Disappearing inkjet markings as a sore point for Wavin
Wavin´s unit in Sweden manufactures polyethylene pipes and their end customer had requested permanent traceability markings. They had previously marked the pipes with inkjet, but as polyethylene is relatively slippery material, inkjet printings were easily vanished from the pipes during handling. Cajo provided integrable laser marking solution Cajo Vega for Cables™ for marking pipes on-the-fly and with durable, permanent markings.
Wavin is a Dutch manufacturer of plastic pipes, mainly for drainage and water supply purposes. Their Swedish unit manufactures PE 80 (polyethylene) pipes and the end customer requires permanent traceability markings on pipes, which could not be achieved with the previous inkjet marking method. Polyethylene is a relatively slippery material and inkjet printing in PE was not durable. It could be rubbed out during handling. In the case of losing the markings, there is no ability to track and verify the origin of the pipes which is always a risk, neither is did not fulfill today´s requirements.
The solution for replacing the ink jet systems, provided by Cajo Technologies is 20W Cajo Vega for Cables™ fiber laser system, integrated into Wavin´s production line so that the marking can be done on-the-fly, without interrupting pipe production speed. Despite the name, the system is not exclusively designed for marking cables, but it can also be adjusted for marking pipes and tubes with diameter more than 30 mm, when the pipe rollers are installed outside the system. The diameter of Wavin´s pipes is between 15–60 mm, and the marking contains straight line, date and company logo. As a turn-key stand-alone system with a protective housing, Cajo Vega for Cables doesn´t require any additional enclosure for the laser beam.
We asked the customer, why Cajo laser is superior compared to industrial inkjet:
“The laser solution is more reliable and there are much less scrap tubes because there are no more ink stains on the tubes. The text is more visible and there is much less maintenance need compared to previous systems (inkjet). We haven’t got any idle time on the machine.”
Anders Lundgren, Quality Environmental TPM
Example of laser marked PE pipe – read another case study about marking on polyethylene pipes (Case Aker).
Cajo Vega for Cables – read more about the solution
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