The common auto parts marking methods on the market are: mold casting, electro-corrosion marking, stickers, screen printing, pneumatic marking and laser marking. Among them, although laser marking technology was born the latest, it has attracted widespread attention for its indelible marking since its birth.

The main advantage of using laser for auto parts marking is that it is a fast, programmable, non-contact process with a long-lasting process that is usually not affected by the steps required in the production process or the harsh on-site environment it is subjected to. Of course, it also has disadvantages, such as the high initial cost of laser marking equipment and insufficient contrast of marking in some applications (such as marking plastic products).

Laser, barcode and QR code are widely used in auto parts traceability.

Barcode and QR code are popular technologies for product traceability in various forms today, and are fully applicable to all types of auto parts. Early auto parts marking mainly relied on marking serial numbers on products to meet traceability requirements. After the birth of barcodes, they were quickly applied to the identification of auto parts, but their small amount of information and poor fault tolerance prevented them from being fully popularized. This problem was not solved until the birth of QR code technology.

A QR code is a 2D graphic similar to a chessboard that can hold a lot of information in a very small area. Since the 2D graphics of a QR code only require readout performance at a contrast ratio of 50% or even lower, the use of QR code graphics greatly increases the number of laser applications.

The encoding of the QR code also has a built-in correction function, so the code can still be read even if part of the code is damaged for some reason. QR codes can also be decoded and encrypted in several different forms, and protection devices are placed in the data, making this type of marking more valuable for patented components. In addition to automatically generating barcodes, the marking software also supports QR code technologies such as DataMatrix, PDF417, QR Code, etc.

Lasers can mark most materials used in automobiles with permanent, high-contrast marks. Laser marking machines can be used as stand-alone mass-production marking solutions for marking small workpieces, or they can be fully integrated into production lines. Flexible software control programs can customize any form of marking content.

Lasers are becoming increasingly important in the automotive industry and are increasingly affecting our daily lives.