Waterjet system permanently marks ski-lifts

to aid traceability during the long expected service life ski lift components are being permanently marked, using a waterjet system, for identification purposes.

Public health and safety issues are of paramount importance when associated with the manufacture and maintenance of ski-lifts, and to aid traceability during the long expected service life all components need to be permanently marked for identification purposes.

A major Austrian ski-lift manufacturer, after carrying out trials on several marking systems, is now employing an innovative non-destructive waterjet system manufactured by KMT Waterjet Systems, formerly known as Ingersoll-Rand Waterjet Cutting Sytems, the leading supplier of waterjet systems.

It utilises just pure water to permanently mark each component without affecting the integrity of the material being marked.

When looking into efficient ways of marking components the ski-lift company carried out trials on several systems including low-powered plasma marking, but research found that this changed the molecular structure of the material - something the highly safety conscious company could not tolerate.

The innovative waterjet system on the other hand, using just pure water pressurised to 3,800 bar (55,000 lb/in2) as a marking/cutting medium, gently etches the surface of the component without structurally or chemically affecting the material or surrounding area.

The new marking system is incorporated into a plasma cutting machine supplied by Slovakia based Microstep, and includes a 13.5 metres x 3 metres bed and two portals to facilitate different operations.

The first portal carries a drill unit.

This is used to start the production process by cutting small holes and precision slots before moving out of the way for the second portal that incorporates two KMT Waterjet Systems, formerly known as Ingersoll-Rand Waterjet Cutting Systems, Aqualine(tm) waterjet cutting heads.

These carry out the permanent marking process.

A second cutting machine has two portals, the first of which has two plasma cutting heads and the second, one cutting head.

A third machine has four gas cutting heads.

The fully automatic CNC controlled machine utilises six cameras to accurately position the start point of each portal prior to operation, and the versatility of the machine is such that it can be used as one, two or three separate machines at any time to suit material flow.

The Austrian based manufacturer has now been using the KMT Waterjet Systems, formerly known as Ingersoll-Rand Waterjet Cutting Systems, waterjet process of indelible marking for about three months, and already the innovative process has generated a lot of interest for Coventry based Matrix Lasers - the UK agent for Microstep, who are receiving enquiries from a wide range of industries with similar sensitive marking requirements.

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