Writing BarCode With Plotter Pen Bit

[bstern]

Great Discussion! Thanks for all the response.
Ive been out of pocket and now it looks like I'm overloaded till after Christmas. Nobody want to make a decision and then they all want it done before the end of the year! I will have to table my research till next year.

Here are my conclusions to date:

Postal code looks the most promising.

I need to look at the British as it looks to be more compact. 3 different "characters" as opposed to 2 with the US.

It looks doable at a cost of about $1500 to $2000 in equipment. That at the top end but still would have a reasonable payback for me.

Henrik and I agree that the shorter the code the better. 2 Digits should be fine.

My CAM package can write the "Data" layer into shopbot code. I have already done this with all the label info I print now.

Henrik,
I want to hear about your cleaning solution! My current cycle time for a 4X8 sheet is about 15 minutes. Of this, only about 7 minutes is actual cutting, The rest is loading, labeling, unloading, and cleaning. Cleaning is about 2 min.

My improvement plan is this: Load, Cut parts and print bar-codes on the parts. Then Use a "Sweeping Arm" with a bar and a vacuum slot ,table width, to push the parts to an "unloading table" while vacuuming the table at the same time. Cleaning and unloading in one sweep.

What are you thinking??

[henrik_o]

Bob,

Great minds, eh?

Yes, I'm also looking at 'de-snaggifying' the table, have an outfeed bar which during the evacuation sequence vacuums behind the panel, then do a full retract to the end of the table during which pressurized air helps blow the last remaining dust into the vacuum hood.

From some preliminary tests I believe the latter is necessary to perform a complete cleaning.

I am also experimenting with a pressurized air bar to clean the underside of the panel as it is loaded onto the table.

The problem, as always, is time.