text.skipToContent text.skipToNavigation

Industrial RFID Reader Technology

In­dus­trial RFID readers enable con­tactless data ex­chan­ge with trans­pon­ders using elec­tro­mag­ne­tic waves. RFID readers enable clear as­sign­ment, trac­king and iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of tag­ged ob­jects – without vi­sual con­tact – th­rough the abi­lity to read out in­for­ma­tion from the trans­pon­der chip and write new data.
Mode of Operation
Frequencies
Range
Modes
Technology Comparison
Benefits

How Does an RFID Reader Work?

RFID stands for Radio Fre­quency Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion – a tech­no­logy that trans­fers data con­tactlessly via an elec­tro­mag­ne­tic field. In­dus­trial RFID readers (1) the­re­fo­re ge­ne­ra­te elec­tro­mag­ne­tic waves (2), which are re­cei­ved by the an­ten­na of the RFID trans­pon­der (3) and con­ver­ted into elec­tri­cal energy which sup­plies the chip of the trans­pon­der with power. The RFID chip then sends a sig­nal (4) back to the reader, which in­ter­prets and pro­ces­ses the in­for­ma­tion. RFID readers the­re­fo­re work as both write and read de­vi­ces.
Data exchange of an RFID reader with a transponder with Infopoints.

What Are the Tech­ni­cal Pro­per­ties of an RFID Trans­pon­der?

An RFID transponder rotating in a circle.
An RFID trans­pon­der (also known as an RFID tag) con­sists of three main com­po­nents: The an­ten­na, which re­cei­ves the radio waves of the RFID reader, the RFID chip, on which the re­le­vant data is sto­red, and the ca­rrier me­dium, which pro­tects the an­ten­na and the chip from ex­ter­nal in­fluen­ces.

What is the dif­fe­ren­ce bet­ween ac­ti­ve and pas­si­ve trans­pon­ders?

Pas­si­ve RFID trans­pon­ders ob­tain the re­qui­red energy ex­clu­si­vely from the elec­tro­mag­ne­tic field that the RFID reader sends out. Ac­ti­ve RFID trans­pon­ders, on the other hand, are po­we­red by their own power supply, for exam­ple by a bat­tery ins­ta­lled in the de­vi­ce.

Which Fre­quency Bands Are Avai­la­ble for RFID Sys­tems?

The per­mit­ted fre­quen­cies for production-​related RFID in­ter­fa­ces are fixed world­wi­de. A dis­tin­ction is made bet­ween sys­tems ope­ra­ting in the low-​frequency range (LF) from 125 kHz to 134 kHz, in the high-​frequency range (HF) from 13.56 MHz and in the ultra-​high-frequency range (UHF) from 865 MHz to 960 MHz. Dif­fe­rent fre­quency ran­ges are used in in­dustry de­pen­ding on the ap­pli­ca­tion. High-​frequency RFID sys­tems pro­vi­de a me­dium to high trans­mis­sion speed and are the­re­fo­re re­ser­ved for short ran­ges. Ultra-​high fre­quency RFID readers are used for ap­pli­ca­tions with a range of se­ve­ral me­ters.
The three frequency bands (LF, HF and UHF) for RFID systems are shown in a coordinate system.

What In­fluen­ces the Range of RFID Readers?

Radio waves spread in a sphe­ri­cal shape. If the trans­pon­der moves away from the RFID reader, the sig­nal strength de­crea­ses squa­rely to the dis­tan­ce. As a re­sult, if the dis­tan­ce bet­ween the trans­pon­der dou­bles, the per­cei­ved amount of energy is re­du­ced to a quar­ter.

    What Is an RSSI Value?

    The im­por­tant pa­ra­me­ter for de­fi­ning the pos­si­ble wor­king range of an RFID sys­tem is the RSSI value. This des­cri­bes the sig­nal strength of the res­pon­se from the trans­pon­der to the RFID reader.

    Which Fac­tors in­fluen­ce the RSSI Value?

    • Trans­pon­der size: The lar­ger it is, the higher the RSSI value.
    • Dis­tan­ce bet­ween reader and trans­pon­der: The grea­ter the dis­tan­ce, the lower the RSSI value.
    • Metal and very high water con­tent in the area around the trans­pon­der: These can in­ter­fe­re with the radio waves and thus wor­sen the RSSI value.
    • Sys­tems that also work with elec­tro­mag­ne­tic waves: For exam­ple, in­duc­ti­ve sen­sors and RFID sys­tems can in­ter­fe­re with each other.

