QR Code Etched Under Grips of Smith Performance Center Pistol

[lucusloc]

lol. It literally looks exactly like a chip.

It is gold in color, but it is a gold anodized layer, not a gold foil as it were the conductor on a circuit. That gold anodizing is then scorched by a laser to imprint the dot code for the QR.

The look superficially similar but the important details are not the same.

 

[Certaindeaf]

It is gold in color, but it is a gold anodized layer, not a gold foil as it were the conductor on a circuit. That gold anodizing is then scorched by a laser to imprint the dot code for the QR.

The look superficially similar but the important details are not the same.

If it's not optically read I'd say you're whistling with your mouth full of marbles. Is it read optically or "remotely"?

 

[lucusloc]

If it's not optically read I'd say you're whistling with your mouth full of marbles. Is it read optically or "remotely"?

That is an optical code, not an RF one. RF codes require onboard logic, even if they receive the power to run from the reader. That means there has to be a chip in there, with traces (wires) that feeds signal into and out of the chip. The pattern in the picture bears superficial resemblance to traces that are printed or etched onto a surface (with a near microscopic chip mounted to that same surface for those traces to connect to), but the anodizing is not broken up into distinct traces nor do I see any surface mount chip that those traces would connect to. That anodizing is burned into a series of light and dark dots for use with an optical reader. If we had the complete code and a reader that could decipher it you could read it strait off the picture. My camera recognizes that there is a code, but it is incomplete/distorted enough that it cannot extract any information.

Again, these two technologies can use a lot of the same methods to make, hence the superficial resemblance, but the details are way different. If there is a RF chip in there (and I am not saying there isn't) there is no evidence of it there in the photo. All I can see there is an optically read QR code burned into the surface of the metal.

 

[Certaindeaf]

That is an optical code, not an RF one. RF codes require onboard logic, even if they receive the power to run from the reader. That means there has to be a chip in there, with traces (wires) that feeds signal into and out of the chip. The pattern in the picture bears superficial resemblance to traces that are printed or etched onto a surface (with a near microscopic chip mounted to that same surface for those traces to connect to), but the anodizing is not broken up into distinct traces nor do I see any surface mount chip that those traces would connect to. That anodizing is burned into a series of light and dark dots for use with an optical reader. If we had the complete code and a reader that could decipher it you could read it strait off the picture. My camera recognizes that there is a code, but it is incomplete/distorted enough that it cannot extract any information.

Again, these two technologies can use a lot of the same methods to make, hence the superficial resemblance, but the details are way different. If there is a RF chip in there (and I am not saying there isn't) there is no evidence of it there in the photo. All I can see there is an optically read QR code burned into the surface of the metal.

"burned into the surface of the metal".. overlooks the fact that there are three discrete "burning" types into the metal, some of which are gold as you've asserted.. all of which are markedly different than the base metal into which they were supposedly "burned".

 

[huntpotter]

RFID "Balluff" chips are usually round.
HK used to put them in pistols that they sold to the government. A few have turned up in the wild.
If you take the back strap off a P2000 and other USP pistols you will see a round counterbore in the plastic. That's where the chip goes.

 

[lucusloc]

"burned into the surface of the metal".. overlooks the fact that there are three discrete "burning" types into the metal, some of which are gold as you've asserted.. all of which are markedly different than the base metal into which they were supposedly "burned".

I am not sure why that is important? There is the gold anodizing layer, which I assume was burned in with laser anodizing (but could have been produced with another method, such as some other heat or even a chemical process), and then there are the dark spots burned into that anodization (which, to be pedantic, is just more anodization; thicker and darker than the one underneath it. I am nearly certain that layer was done with a laser, but it could have been done with some other method.

But what is important here, the key tell if you will, is the pattern all that etching has made. A grid of dots with a uniform size. That is an optical code, not a circuit trace for an RF tag antenna. If there is an RF tag in there it could be under the optical code, but that seems unlikely to me as that optical code really looks like it is burned directly into the surface of the part.

