Your browser is out of date.

You are currently using Internet Explorer 7/8/9, which is not supported by our site. For the best experience, please use one of the latest browsers.

What Is Part Marking?

Part marking is the act of placing identifiable pieces of information on products for tracking and traceability. These part marks are typically a date of manufacture, serial number, part origin, lot and batch numbers, certification and inspection symbols, assembly and positioning marks, logos, or other graphics.

Download the eBook

This article is available as a PDF. Download this quick and easy-to-read guide that will help you better understand the importance of part marking and the different ways to achieve a mark on the parts you manufacture.

Get Your Free Copy

Why Is Part Marking Important?

Most manufacturers mark their parts for internal operations such as inventory, quality control, branding, or certification, while others are seeking compliance to meet a state or federal regulations. For manufacturers whose end products are used by public consumers, such as with the aerospace, automotive, medical, dental, and electronics industries, it is critical that their products can be traced throughout the lifetime of the part.

How is Part Marking Achieved?

Part marking is typically done on parts during the manufacturing process or shortly thereafter. Marking machines are either integrated into a manufacturer’s production line or they are used as a stand-alone marking station. There are several types of machines and various technologies that can be used to achieve part marking. To determine which marking technology is best, one should consider the type of mark they need and the attributes of their parts.

Mark Characteristics

What are the mark's physical characteristics?  How light or deep does the mark need to be?  What size characters and how many lines of information are required?  Are there any special characters, fonts, or graphics? Does the mark need to be human readable or will it be a barcode or 2D data matrix scanned by a reader?  Does the data change for each part? Will the information be manually entered into the marking machine software or will it be downloaded from a database? Knowing these mark characteristics is critical for the decision-making process, along with knowing the part attributes.

Part Attributes

Key factors to consider about the part being marked are the material, size, shape, and weight.  Are there any before or after processing done to the part like painting or plating? Where on the part will the mark need to be placed, and how many parts are being marked each day?  The answers to these questions will help determine which marking technology is best suited for the application. 

The Machines That Make the Marks

Knowing what type of mark our customers need and the answers to critical application questions helps ensure our customers get the machine technology that is best for their application. GT SCHMIDT offers a variety of marking technologies including laser marking, pin marking, roll marking and press marking to help meet these goals.  Each one of these marking technologies have advantaged depending on what marking requirements are most important. If our standard marking systems do not fit an application, we also specialize in engineering a custom solution

For help understanding your part marking application and finding the right product identification solution, call us today or complete the form below and one of our part identification specialists will reach out to you shortly.