case study

How to address the challenge of marking railway parts with multiple shapes and dimensions?

Industrial objectives for railway marking

The client needed to address several major challenges:

• Ensure permanent traceability of
  steel,
  aluminum, and
  stainless steel parts
• Adapt to a wide variety of formats. The highly heterogeneous dimensions of the parts required a flexible solution not limited to a single fixture
• Provide equipment that is both mobile and usable in a fixed workstation

The diversity of parts to be marked is one of the main challenges of this application. Most components are flat parts such as plates, sheets, reinforcements, or gussets, typically measuring between 120 and 600 mm in length, 30 to 220 mm in width, and 5 to 12 mm in thickness.

A smaller portion consists of small mechanical parts, such as fittings, shims, bushings, or supports, with dimensions ranging from 50 to 240 mm in length, 14 to 120 mm in width, and up to 80 mm in height.

Finally, some parts have much larger dimensions—tubes, rails, profiles, or frames—reaching up to 1,800 mm in length, 500 mm in width, and 250 mm in height.

This variety of formats requires a marking solution flexible enough to adapt to parts ranging from small components to large structural elements.

Overview of the diversity of parts to be marked:

Technical challenges of marking railway parts

Several technical constraints had to be taken into account:

• Readability after welding operations. The marking had to remain identifiable even after thermal processes that could alter the surface
• Need for mobility in certain areas. Some parts could not be moved to a fixed workstation, making portability essential
• Need for a secure workstation for small parts
• Possibility to integrate 2D marking (QR code) in the future and ensure compatibility with future data structuring according to GS1 standards (GTIN, application identifiers, serialization, etc.)

The system needed to be flexible enough to cover three scenarios:

1. Direct marking on large parts in the workshop
2. Ergonomic fixed workstation
3. Secure marking of small parts in an enclosure

SIC MARKING Solution: Industrial Portable Laser Marking

To meet all these constraints, the following configuration was selected.

It is based on a L-MOOV 30W equipped with a marking head of 60 x 25 mm, as well as a dedicated defocused head for stainless steel, allowing marking to be adapted to different materials and required contrast levels.

The solution also includes the SIC FACTORY AUTOMATION software, designed to simplify, secure, and automate industrial marking operations.

The equipment is mounted on a mobile cart and can be used at a fixed workstation with a cantilevered head and balancer, or in a mobile configuration without complex modifications. This modularity enhances both ergonomics and operational performance.

Finally, a protective enclosure sized according to the final parts completes the system, ensuring secure marking, especially for small components.

The solution therefore offers three modes of operation:

• A fixed workstation for recurring volumes
• A mobile setup for large parts or hard-to-reach areas
• An enclosure mode for closed-station marking of very small parts

Implementation and Results of Industrial Railway Marking

The deployed solution provides:

• Permanent marking that is legible on steel, aluminum, and stainless steel
• Better stock organization through immediate identification of parts
• Reduced risk of errors during maintenance operations
• An expandable solution ready for QR code integration
• Total flexibility for parts of different sizes

The majority of flat parts (88%) can be marked directly with the portable head, optimizing productivity. Small parts are secured in the dedicated enclosure, ensuring compliance and operator comfort. Very large parts can be marked without dimensional constraints thanks to the system’s mobility.

Conclusion

With a modular configuration combining mobility, safety, and power adapted to different materials, the workshop now has a reliable and scalable solution for the traceability of its railway maintenance parts.

The implemented solution ensures reliable maintenance operations and secures stock management.

This project demonstrates the L-MOOV portable laser’s ability to perfectly adapt to demanding industrial applications and the specific constraints of the railway sector.