      Demand-​based De­fi­ni­tion of the RSSI Value

      Using IO-​Link, the RFID reader can be used to fle­xibly de­fi­ne which RSSI va­lues the reader should react at. This de­fi­ned limit value then spe­ci­fies the mi­ni­mum RSSI value that must be reached in order to pro­cess the trans­pon­der data. This enables in­di­vi­dually op­ti­mi­zed ap­pli­ca­tion for clear as­sign­ment, trac­king and iden­ti­fi­ca­tion within the pro­duc­tion pro­cess.

      The ef­fec­ti­ve range of the RFID readers can be di­vi­ded into four zones, which pro­vi­de a more pre­ci­se de­fi­ni­tion of the wor­king range of the RFID reader.

      Which Fun­ctions and Ope­ra­ting Modes are Avai­la­ble?

      Alarm Mode

      The RFID readers offer the op­tion of con­fi­gu­ring and trig­ge­ring up to two alarms. Both spe­ci­fic RSSI limit va­lues and the mi­ni­mum pre­sen­ce time of the RFID trans­pon­ders can be spe­ci­fied as trig­gers.

      De­fi­ni­tion of RSSI Limit

      The RFID reader’s wor­king range can be de­fi­ned by set­ting the RSSI limit. This de­ter­mi­nes how strong the res­pon­se sig­nal from the trans­pon­der must be so that the reader out­puts or chan­ges the trans­pon­der data.

      Com­mu­ni­ca­tion via IO-​Link

      Our RFID readers have an IO-​Link in­ter­fa­ce. This makes ad­jus­ting pa­ra­me­ters and trans­fe­rring pro­cess data quick and easy.

      Com­pa­ri­son of Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion Sys­tems: RFID Readers vs. Bar­co­de Scan­ners

      Both RFID sys­tems and sys­tems with bar­co­de scan­ners enable iden­ti­fi­ca­tion so­lu­tions in pro­cess au­to­ma­tion. Dif­fe­rent fun­ctio­nal prin­ci­ples and as­so­cia­ted ad­van­ta­ges enable a wide va­riety of ap­pli­ca­tions that meet a wide range of re­qui­re­ments.
      Industrial RFID readers in two designs.

      RFID Readers

      Elec­tro­mag­ne­tic sig­nal trans­mis­sion
      Data ac­qui­si­tion pos­si­ble without vi­sual con­tact
      Reading out and wri­ting data
      Encry­ption of data pos­si­ble
      Me­ta­llic en­vi­ron­ments can cause in­ter­fe­ren­ce
      Industrial RFID readers in two designs.

      Bar­co­de Scan­ners

      Op­ti­cal sig­nal trans­mis­sion
      Data co­llec­tion re­qui­res vi­sual con­tact
      Data readout
      Una­ble to encrypt data
      Con­ta­mi­na­tion of the bar­co­de can im­pair the reading cycle

       

      Be­ne­fits of RFID Readers for Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion So­lu­tions

      Two rotating RFID readers.

      • Fast data ac­qui­si­tion and trans­pon­ders

        Thanks to RFID tech­no­logy, data vo­lu­mes can be re­cor­ded com­ple­tely and re­liably at high speed.

      • Re­sis­tant to con­ta­mi­na­tion

        Data can be read or rew­rit­ten even in dirty and dusty en­vi­ron­ments.

      • Clear as­sign­ment

        Each RFID chip has a se­rial num­ber that is uni­que world­wi­de. This pre­vents mix-​ups at the pro­duct and pro­cess level.

      • Con­tactless and non-​visual iden­ti­fi­ca­tion

        No di­rect vi­sual con­tact is re­qui­red to iden­tify the trans­pon­der. RFID trans­pon­ders can thus be pla­ced in the tool ca­rrier or in the pro­duct, for exam­ple, without being vi­si­ble.

      Contact
      Con­tact
      Product Highlights
      Pro­duct High­lights
      Portfolio
      Port­fo­lio
      Applications
      Ap­pli­ca­tions
      显示比较产品
      3/4
      4/4
      5/4
      6/4
      Contact Benni Any questions?
      Contact us!