Digital nameplate: one QR code for every unit

The nameplate states the manufacturer, type, serial number and year of construction – exactly the information that service staff, operators and authorities need again and again. With the digital nameplate, this information is also available online, together with the documents that belong to this machine.

One QR code per unit instead of only per type

The fixed QR code per machine type is sufficient for the digital instructions for use. If you want to mark each unit individually, you also create serial numbers in ManualPass:

• individually or as a list, for example copied from your production planning,
• as a consecutive range with prefix, start number and number of digits – for example BS400-2026-0001 to BS400-2026-0500,
• with year of construction, which appears on the scan page and in the digital nameplate.

Each unit receives its own permanently valid link following the pattern …/p/CODE/sn/SERIAL-NUMBER. It leads to the familiar scan page with all documents and additionally shows the serial number and year of construction. If a customer requests the paper version, the serial number is already filled in.

Identification link based on the principle of IEC 61406

The IEC 61406 series of standards describes how a product is identified via a unique web address – the identification link. It is placed on the product as a QR code and can be recognised as such by a frame.

ManualPass generates these links per serial number and, if you wish, prints the labels with the matching frame. As usual, the labels are available in 60, 85 and 120 mm, with up to three languages and with “S/N” and year of construction in plain text.

Machine-readable: the same address delivers data

People open the link in a browser. Software – a service tool, the ERP system or the machine’s control system – requests the same address and receives a digital nameplate in JSON format:

The field names are modelled on the “Digital Nameplate” submodel of the Asset Administration Shell, which is widely used in mechanical engineering. This makes it easier to import the data into existing systems.

DPP-ready – without promising too much

As of October 2026, a Digital Product Passport under the Ecodesign Regulation is not planned for machinery; it will first become mandatory for other product groups, such as batteries from February 2027. More on this in the guide Digital Product Passport for machinery.

With ManualPass, however, you already have important building blocks of a passport:

1. A unique identifier per unit via the identification link.
2. Machine-readable data at a permanent address.
3. Versioned documents with a SHA-256 checksum and a complete audit trail.

The best way to try out serial numbers and labels is directly in a free trial account; the live demo shows what the scan page looks like for your customers. The features page gives an overview of all building blocks.