RFID system allows quicker control of processing line
tags and a new set of software Escort Memory Systems says it has
developed a faster way to ensure automated tasks are triggered
quicker on fast moving production lines.
The RFID factory automator system reduces missed tasks, and allows a greater speed on the production line, the company claims.
The four software tools allow the company's Cobalt HF RFID tags to operate modularly, without the need to communicate to the plant's central host system before completing a task.
They will also help make it easier for plants to install, debug and maintain Escort's family of RFID tags.
This new family of RFID systems supports complex automation projects in many fields including cosmetics and other factory processes that require RFID auto-identification during productionruns.
The C-Macros programming tool allows host systems sitting on a factory computer to hand over control to the local modules. The C-Macro uses Cobalt HF's microprocessor-based controllers as a meansof distributing command tasks to the point-of-use. This solution addresses two of the key concerns with RFID technology for high speed automated lines, network traffic overload and local decisionmaking, the company stated.
The communication modules can respond within 100 milliseconds triggering local actions such as sounding alarms or diverting products from the line without having to send and receive informationfrom the host communication programme on the server. This means that host communications no longer limit the speed with which action can be taken on a manufacturing line.
Each programming hub connects to up to four read points to high speed Ethernet. The Gateway communication modules allows high-speed Ethernet access for up to sixteen read points.
Escort's systems are "agnostic", meaning that the Cobalt HF tags and software do not need any specific system to for connections. Cobalt HF can operate through commercial andindustrial Ethernet as well as serial connections. This is critical to the RFID factory automator since they encounter many different host systems in the field.
"Cobalt HF's modularity lets a factory integrator choose the performance and price point to meet the needs of the job," stated company present and chief executive Luciano Mattioli.
Factory managers should note that Escort makes a notable divergence from emerging international standards. The RFID system operates at 13.56 MHz. Escort justifies this by saying that unlike otherdeveloping RFID systems, such as EPCglobal's UHF standards, the HF standards have been in use for several years and have the track record of stability for meeting complex automation projects.
The HF standard used in the Escort system conforms to ISO 15693 and 14443A tag reading standards. Industrial Ethernet connectivity includes Rockwell Automation's Ethernet IP and SchneiderElectric's Modbus TCP.multi-protocol read and write operations.
Along with the C-Macros command functions, the system also includes Dashboard, HF SDK and CBx commands. The Dashboard, a Windows PC based utility, enables computer workers to configure, debug andperform maintenance functions for large or small Cobalt HF installations. The CBx command sets extend the range of Escort Memory Systems ABx Fast commands while providing backward compatibility in tagreading.
The HF SDK commands allow integrators building applications for Windows hosts another way of configuring and maintaining the Cobalt HF RFID systems while providing utilities such as data filteringand firmware management. It allows integrators to write applications using C Sharp (C#) and Visual Basic (VB) programming languages.
Escort provides RFID hardware and network interface modules for about 95 per cent f the world's industrial networks, the company claims. The modules can be used to give a presence to a wide rangeof existing equipment, RFID antennas, bar code verifiers, sensors and switches.
