Unique Identification (UID) Mandate

[Steve Clarkson]

So in a different thread, Kevin mentions Universal's HPDFO lens which allows it to mark stainless steel (and brick pavers). Since I'm still researching lasers, I went to Universal's website to look into this seemingly great feature and I start reading about the DoD's mandate that all military property must be marked with basically special barcodes.....and that laser etching is recommended.

So my questions are......do any of the ULS owners have the HPDFO lense and how effective is it? Has anyone done any UID marking? If so, is it profitable? How do you get this type of business....simply contacting DoD contractors?

Thanks again for any input you may have.

[David Darnell]

Hmmm, might have to check that out, being as how I live 8 miles from a Army base. Could be a steady stream of business

[Mike Null]

You can Google the DOD requirements. It's not the windfall for engravers that some would have you believe. First, it covers relatively high value parts and items. Second others can do it cheaper with different methods. Third, you can have my share of govt. business. I have bid on some in the past but found that even with a slight margin I wasn't close to getting the bids.

The last time I looked that feature on ULS was about $2800 extra. That amount of money is hard to recover. It would also enable you to buy other equipment such as a sandblaster, vinyl cutter or heat press and some type of transfer printer which would enhance your offerings.

[Scott Shepherd]

I can't speak to this particular item, but I've had poor results with govt work as well. I recall seeing a vinyl job come through as a request about 2 months ago. They wanted 60 4" round circles with an arrow cut out. No big deal. They wanted all 60 installed on existing signs around a complex. Not just installed, they wanted the old one's removed as well. So 60 4" circles with the arrow, remove 60 vinyl decals on existing signs, install 60 new vinyl signs.

The low bidder got the job for $150 complete. Other quotes were in the $1200-2000 range, with one more coming in at less than $250, but the majority were over $1000.

That's what I typically see with govt jobs. You quote it fairly and the low bid is almost always less than your material cost alone.

[Angus Hines]

I just want that $900 per toilet seat contract.

[Keith Outten]

In the past I have been the low bidder on a couple of Government jobs and lost the job to a minority/disadvantaged competitor. I have since decided that it is a waste of time and funds to bid on any Government projects in the future if it is impossible to win.

.

[Larry Bratton]

I wouldn't have taken that job for $15k..let alone $150 bucks. That dude must be nuts. Not that the job was that hard, but once you get through meeting all the requirements and doing the paperwork, you would know what I mean.

[Darryl Hazen]

The breakdown on the cost of the $900 toilet seat is as follows:
Toilet seat=$10, $890= cost of processing the required paperwork.:D

[Peck Sidara]

A few notes on the subject:

I beleive the standard is Mil-spec 130, you can download it online via google

A HDPFO lens is not needed to obtain the quality mark that meets the requirement. In fact, you can do it with our standard 2" lens.

A verifier/scanner is needed which scans the 2D barcode and grades the mark for quality, consistency, tolerance etc.

UID marks are done on a multitude of different substrates, anodized aluminum, anodized aluminum like self-adhesive tags, bare metals (stainless, aluminum etc.). For bare metals, we recommend the FiberMark laser system.

Programs such as BarTender or Label Matrix are used to create the 2D barcode. I'm sure there are others out there as well.

HTH,