(we are also overlooking other less obvious details, like the fact that burned in RF antenna are actually multi-layer affairs; a base coat anodized layer that acts as an insulator, and a conductive layer, which could just be a thin film of metal adhesively applied, or it could be as complicated as a atoms-thin layer of a conductive material like vapor deposition gold, copper or aluminum. You apply the anodizing, the metal layer and then laser etch the tracing after those steps to form the individual traces. The last step is mounting the tiny IC chip that integrates with those larger traces, of which I also see no evidence for in this photo.)

 

[Certaindeaf]

I am not sure why that is important? There is the gold anodizing layer, which I assume was burned in with laser anodizing (but could have been produced with another method, such as some other heat or even a chemical process), and then there are the dark spots burned into that anodization (which, to be pedantic, is just more anodization; thicker and darker than the one underneath it. I am nearly certain that layer was done with a laser, but it could have been done with some other method.

But what is important here, the key tell if you will, is the pattern all that etching has made. A grid of dots with a uniform size. That is an optical code, not a circuit trace for an RF tag antenna. If there is an RF tag in there it could be under the optical code, but that seems unlikely to me as that optical code really looks like it is burned directly into the surface of the part.

(we are also overlooking other less obvious details, like the fact that burned in RF antenna are actually multi-layer affairs; a base coat anodized layer that acts as an insulator, and a conductive layer, which could just be a thin film of metal adhesively applied, or it could be as complicated as a atoms-thin layer of a conductive material like vapor deposition gold, copper or aluminum. You apply the anodizing, the metal layer and then laser etch the tracing after those steps to form the individual traces. The last step is mounting the tiny IC chip that integrates with those larger traces, of which I also see no evidence for in this photo.)

It looks multi-layered.

 

[Nosferatu]

but it is a gold anodized layer

The gun is a 686, which is stainless steel. Stainless cannot be anodized. Anodizing is an accelerated oxidation process on aluminum, titanium, magnesium and a few other uncommon ones I can't remember right now.

It is a laser etching, however. I don't have a lot of exposure to NFC/RFID chips, but the ones I have seen have the telltale straight connection circuits that all chips have. This is square pixels, like a QR code. I do have a bit of laser etching experience though, as I own a 40w laser.

 

[lucusloc]

The gun is a 686, which is stainless steel. Stainless cannot be anodized. Anodizing is an accelerated oxidation process on aluminum, titanium, magnesium and a few other uncommon ones I can't remember right now.

It is a laser etching, however. I don't have a lot of exposure to NFC/RFID chips, but the ones I have seen have the telltale straight connection circuits that all chips have. This is square pixels, like a QR code. I do have a bit of laser etching experience though, as I own a 40w laser.

Anodizing stainless is a fairly common industrial process. Hell, "temper colors" are just a visual way to judge the thickness of the anodization layer, which is used as a proxy to guess the temper temperature of that part of the metal. In this case I am guessing the layer was formed by heat from a laser, but that is far from the only possibility.

I am not sure if electrolytic anodization of stainless is a thing, so maybe that is what you are thinking of? The only (easy) way to anodize stainless that I am aware of is heat, though I think it can be done with some (really nasty) chemicals?

Yes, RFID antenna can be in all kinds of shapes, from blocky to swirly or even jaggy. The shape is not important, what is important is that the traces are all contiguous with themselves and completely disconnected from other traces (usually two traces if you follow them, but I know there are technologies that use one and three external traces, not sure if other patterns exist).

 

[MTpockets]

test

Edit to add: The code on the revolver frame resembles Inverse DataMatrix code...

 

[lucusloc]

View attachment 1874875

test

Edit to add: The code on the revolver frame resembles a DataMatrix code...

Dare I?

 

[Nosferatu]

Anodizing stainless is a fairly common industrial process.

No it's not. It's absolutely impossible to anodize stainless. What you're referring to is heat coloring, which brass deposition can be done at the same time depending on the color desired. This can be controlled in a few ways, but the shop I worked at used induction heating. I never got to work on that, it's an art.

