Radio Frequency Identification – in short, RFID – is still regarded by some as being in its infancy, but one company that has wholeheartedly embraced the technology is Bielomatik Leuze. Friedheim International has also seen the long-term potential of this particular market sector, and it is why such a leading exponent as Bielomatik was selected to be represented exclusively in the UK and Ireland!
Technology for a smart future!
Bielomatik believes that, even in this age of Electronic Data Exchange (EDI) and the Internet, paper is still highly qualified for substantial growth as an information carrier.
Paper often represents the substrate for barcodes or magnetic stripes, or paper contains a transponder (chip and antenna) to store and transmit data. To combine and surpass the advantages of barcode and magnetic stripe, this wireless and contactless technology does not need line of sight. In an electromagnetic field (Air Interface) the data is captured directly from the objects without people being involved.
The combination of paper and radio transmission offers a number of attractive opportunities in the field of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) for people and objects, and leads to a future high volume market for environmentally friendly disposable electronic systems.
The manufacturing of these identification elements requires knowledge in paper converting and paper finishing, as well as fundamental physical experience and process technology skills to guarantee a dependable performance of Smart Paper in the overall system integration. Smart Labels and Smart Tickets are the electronic successors of barcoded labels and magnetic stripe tickets. The economical benefit and the industrial adoption of Smart Paper depends on a worldwide standard in design and manufacturing within the complete value chain from chip to the end product.
Potential markets for RFID technology include airline services, source tagging, access control, sensor technology, supply chain management, public transportation, parcel services (item tracking), event ticketing and general logistics.
In driving forward the implementation of RFID Bielomatik has developed several equipment ranges. These include:
- Multi-web lamination systems for the manufacturing and 100% testing of RFID inlays, Smart labels, Smart baggage and garment tags (single track on large rolls), plus Smart tickets in various formats (either as rolls or single cut tickets)
- Inspection and finishing systems for coded and personalised selected Smart products (supplied as inspected finished rolls)
- High speed real time RFID test units, chip encoding and personalisation
- High speed RFID Read and Write units
- RE-LoopTag® concept specifically for UHF applications
This latter process is said by Bielomatik (in conjunction with NXP – a leading semi-conductor company) to be a revolutionary and environmentally friendly concept in the manufacturing of Smart labels and tags, and the way forward to larger-scale use of RFID at item level. This is being achieved by a massive change in the type of materials being utilised, as well as making the converting costs more competitive, thereby optimising the value of the whole manufacturing chain.