Vehicle Identification Numbers, or VIN codes, have been in use in some form since 1954. After 1981, VIN number have been standardized and used worldwide under ISO 3779 and ISO 4030.
Yes, those long strings of numbers and letters you have to give to your insurance company and register with the Department of Motor Vehicles actually means something!
You can and should use it. To do that, you need laser marking.
Why is laser marking for VIN codes the way to go? Keep reading to see our best three reasons!
Laser Marking Works on Almost Any Shape
Because laser marking works on such a wide range of materials and shapes, many industries other than the automotive industry uses it. Such as the:
- Medical industry
- Electronics industry
- Semiconductor industry
- Aerospace industry
As you can imagine, any industry which needs to accurately mark their goods with high quality can use laser marking. Related to that is laser engraving, which can often be done with the same device.
Laser Marking Doesn’t Affect Material Integrity
There’s a notable difference between marking and engraving.
VIN numbers are not only marked but in some cases also engraved. For some applications, an engraving isn’t possible, making marking more ideal. That’s when the integrity of the material you’re engraving can’t be changed.
Engraving uses more power to actually melt and vaporize material to a predetermined depth. This causes a physical modification where marking only either bonds a pigment to material or changes the optical state of the material itself.
You can mark a VIN with UV reactive pigments. This makes car traceability or car identification easier, as you’ll see in the next section.
Laser Marking for VIN Codes Reduces Theft
There are numerous places to do laser marking for VIN codes on a vehicle, especially motorcycles, to reduce theft and cloning of a vehicle.
Typically, engines and chassis of cars and motorcycles are marked to prevent theft.
Many chop shops rely on people not knowing how to check for VIN marks, or even that they should look for them as second-hand buyers. Even dealerships have a hard time keeping up.
Marking more parts of a vehicle, visibly with Laser marking or invisibly with UV reactive marks, will help to solve the problem. Not only will vehicle thieves skip over your vehicle, if they get lazy and your vehicle enters circulation then you can help by allowing police to find the thieves.
Etching a VIN, as opposed to laser marking, allows makes it easier for thieves to make a quick rubbing of the VIN and order legal documentation. Since laser marking can do the same job without a way to make a rubbing, it’s more secure.
Marked: Laser Marking Is the Way to Go
Whether you etch the glass, the dash, the chassis, the engine, or other OEM parts of your vehicle, we hope you have discovered what we have. It’s best to go with laser marking, rather than etching.
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