20 Years of Industrial RFID from Pepperl+Fuchs

Pepperl+Fuchs' customers have been using identification technology to optimize their manufacturing processes for two decades. What began with a proprietary RFID system in the LF range for tool identification at CNC machines has evolved into one of the broadest industrial RFID product portfolios on the market due to continuous investment.

The range of different RFID frequencies is limited. Tags from LF systems with low frequencies can be installed in metal, while systems with higher frequencies offer a better data rate. LF and HF systems work via inductive coupling in the near-field range with a sensing range of typically less than a half meter. UHF systems tend to work with detached waves in the far-field range and can cover larger sensing ranges of up to several meters.

Introduced in 2004, the modular IDENTControl system permits different RFID frequencies to operate simultaneously on the same control interface if necessary, providing the best solution for different applications. The IDENTControl system introduced the combination of different RFID technologies (such as LF, HF, UHF and MW) via the required field bus interface and today is the industry standard.   Pepperl+Fuchs' identification technology is ahead of the pack in terms of robustness due to the powder-coated metal housing with IP67 protection and excellent EMC shielding. Other features include the standardized command syntax for all systems, the range of RFID frequencies supported, and the wide selection of reading head designs. Our product quality and experience offer our customers long-term investment security.   Our systems can even be commissioned without a PC or PLC via the display and direct operation so that the plant function can be tested at an early stage on-site.   Our technical support team is be happy to advise you with project planning and assist you with installation or software implementation.

Pepperl+Fuchs constantly innovates our technologies. Our HF system will soon support tags to ISO14443 with twice the data rate. IDENTControl will be extended to include the CC-Link interface, which is important for the Asian market, and will be compatible with Mitsubishi controllers. Pepperl+Fuchs is systematically expanding its expertise in the UHF range to enable it to cover other new fields of application in the future.

Today there are many industrial processes that are no longer conceivable without RFID support and new processes are being added almost daily. The modularity and technological coverage of the IDENTControl systems from Pepperl+Fuchs offer our customers clear advantages.