Laser marking machine

metal

Control Micro Systems is an industry leader in manufacturing custom computer controlled industrial laser systems. CMS' latest endeavor is a turnkey laser marking system for applying 2D Matrix Codes to beer kegs. With the ever-increasing cost of stainless steel, the kegs used to distribute a company's product represents a sizeable investment. Many companies traditionally track their beer kegs through the sale/delivery/return distribution network with the use of preprinted paper barcode labels containing the keg's serial number. This system suffers from the impermanence of the paper labels resulting in frequently damaged or lost barcode serial numbers. To solve the problem, Control Micro Systems developed a laser marking system designed to apply and verify ECC 200 2D matrix symbols directly on stainless steel beer kegs of various sizes. The 2D data matrix code was selected because it can store a significant amount of information in a much smaller area then a barcode and is readable in low contrast conditions. The 2D code incorporates very robust error checking algorithms that can be successfully read even if over 25% of the code has been damaged.