Revolutionary Direct Part Marking Solutions

Perma-Code is a line of direct part marking products designed and offered by Waterjet Tech of St. Louis, Missouri. After years of development and testing with casting plants, thermal spray laboratories, and the NCMS, Waterjet Tech revolutionized the use of disposable, pre-encoded stencils to create permanent bar codes directly onto a part at the point of manufacture or afterward as a retrofit. Our patented direct part marking methods place permanent, individually traceable, public domain data symbologies onto or into parts manufactured under harsh conditions. The marks are invaluable for any customer wishing to keep track of work in progress, establish a just-in-time manufacturing system, measure and improve the efficiency of operations, develop a more efficient inventory system, and insure more efficient and reliable warranty service after the sale.

The embedded bar code methods are centered around the use of sequentially single-use encoded stencils. Pre-encoded stencils can be pre-verified and submitted to the IUID (individual unique identification) registry. Stencils marks create high quality IUID-compliant barcodes and meet the requirements of MIL-STD-130. Virtually any material can be directly marked from the use of pre-encoded stencils made from materials tailored to the application. The resulting non-invasive marks are the most durable marks available on the market that can easily withstand the harshest environments as well as repeated rebuild cycles.

And Waterjet Tech's facility meets ISO 9001:2000 standards demonstrating its commitment to customer satisfaction. We undergo comprehensive, rigorous assessments yearly to assure our processes and organization meet defined standards of quality.

History of Perma-Code Product

In the mid 1990's, Waterjet Tech worked with Caterpillar, Inc. and Sensis Corporation to develop a way to refine specific data symbology into castings at point-of-cast. Caterpillar understood this was the only way to improve its productivity and achieve 100 percent traceability in its manufacturing processes from point-of-cast to the time the casting left the assembly plant. Waterjet Tech started from the conditions of casting and worked backwards to find a process to place sequential data symbologies in the casting molds. The result was the data symbology being part of the casting after shake-out, shot blast, and then being presented in a three-dimensional, non-destructible form. The resulting mark size is correlated with shot exposure.

Waterjet Tech then went on to develop other types of permanent direct pat marking methods to cover a wide array of marking needs all centered around pre-encoded stencils and inserts. A patent was filed for in 1998 and approved in 2001. Two other patents were later issued that cover an array of specifics relating to application processes, materials, and techniques.

U.S. Patent No. 6,220,333
U.S. Patent No. 6,666,255
U.S. Patent No. 6,220,257

Direct Part Marking Methods Suited to Many Industries

Waterjet Tech produces direct part marking methods suited to a wide range of industries including: petrochemical, automotive, military, aerospace, airline, railroad, automotive, construction, and heavy equipment, and more.

Three different types of direct part marking methods are offered including: Point of Cast Metal, Thermal Sprayed, and Molded Bar-Codes. Click on the navigation bar below to review the slide shows for each different method to determine which of these methods will work best for your application.