Laser Marking Drivetrains

Laser annealing adds a textureless black mark onto a surface. Annealing happens when the laser beam hits the target and heats it until the atoms reach the surface and reorganise into an oxide layer design.

Laser carbon migration also adds a textureless black mark. However, instead of leaving an oxide layer, the carbide properties activate the black layer.

Laser etching is a method that adds raised marks. The laser beam electrifies a target and heats it until its liquidation point. The target then partially absorbs and partially reflects the beam while immediately cooling off. In seconds, the target has a raised mark.

Laser engraving creates an indented mark. The beam hits the surface and changes the target from a solid to a gas in an instant. The vaporised material leaves behind an indented design.

Drivetrain parts come in contact with friction, oil, environmental conditions, and corrosion, so they need a mark that will withstand all the elements. Laser part marking is permanent, so the mark will always be read regardless of the situation.

Traceability is a crucial practice in the automotive industry to ensure safety, prevent counterfeits, and streamline the recall process. Laser marking machines mark characters, barcodes, 2D codes, GS1 DataBars, and logo images for traceability and identification.

Each part of a drivetrain was likely produced at a different shop floor, so marking each one helps identify the manufacturing plant that the defective part came from. Without laser part marking, manufacturers would have to investigate every plant that produced every part of the drivetrain.

Laser part marking—whether that be etching, annealing, or engraving—only takes a few seconds. It’s faster than screen printing (labeling), chemical etching, and ink printing.

The shape of pinions and ring gears leaves hardly any room for marks from chemical etching, labels, or ink. However, because of the precision and thin beam of the laser, a laser can mark a readable traceability or identification mark onto these gears.

It’s safe to assume that if you’re working with automotive parts all day, you’re pretty familiar with which part is which. However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Since laser part marking is readable and permanent, the mark is an indicator for keeping the assembly process in check.

It’s common for ring and pinion gears to have a layer of anti-corrosion coating added. Using a laser marker allows you to add the marks you need without ruining the anti-corrosion layer.

Alternatively, other marking methods like dot peening and chemical etching ruin the layer.

Laser cleaning gears takes only seconds per gear, depending on the size. Compare this to shot blasting and chemical etching that take hours or days for the complete process.

Laser cleaning gears do not require regulatory paperwork that needs to be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA tracks the use of toxins that show up in cleaning methods like chemical etching and sandblasting. The Code of Federal Regulations includes a regulation, 40 CFR 433.12, that states that companies submit paperwork stating:

1. 1. Solvent management plan explaining which toxic compounds are used
2. 2. Method of disposal
3. 3. Procedural tasks preventing toxins from entering bodies of water

Completing and filing this paperwork adds administrative work that can slow down production or increase costs because of compliance issues.

Ring gears have small teeth that are pesky to clean out. Laser cleaning gears uses a controlled beam that has the exact focus to get in between each tooth.

You may have opted for shot blasting or chemical etching in the past because gears are too tedious to clean with a manual tool. However, these methods do not target each area the way a laser does.

KEYENCE’s fibre laser is called the 3-Axis Fibre Laser MD-F Series. This laser can engrave, etch, anneal, and activate carbon migration. It can mark characters, barcodes, 2D codes, GS1 DataBars, and logos as small as .1 mm and up to 300 mm.

The MD-F uses a 3-axis control to adjust the focal point for distortionless marking on any complex shape; inclined, cylindrical, cones, and stepped.