I have to be honest. It didn’t take much to lure me to Orlando following the Arctic winter which haunted pretty much everybody who lives north of Dallas. And, just as I had hoped, the sunshine was in full force and the bonus was Balluff being at center stage thanks to the Databolt and its recent success at GM.
If you missed this year’s edition of RFID Journal Live then you missed an opportunity to hear first-hand about the famous Databolt. Mark Chiappetta, The manufacturing Engineering Superintendent at GM in Tonawanda, explained to conference attendees how technology has improved overall efficiency in the manufacturing process at the plant. Of course, the Databolt was featured in his presentation which was followed by a wave of interest in the Balluff booth. Read the GM Databolt story: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?11329
The latest demonstration in the Balluff booth was the RFID-equipped Kanban rack. This demonstrated the next evolutionary step in the Kanban system. The Kanban method originally required a card system to notify of stock outs, then barcode was incorporated to automate the process, and now due to environmental demands RFID has helped to streamline an already proven system of insuring inventory levels are where they should be. For those companies who subscribe to lean methods and Just-In-Time inventory it was an eye catcher and piqued their interest immediately.
Unveiled at RFID Journal live 2013, the automated UHF portal powered by Transitionworks Software was an attention grabber at this year’s event, as well. Designed for industrial asset tracking, it combines the Balluff rugged 4 port reader and antennas, The Smartlight, and Transitionworks asset tracking software to automatically identify assets and/or inventory as they pass through a portal providing a visual indication on the customizable Smartlight as well as the embedded PC.
Ultimately, this is one of those must-attend shows if you have any interest whatsoever in RFID. I can assure you next year, regardless of ice storms and a polar vortex, I will be in San Diego for the 2015 edition and hope to see you there!
Quick Question: If a UHF version of the Databolt was available, with a range up to 3ft, how would you or your process benefit from using it? Email: wolfgang.kratzenberg@Balluff.com with your answer.
