A process of forming an identification marking within article formed from an at least partially optically transparent material for identification and validation, said process including the steps of (i) forming an indicia with an at least partially optically transparent material by way of subsurface laser engraving (SSLE); and (ii) forming a plurality of defects within or adjacent indicia within said at least partially optically transparent material resultant of the step of forming the indicia and from localized heating and irregularities in said at least partially optically transparent material, wherein said plurality of defects forms said identification marking

A system and method for performing laser marking may include identifying an event performed by a laser marking system. A laser marking unit may be driven to mark the feature on the part. The part may be illuminated with a visible illumination signal to indicate an occurrence of the event in response to identifying the event.

A glass container including a body having a delamination factor less than or equal to 10 and at least one marking is described. The body has an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall thickness extending between the outer surface and the inner surface. The marking is located within the wall thickness. In particular, the marking is a portion of the body having a refractive index that differs from a refractive index of an unmarked portion of the body. Methods of forming the marking within the body are also described.

A glass container including a body having a delamination factor less than or equal to 10 and at least one marking is described. The body has an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall thickness extending between the outer surface and the inner surface. The marking is located within the wall thickness. In particular, the marking is a portion of the body having a refractive index that differs from a refractive index of an unmarked portion of the body. Methods of forming the marking within the body are also described.

The invention relates to a machine for labeling “blank-labeled” cryogenically-frozen vials or ampoules, which contain heat-labile biological materials, and to which a laser-light sensitive material had been applied prior to freezing. Accordingly, the machine has been designed to maintain the integrity of the biological materials throughout all phases of the labeling process. The machine generally comprises a master control system; a programmable user interface; a frame; cryogenic freezer assemblies, for keeping the vials at the required low temperatures; an infeed assembly, configured to receive and position blank-labeled cryogenic vials; a cryostatic labeling/quality control tunnel, wherein the vials are maintained at the required temperature, labeled by laser ablation, and checked for quality; and, an outfeed assembly. The machine further comprises a means for transporting the vials from the infeed assembly to the tunnel, and from the tunnel to the outfeed assembly. Vials labeled according to the instant disclosure are ultimately manually or automatically loaded into cryogenic shipping containers.

Various laser marking compositions and related methods are described. The laser marking compositions include a molybdenum metal complex, a tungsten metal complex, or combinations thereof. Marks or other indicia formed on a substrate using the compositions and methods exhibit increased contrast and improved substrate bonding.

Methods and compositions are disclosed for quickly creating durable surface marks and/or decorations on substrates including metal, glass, ceramic, porcelain, natural and engineered stone, as well as plastics, polymer composites and other organic materials with color, high resolution and high contrast using inkjet technology and laser, NIR diode or UV LED energy. The improved methods and compositions are based on established and emerging sub-micron and nanoparticle technology. Most properties of nanoparticles are size dependent and do not become apparent until the particle size has been reduced to the nanometer scale. Examples of such properties include increased specific surface area, facilitating the absorption and/or scattering of visible light and laser, NIR diode or UV LED energy and the decreased melting point of such materials when their particle size is reduced to the nanometer scale. Improved results such as smoothness and durability are obtained by using nanoparticles of silica, pigments and other materials in such marking processes.

A method for marking an article is disclosed which includes providing an article including a substrate, the substrate including a surface and a surface material, and forming a design on the surface of the substrate by applying a marking material to the surface wherein applying the marking material includes an additive manufacturing technique. Another method for marking an article further includes the surface having a first surface and second surface, the second surface defining a depression relative to the first surface, and forming a design on the surface of the substrate by applying a marking material to the second surface, the marking material forming a marking surface which is substantially flush with the first surface. The marked article formed by the methods includes a microstructure derived from the additive manufacturing technique.

The disclosed embodiments relate to the monitoring and control of additive manufacturing. In particular, a method is shown for removing errors inherent in thermal measurement equipment so that the presence of errors in a product build operation can be identified and acted upon with greater precision. Instead of monitoring a grid of discrete locations on the build plane with a temperature sensor, the intensity, duration and in some cases position of each scan is recorded in order to characterize one or more build operations.

A glass tube semi-finished product or a hollow glass product manufactured from the glass tube semi-finished product is provided with a first marking with information on the origin and/or tube-specific production data of the glass tube semi-finished product, which marking is read from the hollow glass product after its manufacture to determine the origin and/or the tube-specific production data of the glass tube semi-finished product, e.g., to identify the semi-finished glass tube from which the hollow glass product has been made, and/or trace the tube-specific production data of this glass tube semi-finished product. This means that the entire supply chain for the hollow glass product from the supplier of the originally used glass tube semi-finished product up to the end product can be determined. The physical and chemical characteristics of the glass tube semi-finished product are not altered for producing the first marking.