UID Laser Marking and its significance in the UID Registration

As per one 1992 study report, the DoD could have saved an estimated $2 billion in inventory had the Data Matrix Symbol been marked permanently by a strong method such as UID laser marking. Now the Department of Defense has made it mandatory for all vendors who are to supply parts have to comply with UID Data Matrix Symbols as per the MIL-STD 130M standard.  Hence UID laser marking is a must to meet the DoD requirements.

The Unique Item Identifier (UID) laser marking method has become very popular.UID laser marking is considered to be one of the most efficient and fool-proof marking methods used for marking identification number onto products. Numerous industry groups including ISO9000 and other international manufacturing standards have made permanent part identification and Direct Part Marketing (DPM) compulsory to improve the traceability of their items.

UID laser marking is done with 2D Matrix Bar Codes that are etched on to the surface of the supplied items. These bar codes are usually encrypted, so they can only be scanned by specific software which is assigned to scan them.  In this way, these UID laser marking increases the level of security.

As per the DoD’s mandate, UID marking is compulsory for all the items to be delivered to the Department with a unit acquisition value of $5,000.00 or above, including all embedded sub-assemblies, mission essential components or parts that are serially managed by the DoD. Furthermore, the format of the mark must conform to the requirement of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).  The product identification must be permanently marked directly on the part’s surface as per the directive of the Department of Defense (DoD).

Benefits to the DoD of UID Laser Marking

The UID laser marking 2D Matrix symbol on parts or sub-assemblies helps the DoD:

• Improve their inventory accuracy,
• Accurately source items on property,
• Decrease inventory management costs, improve access to part history during the design or lifespan of items, and
• Reduce workforce burden through augmented efficiency and productivity.

Advantages of UID Laser Marking

UID laser marking is one of the most permanent, reliable, high contrast, and versatile marking technology available for UID applications. The increasing popularity of UID laser marking applications can be attributed to the following advantages.

1. UID laser marking is an eco-friendly choice to silk screening, chemical etching, pad printing, mechanical engraving, stamping and a choice of other costly, lower quality processes.
2. Laser marking and engraving are an exclusive method to identify and decorate your product items.
3. UID laser marking has higher resolution than other methods, which makes it easy for embedding more data in the UID marks.