Retail solutions, RFID Solutions, People Counting Solution, EAS Solutions, Mobile DVR Solution, ESL Solutions for Retail, Security & Loss Prevention Solution – www.tractility.com RFID tags have been widely used in life, RFID tags have obvious advantages, with the RFID tags cost reduction, read-write distance, tag storage capacity increases and processing time shortens the development trend, RFID tags will be more and more widely used.
RFID electronic tags application range are vehicle management field, highway non-stop charging, asset management and access control management, commodity anti-counterfeit tags, logistics management, electronic ticket, supply chain management (clothing, retail, medicine, etc.), immigration management, food safety, animal identification, etc. In logistics and supply chain management, the accuracy and timeliness of information is the key factor, which RFID technology can provide sufficient assurance. RFID system makes the supply chain much more transparent, items can be tracked anywhere in the supply chain in real time, while eliminating the previous manual errors in each link. Readers installed in factories, distribution centers, warehouses and mall shelves can automatically record the flow of items throughout the supply chain, from the production line to the final consumer.
The current food safety issue has been a major issue affecting people’s livelihood, if the use of RFID technology for traceability, you can let the people eat assured meat, babies can drink safe milk powder, so that the food from production to the circulation process to eliminate counterfeiting, but the implementation of RFID technology are inseparable from an important medium – electronic tags.
As the electronic tag in each field of use environment is different, or in the indoor use, or in the outdoor use. In the outdoor use of electronic tags have protection level requirements, and even some use of environmental requirements to achieve IP67 level. This requires the electronic tag in the manufacturing process can have reached the high protection level requirements of the packaging process.
Figure.1 Electronic tag
Types of electronic tag packages
Table of Contents
In the current market, the electronic tag uses a variety of packaging, but the following are common.
- PVC lamination process encapsulation.
- Paper-based self-adhesive package.
- PVC (or TPU) hot pressing process encapsulation.
- Plastic ultrasonic welding package.
PVC lamination encapsulation
Paper self-adhesive encapsulation
PVC hot pressing encapsulation
TPU hot pressing encapsulation
Plastic shell ultrasonic welding encapsulation
Figure.2 Various encapsulation forms of electronic tags
The electronic tag’s use environment is different, its encapsulation way is also different, for example, the electronic tag in the access control management uses the PVC lamination process encapsulation, the electronic tag in the book management uses the paper self-adhesive encapsulation, in the clothing and some supply chain management and animal identification electronic tag uses the hot-pressing encapsulation form. Tobacco (goods) pallet, container, equipment and so on the management mostly uses the plastic ultrasonic welding process encapsulation electronic tag.
However, because of the special nature of some items tracking process and use environment, the electronic tag needs to have high weather resistance, resistance to temperature difference, moisture-proof and water-proof, etc., the package of the electronic tag has special requirements. For example, the installation of the electronic tag tobacco frame will be placed in the outdoor, in the tobacco processing process, in order to make the tobacco softened, need a high temperature distillation process, will be loaded with the tobacco frame into the distillation box, making the electronic tag not only needs good weather resistance, but also has the function of high temperature resistance and moisture, although there are packages (such as plastic shell ultrasonic welding process package) can meet the requirements, but its more tedious production Process, manufacturing quality stability is not good and the use of material restrictions, so it is not the best solution to the problem, and the secondary injection molding encapsulation process is better to make up for the defects of the electronic tag in the manufacturing process.
Secondary injection molding package electronic tag
Secondary injection molding encapsulated electronic tags due to the use of secondary injection molding process, the bonding between the shell is very strong, seamlessly fused together, the inlay sealed in the shell, the outside of water vapor and other substances can not enter into the inside, so the use of secondary injection molding encapsulation process has a high level of protection of electronic tags.
Figure.3 Secondary injection molding package electronic tag
Composition of the secondary injection molded label
The secondary injection molding encapsulated electronic tag is composed of two parts: the inlay and the shell.
The inlay can be coils, PET + aluminum foil (copper foil), ceramic or PCB, etc. The shell can be hard plastic or soft plastic, or two different hard plastic composition, or can be a community of soft and hard plastic, with the form of flexible use according to needs.
The molding process of secondary injection molding package label
Secondary injection molding encapsulated electronic tags use different inlays, the injection molding encapsulation process used by the equipment is also different, usually secondary injection molding encapsulation using two types of injection molding equipment, one is a vertical injection molding machine, the other is a horizontal injection molding machine.
