Sheffield-based Pryor Marking Technology — a marking, identification and traceability specialist — has become a Tier Two member of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

As part of being a member, the company has placed a laser marking system in the AMRC’s Factory 2050 — the UK’s first ‘state of the art’ factory dedicated to research into reconfigurable digitally assisted assembly, component manufacturing and machining technologies.

It will be part of a robotic cell for marking components to demonstrate part traceability and data capture in production assemblies.

This will involve two robots that will load the parts of a pen into the laser cabinet for marking and then assemble them into a working pen.

Visitors will be able to sign their name on a tablet linked to the system, and the laser will engrave their signature on the pen.

David Ray, Pryor’s technical director (www.pryormarking.com), said: “This is an exciting collaboration, sharing best practice in traceability.

Product identity and data capture is becoming essential in modern manufacturing for multiple reasons, including efficiency, quality assurance, anti-counterfeiting, recall actions and to meet increasing regulatory requirements.

"We’re delighted to be members of the AMRC, and we look forward to showcasing our solutions and contributing to research projects that will help to develop the next generation of traceability systems for the smartest factories in the world.”