Efficiency is essential in the manufacturing industries. RFID | NFC solutions from IDCRAFT enable optimized production and logistics, ensuring transparency, real-time tracking, and quick adaptation to market demands. Our tailored RFID hardware solutions improve inventory management, production, quality assurance, and cost efficiency by automating processes, reducing downtimes, and enhancing traceability.
What makes a reader an industrial RFID reader
An industrial RFID reader differs from an office device in four respects: ingress protection, temperature range, interfaces to the control system and mounting concept. On the shop floor that means IP65 and up, in a wash line or paint shop IP67. The connection does not run over USB but over Ethernet with PoE, RS-232 or RS-485 and digital inputs and outputs, through which a PLC drives light barrier, signal light and barrier directly. Buyers who do not separate these points end up with a reader that reads but does not fit the installation.
Readers for gates, portals and production lines
For portals and gates, output power and antenna count decide. The CAEN Proton delivers up to 31.5 dBm across four TNC-EP antenna ports, is sealed to IP65 and is powered over PoE with M12 industrial connectors. The Zebra FX9600 offers up to eight antenna ports and up to 15 metres read range, the Chainway UR4 up to 30 dBm on four SMA ports with RS-232 and Ethernet. For harsh environments the Zebra FXR90 is built to IP67 with up to 16 metres and four inputs and four outputs. On the line, where throughput counts, the Impinj R700 and R720 read up to 1,100 tags per second and the Chainway UR300 more than 1,300 tags per second on an Impinj E Series chipset with Gen2X.
Compact, embedded or as a finished gate
Not every application needs a portal. The CT URIIA is a compact reader rated IP67 with RS-232, RS-485 and RJ45 plus optional PoE, up to 26 dBm and up to five metres – the typical choice for a single read point at a machine. The Kronotech M30 is designed for the 22 mm mounting concept and integrates into a panel PC, also IP67. Where a finished gate is needed, the CT GateSense brings up to 33 dBm, up to six metres, IP65 and an RGB LED strip with EAS alarm.
Transponders for metal and high temperatures
In manufacturing the tag almost always sits on metal, and there an ordinary label does not work: the conductive surface detunes the antenna. On-metal hard tags with adapted antenna geometry solve this. The Xerafy Micro Tag is temperature resistant up to 250 °C, designed for on-metal mounting, reaches up to ten metres and is available as an ATEX certified version. The Xerafy Roswell covers the same temperature range at up to five metres. Both survive paint and curing processes where paper labels fail. The full range is under UHF | RAIN stationary readers and UHF | RAIN transponders.
Procurement and advice
Before the selection we clarify four points with you: what ingress protection the environment demands, whether the control system connects over Ethernet or over digital inputs and outputs, what surface the transponder sits on and what temperatures it has to withstand. As a vendor-independent distributor we supply readers, antennas and transponders from a single source and provide samples for testing in your own installation – in industrial applications nothing replaces a test on site. How the reader form factors differ in principle is explained in our guide to RFID readers; the technology basics are under What is RFID?
