Better parts tracing.

"Manufacturing is the last frontier cost reduction for most companies," says Frank Newburn, CEO of Omron Electronics LLC (Schaumburg, IL). But with the future of the American economy still in doubt companies are continuing to postpone big investments in new, more efficient equipment. Instead they are making lower cost investments in electronic plant automation systems in an effort to improve efficiency on the cheap. "We are seeing above average growth in several specific automation application areas including in-line inspection, machine safety and traceability," says Newburn. He posits that this is directly related to the greater adoption of lean manufacturing approaches fueled by the need to squeeze ever more costs out of the manufacturing process, In particular he says cradle-to-grave component traceability is a fast-growing trend as manufacturers seek to improve process efficiency and reduce liability. Not coincidently Omron has some new products out to take advantage of the burgeoning trend.

The Omron V670 radio frequency identification [RFID) system designed for use on high-speed production lines for smaller components, uses a batteryless ferroelectric RAM technology on its ID tags that eliminates battery and tag replacement and its associated maintenance costs. Each tag has 128 bytes of memory that can be accessed one billion times, giving it a continuous work life of about ten years. Omron says that since the system operates in self-execution mode it eliminates the time usually required for communication with the host controller, providing the quick processing time needed for high-speed lines.

The Omron V530 2-D code reader is designed primarily for reading pin-stamped codes used in electronics and automotive parts assembly operations. Omron says it has the steepest camera angle on the market and features an optional intelligent light source that reduces the background effects on processed and rough-metal parts. The unit has dual camera capability that increases position ing tolerance providing a visual field suited to larger products, and can store up to 35 defect images in internal memory and up to 400 using compact flash cards.