Lantech Launches Packaging Machine Converging RFID Technology

Lantech, a handling equipment manufacturer located in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, recently announced that it will launch a Q-300 stretch-wrapping machine equipped with an RFID reader system developed in cooperation with RFID manufacturers. Lantech has thus become the world's first manufacturer of stretch packaging machines with RFID technology.

RFID technology is widely used in the supply chain management. Many users gradually discovered that the reader system can be installed on tools such as stretch-wrapping machines to ensure that the goods can be safely delivered to the pallets. Another advantage is that the read rate can be efficiently guaranteed, because the test results show that the reader installed on the handling machine has much better reading performance than the one installed elsewhere. Regardless of how the goods on the pallet move and rotate, the antenna of the reader always has enough time to identify the content of the label on each pack of goods. Now, RFID users are faced with a thorny problem. How do you determine the reader's mounting position so that the reader and antenna can work best?

Mr. William Caudill, Lantech's marketing manager of automation products, believes that the Q-300's design plan is undoubtedly the best solution to the user's headaches. The Q-300 has a central column containing the machine's launch device and electronics. System, "We installed the card reader in the electronic panel; we don't need to make any special changes to the machine itself. We just need to give the reader system enough power." There is a cable inside the center column. The line is connected to the antenna of the reader, the entire design is simple and clear, and various unnecessary wirings are removed to ensure that the normal operation of the stretch-wrapping machine will not be disturbed.

The packaging film device on the packaging machine is located on the side below the machine, and the goods are wrapped and wrapped with the continuous rotation of the goods. The packaging film equipment can be manually adjusted along the central column of the Q-300 to the up and down position. This adjustment of up and down orientation and the rotation of the pallet is mainly to make the reader more convenient and accurate to read the label information on the goods.

Lantech said that it hopes to put the newly developed stretch-wrapping machines with RFID readers on the market as soon as possible, but it has not yet established the exact time and price for the official launch of the market. To date, Lantech has also worked with Alien Technology and Symbol Technologies to combine the AliR Technology ALR-9640 reader and Symbol's XR400 reader product to develop and complete the Q-300 packaging machine product line.

The reader device uses Lantech's Wi-Fi wireless bridge to transmit the tag information to the user's middleware or back-end wireless system. Mr. William Caudill explained that this is an important feature of the Lantech Q-300 packaging machine. The usual cargo packaging orders are prepared for different departments of the distribution center and require the stretching packaging machine to move around the goods. Having wirelessly connected devices means that users no longer need hard-wiring connections to readers anywhere.

The whole process is as follows: After the stretch wrapper is started, the lowermost pallet starts to rotate, the packaging film device wraps the goods, and the reader starts scanning the label information. In this way, the reader is restricted from capturing tag information of other pallets unconsciously. For example, when the stretch-wrapping machine is in a non-working state, the card reader has no response to the goods parked near the packaging machine.

Mr. William Caudill said that at present, Lantech is studying and negotiating with Alien and Symbol, how to achieve a “perfect combination” between the reader and the packaging machine, and doing its utmost to make RFID Q-300 stretch packaging machine to be put on the market. "Perfect and flawless" to make users feel satisfied. This is also the original intention of Lantech. Lantech plans to provide Q-300 user hardware support, while RFID reader vendors provide software and corresponding training services to end users. However, Mr. William Caudill did not elaborate on the specific arrangements for these services.

One of Lantech's partners, Alien Technologies' RFID solution center in Dayton, Ohio, and Lantech co-developed card reader equipment. British logistics group Exel also cooperated with Lantech and is now The RFID Center in Harrisburg, Westphalia, uses a Q-300 packaging machine with a built-in Symbol reader system. Exel also works with Symbol and RedPrairie to upload the read data to Red Prairie's warehouse terminal management system.

“The RFID system is really worth the money. Your investment in the RFID system will pay off quickly.” said Tony Hollis, RFID Strategy Manager at Exel. Lantech will use different brands of card readers to perform functional verification on the Q-300 machines at the Packaging Trade Fair in Chicago this October.

Source of information: pack.cn