STYLUS MARKER SOLVES COUNTERFEITING PROBLEM FOR OKLAHOMA MANUFACTURER

What do you do when you discover the products you manufacture are being counterfeited and, worse yet, the counterfeit products are causing serious performance problems for your customers?

In the spring of 1999, that was the problem facing Mathey Dearman Inc. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a manufacturer of pipe cutting, beveling and clamping equipment. "In 60 years of operation, we had never encountered this problem before," says Larry Ashmore, director of operations at Mathey Dearman, "but we needed to find a solution fast because it was causing havoc with our customers."

The solution was to put a unique, permanent mark on their parts with a Geo. T. Schmidt, Inc. (SCHMIDT) stylus marking machine. Since Mathey Dearman started using a Styliner Mark3 system to engrave a logo and part number on its products, customers can tell immediately whether they have a genuine product or a knock-off.

Challenging Marking Application

Mathey Dearman equipment is used all over the world, primarily in the construction and maintenance of pipelines, oil refineries and power plants. The machines are used to cut and bevel pipe ranging from 2" - 48" in diameter. Spacers are utilized between the saddle and the pipe to allow each machine to accommodate different pipe sizes, and it was the spacers that were being counterfeited.

"We manufacture a wide variety of spacers," explains Larry Ashmore, "about 70 different spacers in all. They are as small as a 3/8" diameter bolt pattern with a 1/8" head thickness, and as large as 1 1/2" diameter and 6" long. If the spacer dimensions are off even a little bit, it affects the accuracy of our cutting machines."

The diversity of spacer sizes and configurations presented a challenge for Larry Ashmore - finding one marking machine that could not only make the desired marks, but would also provide the flexibility to mark large spacers, flat and round surfaces (both convex and concave), and, most difficult, offer the precision to engrave very small spacers with less than 1" of surface area.

"The range of marking requirements ruled out conventional, dedicated roll marking and stamping machines," recalls John Gaast, the local SCHMIDT representative. "The Styliner stylus marking system was the ideal choice because it can keep pace with the annual marking volume of 400,000 spacers and it can handle all of Mathey Dearman's marking applications without the expense and changeover time associated with multiple sets of tooling."

After seeing a Styliner demonstration, Larry Ashmore and company owner Don Lockhart decided to purchase one. It took only one day for John Gaast to install the Styliner Mark3 and train the primary operator, Mildred Phipps.

How It Works

"My first job was marking every spacer in our inventory," says Mildred Phipps, "so I put the Styliner to the test right from the start. The machine is easy to operate and, while I was learning, I got all the technical assistance I needed from the engineers at Geo. T. Schmidt to program the computer for our marks."

At the Mathey Dearman plant, the stand-alone stylus marker - which is capable of marking logos, serial numbers, nameplate data, time and date codes, bar codes, ideograms and binary matrix codes - sits on top of a table in a separate work station between the shop floor and the office.

"Marking is the last step in our production process," explains Ashmore. "After the spacers are formed, assembled, and finished, they are delivered to the marking station. When marking is completed, they are delivered to the shipping department for warehouse storage or immediate shipment."

Marking parts with the Styliner Mark3 is a simple three-step process. First, the operator selects the desired marking pattern from the files stored in the computer memory (files can be assigned any name by the operator when the mark is created). Second, the operator positions the part under the stylus marking head. Third, the marking cycle is initiated with the keyboard or the mouse. Because of the Styliner's speed - up to three characters per second - the mark is completed in less than half a minute.

The menu-driven software used to create marking patterns is user-friendly because it contains no complicated programming language. The operator can import CAD images and other HPGL graphics, then scale, rotate and position them as required. Using five built-in fonts, characters can be created to satisfy virtually any size, spacing and depth requirements. Character sizes on Mathey Dearman spacers vary from less than 1/16" up to 3/4" in height.

One of the Styliner features Mathey Dearman likes best is the "matrix" function that allows Mildred Phipps, with the use of a special clamping fixture, to mark more than one part at a time - as many as she can fit in the overall 2" x 3" marking field. With some of the smaller spacers, she can mark 8 spacers in one marking cycle.

The Real Thing

"The Styliner has done exactly what we needed. . .and more," concludes Larry Ashmore. "Now our customers know if a spacer is the real thing or a fake, so it has completely restored customer confidence in our products."

According to Ashmore, stylus marking is also providing an unexpected benefit. "Customers tell us the engraved part numbers help to identify and keep track of small spacers that would otherwise get mixed up on the job site."

"No doubt about it," echoes John Gaast, "the Styliner Mark3 is the real thing, too. It not only stopped the counterfeiters in their tracks, but the crisp clean marks have actually added to their reputation for quality."