Solutions
One for all is the principle when it comes to validating processes for the Aesculap plants worldwide. The Tuttlingen team does the groundwork and then transfers the processes and parameters to the other locations. Marc Laufer explains: “We are taking the technological lead here, developing the processes further and rolling them out internationally.” Aesculap has been relying on lasers and machine tools from TRUMPF for 30 years to ensure that everything works consistently worldwide. "Getting all systems from a single source is a decisive advantage for us. It is the only way we can work to the same standards in all our plants.”
Another major project is currently in the pipeline with the laser specialists from Ditzingen: in the next few years, all marking lasers are to be successively replaced by the ultrashort pulse lasers from the TruMicro Mark series. The advantages of the technology are obvious to Felix Schmidt: "Thanks to microstructuring, we can apply more robust and durable marking. This is because, unlike engraving, there is no oxide film that slowly dissolves over the washing cycles.” Additionally, less combustion residue is produced during the production process. This eliminates the need for additional manual cleaning afterwards. Schmidt says: “The ultrashort pulse lasers allow us to work even more efficiently. And they offer constant laser power.”
Implementation
Marc Laufer and Felix Schmidt started with a test system for ultrashort pulse lasers in Tuttlingen in 2020. They then tested the processes under production conditions for six months and devised the standards. Laufer adds: “The biggest challenge was to reconcile the various requirements. So, on one hand, requirements for a special product that we produce in small quantities and rarely, and on the other, requirements for products that we often need in large quantities. And this all has to work on one machine, regardless of which plant it is located in worldwide.”
The software connection was also challenging: Aesculap works with its own UDI administration system, which is used for all order processing. Together with TRUMPF, the team developed a connector that makes integration into the TruTops Mark interface possible. The TRUMPF VisionLine software uses Aesculap to position the markings. In future, it will also help to improve the qualification of data matrix codes. “Before now, the inspection was carried out using an external scanner in a downstream process step,” explains Marc Laufer. “In future, we want to integrate this step directly into the marking process in order to increase manufacturing speed.”
And the work has paid off, as Felix Schmidt reports: “We have created a machine standard and can make these parameters available to our other plants.” Several TruMark Station 7000s with TruMicro Mark 2030 lasers are already in use. One of them has been in China since January. There, Alex Xu is impressed by the stability of the laser output: “There have always been fluctuations with systems from other manufacturers, but this has not been an issue with the new ultrashort pulse lasers so far.” The Chinese team was also able to put the new laser into operation very quickly: Installed in January, it has already been running in series production since February.
