the capability to repeatedly mark in a robust way without operator's adjustments still create challenges for those who attempt to achieve lean manufacturing.
Described in this paper is a high-speed vision based laser system capable of rapidly and accurately marking a large number of automotive parts of different shapes in a single pass. The vision based laser system has shown, that in a production environment, a reduction of waste, an increase in product throughput, and an improvement in the overall manufacturing cost can be achieved.