What are these marks for and when did they start using them?

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castile

castile

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This is on the new Anaconda I bought. Not sure what they are for. Thanks for any help. Anaconda 8.jpg
 
I’ve seen one on my S&W Shield. It looks less out of place on a polymer frame than a Colt revolver. They’re just 2D barcodes that don’t say anything more than a serial and model number for quick optical scanning if it goes back for service.
 
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It really does not bother me in the least. Its like the Hillary hole on some guns. I have a 26 S&W that has one and it does not bother me at all.
 
jmorris got the useful details. QR is just one of MANY 2D barcode standards. They have existed since the 1960s, and were widely implemented on things like railcars (though it was a bit early, and color was a terrible idea so they abandoned that system a few decades later).

There's a pretty big gap between human-readable labels and machine-readable info, and if you rely on human-readable tracking IDs during manufacturing — like hand-scribed assembly numbers you may have on some vintage guns — then there's a delay to enter it, and transcription errors. If you attach a tag it can fall off. If they go in a tracked bin, those can spill and you mostly need to remove from the bin to do the work then be sure they go back in the RIGHT bin. Errors and mistakes can always occur (Yes, I work on some related stuff, have been in factories and seen process control systems, seen these issues myself to design stuff to help them).

Machine-read barcodes are common on manufactured parts for a couple decades now, especially when they have to be assembled, and there are tolerances, variations, or compliance needs. Some are stickers, or plates, and some get removed (sometimes inexplicable-to-you slots, grooves, and holes are for in-factory fixturing or tagging). These, you'll note, are deep, so work on bare metal AND after finishing. I suspect they are put in there right away, as or with the first step out of the forge so they can be tracked through their entire life in the factory. I also bet there are similar codes on other major components. Back of the cylinder? Under the crane?

To those insisting they are ugly: it's very much what we're used to. To my sense of clean desdeign: there's a big flat-head screw visible right next to the barcode. I know This Is The Way, but I've never gotten used to visible screws (yes, had a couple guns with no screws, and all detents and hidden pins, can be done!) so the Classic Revolver looks very halfassed to my senses. In 40 years there will be people who hate something like the /new/ barcodes because they grew up with a couple guns with this machine code and the new ones are "ugly." :)
 
https://gundigest.com/more/the-skinny-gun-2d-matrix-codes-take-off-the-tin-foil-hat said:
Again, the 2D Matrix Code is simply a machine-readable image able to store much more information per square inch than a series of dots shaped like numbers or letters. They’re not readable by common devices such as your smartphone like Quick Response (QR) Codes and have no value to the end consumer.


However, the marks are regulated for industrial quality and consistency standards by AIM, the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility. The exact information contained in a specific 2D Matrix Code mark is proprietary to each firearm manufacturer. So, you’d have to get the manufacturer to agree to have their machine read your mark and then share what it says.
Click to expand...
 
castile said:
Ruger putting on a whole pamphlet on the side of the gun is very sad.
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Beretta does it on some of its pistols as well. As does S&W, with it's "Capable of firing with magazine removed," etc.

The gun makers should just restrict the superfluous lettering to something short like, "RTFM."

But personally, I don't find these markings unbearable. The quality, fit, finish, triggers and accuracy more than offset the little blemish, which really isn't that noticeable. Plus, it not The Lock. That, I despise.
Python markings.jpg
 
My Sig-Sauer M17 has a similar barcode on it. I can see the day coming when handguns incorporate a small RFID with the serial number imbedded in it.

20220810_152951.jpg
 
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