Full marks

There are many reasons why marking of products and components is necessary. The ability to trace faulty products after sale is often a legal requirement (especially in the food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries) and proper marking can reduce the potential for theft and counterfeiting of goods.

One very crude but most effective method of marking many components is stamping — which is useful where items are to be subjected to harsh environments or where durability is required.

, for example, produces a special machine for the hot-stamp marking of wires for use in the aerospace industry, where insulated wire and cable can be marked and tested using an integrated spark tester — a big bonus when dealing with US aerospace industry regulations.

But marking isn't necessarily the crude operation you may think.

(in association with the Isle of Man-based

) for example, has developed expertise in the aerospace field — notably marking technology for some of the components used in the Trent engines for the Airbus A380.