Machine Access Control

 

When thinking about RFID being applied for access control, people think about readers located close to doorways either outside the building or within the plant. While those readers operate like the industrial readers, they frequently cannot communicate over an industrial communication protocol like Ethernet/IP, Profinet, or IO-Link.  With an industrial access control reader one can minimize access to HMIs, PLCs, and various control systems by verifying the user and permitting access to the appropriate controls.  This extra layer of security also assures operator accountability by identifying the user.

 

Machine Tool ID

 

RFID has been utilised in machining centers for decades. And yet, it was used mostly in larger scale operations where there were acres of machines and hundreds of tools. At this point it is being used in shops with as few as one machine. The ROI is dependent on the number of tool changes in a shift; not necessarily just the number of machines and the number of tools in the building. The greater the number of tool changes, the greater the risk of data input errors, tool breakage, and even a crash.

 

Content verification

 

Since RFID is ideal for reading through cardboard and plastic, it is commonly used to determine the contents of a container. Tags are fixed to the critical items in the box, like a battery pack or bag of hardware, and passed through a reader to verify their presence. If, in this case, two tags are not read at the final station then the box can be opened and supplied with the missing part before it ships. This helps prevent an overload on aftersales support and ensures customers get what they ordered.

 

While RFID is still extensively used to address Work in Process (WIP), asset tracking, and logistics applications, the number of alternative applications involving RFID has skyrocketed because of an increase in demand for actionable data.  Manufacturing organizations across the world have standardized on RFID as a solution in cases where accountability, reliability and quality are critical.

 

TRONSERVE