Figure.4 Vertical injection molding machine and horizontal injection molding machine
Generally speaking, vertical injection molding machine has a wider range of application and is less restricted by the way the inlay is fixed, but for larger size labels, the capacity will be affected due to the limitation of the working space of the equipment. The advantages of horizontal injection molding machine is the opposite of vertical injection molding machine, in the large size label and capacity can play an advantage, but in the positioning of the inlay is a certain limitation, so the advantages of vertical and horizontal injection molding machine can complement each other, so as to meet most of the electronic tag production needs. The production process of secondary injection molded encapsulated electronic tags is as follows.
Figure.5 Secondary injection molding package electronic tag processing flow chart
From the secondary injection molding process can be seen, the molding process and ordinary injection molding products as simple and reliable, in the injection molding process, pay attention to protect the chip inlay can be, with a mature injection molding process of electronic tags for packaging is not a new attempt.
Secondary injection molding label shell material
Secondary injection molding package electronic tag shell using a wide range of materials, less restrictive, can be injection molding equipment injection molding materials can basically be used. Both can be hard rubber, can also be soft rubber, and can also use different two materials for secondary injection molding encapsulation of electronic tags, so that electronic tags can not only meet the high protection level of function, but also to meet the needs of fashionable appearance design, so that the electronic tags in a specific use environment of a limited variety.
Comparison between secondary injection packaging and other packaging
Different packaging processes use different equipment and manufacturing methods. PVC lamination encapsulation has a special lamination equipment, simple operation, high capacity efficiency, lower cost. The hot-pressing equipment required for hot-pressing encapsulation is not high cost, but the process is tedious, first the production of the shell has to be completed, then the inlay is put into the shell for hot-pressing with high-frequency hot-pressing equipment, and finally the shape is trimmed with a knife mold, and the production efficiency is low. Paper self-adhesive encapsulation requires expensive equipment and high debugging technology requirements, but high mass production capacity. Ultrasonic welding encapsulation although the equipment cost is not high, but its production process is similar to the hot pressing encapsulation process, the need to put the inlay into the shell with ultrasonic welding equipment welding, production noise generated, the production process quality stability is not ideal, and can be ultrasonic welding selected materials.
Figure.6 encapsulation equipment
Table.1 Comparison of several encapsulation processes
| Number | Packaging mode | Workmanship | Degree of protection | Adapt to occasion |
| 1 | PVC lamination process packaging | Simple | High | Close reading and writing distance. |
| 2 | Paper non dry cavity packaging | Single. High requirements for machine adjustment. | Single. High requirements for machine adjustment. | Close reading and writing distance. |
| 3 | Hot pressing process packaging | More cumbersome | Higher | It is used under the conditions of long reading and writing distance and high protection. |
| 4 | Plastic ultrasonic welding package | Complicated and noisy | Higher | It is used under the conditions of long reading and writing distance and high protection. |
| 5 | Secondary injection packaging | Simple and stable | High | It is used under the conditions of long reading and writing distance and high protection. |
Secondary injection molding tag has been in the outdoor harsh environment has been certain use, through a variety of electronic tags of the actual use, fully proved that the secondary injection molding encapsulation process is a kind of meet high requirements under the environment using electronic tags one of the solution ways. Its actual application has the animal recognition electron label, the outdoor use electron label, the power supply system transformer and other equipment asset management with the electron label and so on. The power supply system outdoor equipment asset management uses the electronic tag is the barcode and so on method does not reach, because the power supply system some equipment is in the high pressure condition use, to take the high pressure equipment on the asset management data in the charged environment, has the certain danger, this request electronic tag has the read-write distance far, can withstand the outdoor environment influence, the service life is long and so on characteristic, if uses the barcode recognition Technology is unable to do, therefore the second injection molding package electronic tag its use prospect is very wide, in some aspects has the strong advantage.
Animal Tracking RFID Ear Tag
EAS RF Soft Label
RFID Blocking Card
EAS RF Hard Tag
Figure.7 Application of electronic tag
Conclusion
Secondary injection molding encapsulation process of the electronic tag required production conditions are not high, do not need to use special equipment, simple operation, can be mass production, manufacturing costs are relatively not high, is a good complement to other encapsulation process. The use of traditional mature injection molding process, to achieve high quality and high protection level of electronic tags, as a new packaging process ideas, in the practical application of outdoor asset management has achieved very good economic benefits. Therefore, in the high protection level conditions of the use of electronic tags, the use of secondary injection molding encapsulation process is a good choice.
Source: China RFID Electronic Tags Manufacturer – Actility Technologies Company Limited (www.tractility.com)
Actility provides powerful security solutions for retail store management to prevent asset and property losses, improve transaction security, and provide intelligent analysis. We produce AM/EM/RFID systems, EAS tags, EAS soft labels, EAS safer, lanyards, detachers and all kinds EAS accessories products. Infrared people counter and camera people counter is available.
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