I am not sure if electrolytic anodization of stainless is a thing, so maybe that is what you are thinking of? The only (easy) way to anodize stainless that I am aware of is heat, though I think it can be done with some (really nasty) chemicals?

This is how all anodizing is done. It's an electro-chemical process that accelerates the surface hardening that occurs naturally on aluminum, titanium, etc. There is no heat involved, it's a chemical dip (sulfuric acid) and and electrical current. It can be controlled to a certain depth and growth depending on the time the part is left in the tank, typically .002" in and .002" out for a type III. Dye is added to achieve coloring, otherwise clear is just a grayish color.

I worked in a metal finishing shop years ago that also did anodizing and passivation. I learned some things.

 

[lucusloc]

View attachment 1874875

test

Edit to add: The code on the revolver frame resembles a DataMatrix code...

You absolute SOB

 

[lucusloc]

No it's not. It's absolutely impossible to anodize stainless. What you're referring to is heat coloring, which brass deposition can be done at the same time depending on the color desired. This can be controlled in a few ways, but the shop I worked at used induction heating. I never got to work on that, it's an art.


This is how all anodizing is done. It's an electro-chemical process that accelerates the surface hardening that occurs naturally on aluminum, titanium, etc. There is no heat involved, it's a chemical dip (sulfuric acid) and and electrical current. It can be controlled to a certain depth and growth depending on the time the part is left in the tank, typically .002" in and .002" out for a type III. Dye is added to achieve coloring, otherwise clear is just a grayish color.

I worked in a metal finishing shop years ago that also did anodizing and passivation. I learned some things.

Heat anonodization is absolutely a thing. As you said earlier anodization is nothing more than an oxide layer on the surface of the metal. You can do that to stainless with heat, and it is a common practice. You can do it at home with a torch such as this example here.

Now it is true you cannot dye stainless like you can aluminum (or titanium?) anodization, so a lot of the crazy colors you see on aluminum are off the table. All you can get with stainless is the classic "temper colors," but those are absolutely a thin oxide layer on the surface of the metal, or anodization.

And I am going to have to stand corrected, as apparently it is possible to electrolytically anodize stainless steel, as this paper from 2022 I just stumbled on demonstrates. The more you learn. . .

 

[Nosferatu]

Heat anonodization is absolutely a thing. As you said earlier anodization is nothing more than an oxide layer on the surface of the metal. You can do that to stainless with heat, and it is a common practice. You can do it at home with a torch such as this example here.

That's not oxidizing anything, it's just discoloring the material. It's NOT anodizing, but I can see I'm never going to convince you, so feel free to call a cat a dog.

 

[lucusloc]

That's not oxidizing anything, it's just discoloring the material. It's NOT anodizing, but I can see I'm never going to convince you, so feel free to call a cat a dog.

What is the layer coloring the surface of the metal if it is not an anodization layer then? And I suppose the linked and published scientific paper I cited carries no weight either. . .

 

[Nosferatu]

What is the layer coloring the surface of the metal if it is not an anodization layer then? And I suppose the linked and published scientific paper I cited carries no weight either. . .

Fine. You win. You can be the most technically correct person on the internet today. Congratulations.

Anodization in the industry is not typically used in the nomenclature. Yes, I learned something new, but JFC your quest to be technically right is ridiculous.

I will maintain that anodizing is not commonly applied to stainless steel. None of the methods you linked are commonly used in any of the shops I've used or worked in. I'm quite confident if you call up a dozen shops and tell them you need to have some stainless parts anodized, they are going to tell you it can't be done.

 

[BaggerRyder]

I scanned the one stamped on the receiver of my Remington 870.
It said be sure to drink your Olvatine.
A crummy commercial…

 

[JRMadrid]

Welcome to 2024
QR codes are everywhere and make tracking of product through assembly lines faster.

 

[galvweld]

Chased down the information from Smith and Wesson. Confirmed QR code for internal company tracking. Not a food truck as reported by earlier participant. Comments reminded me of middle school pranksters. Someone would ask a serious question and that guy always had a goofy response. Good humor is always appreciated.