Yorkshire-based Pryor Marking Technology, a market leader in both traditional and innovative marking solutions, is using its portable laser marking machine to engrave 150,000 names on the Heart of Steel which is set to become part of a stainless-steel sculpture called The Steel Man.

Thousands of people have already signed up to add their names to the heart (www.thesteelman.co.uk/heart-of-steel) for £20, with part of the proceeds going to support the British Heart Foundation’s heart research programme.

The Steel Man will be a landmark visitor attraction in an area that is steeped in industrial history. The Heart of Steel is 2.4m high and weighs 1,138kg.

Pryor’s (www.pryormarking.com) portable laser marker is providing ultra-precise and high-speed engraving at a rate of 90 names in 50sec. Laser marking is non-contact, so it does not create any stress points or deformation of the material.

From October, further names will be engraved in public at Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. The Heart is made of 136 curved panels and is a complex shape, so Pryor had to develop a custom mask to enable its machine to work
on it in a safe and secure way.

The company also modified its standard software to ensure complete traceability, so the exact location of each name can be located.

Andy Hales, Pryor’s project sales engineer, said: “We were approached by the sculptor, Steve Mehdi, to laser engrave up to 150,000 names.

“As the only UK manufacturer of portable laser marking systems, we are ideal to provide this service. In addition, as a Sheffield-based company since 1849, we have a vested interest in the local area.”