Technologies inside: Industrial identification success factors

Siemens Simatic MV400 are for optically readable codes or optical character recognition (OCR); Siemens Simatic Ident readers/writers include the product family Simatic RF.

By Michael LaGrega November 8, 2012

Industrial code readers include Siemens Simatic MV400 for optically readable codes or optical character recognition (OCR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers/writers of the Siemens Simatic RF product family from the portfolio of industrial identification systems Siemens Simatic Ident. They offer trouble-free identification process—even during fluctuating process conditions, such as concerning marking quality, lighting conditions, or product position.

With the Siemens systems, a switch between two RFID technologies can be carried out without having to modify the PLC programming. Basis for this is the use of a standardized function block in the engineering software Simatic Step 7.

Devices by Siemens support the connection via Profibus and Profinet.

The readers of the product family Simatic MV400 can automatically detect the presence of a code in the image area (AutoTrigger). AutoTrigger is particularly useful for applications where reliable triggering is difficult or extremely expensive due to missing varying product characteristics.

Code readers of the Simatic MV400 series support the integration of visualization into already existing human-machine interface (HMI) devices. As a result, separate visualization hardware is not needed for the identification technology, reducing construction costs, the space requirement, and the wiring of a plant.

Siemens optical readers make using the integrated user interface—either as stand-alone application or as integrated component of a plant user interface—extremely easy with an integrated Web server.

With the high-performance systems (RFID and optical readers) from the industrial identification portfolio Simatic Ident by Siemens, the customer can freely choose between the basic technologies and their corresponding device infrastructure.

– Michael LaGrega, MCSD, RFID+, is RFID and code reading systems engineer, Siemens Industry. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager CFE Media, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com

Read more about the application of these technologies, below.

Industrial identification success factors