Every day, around 1,000 belt reels of SMD (surface mounted device) components are delivered to the Goods Receipt department of Preh GmbH, the global automotive expert. To date, the barcodes attached to these have been read manually using conventional barcode readers – a very costly process in terms of time and resources.
To make barcode identification faster and more efficient, the codes should now be read automatically and then cross-checked with the SAP system. This is no simple task, when you consider that the correct code has to be identified fromamong up to 20 different barcodes on each individual reel. Not to mention the very narrow module widths, with extremely small spaces between the individual barcodes.
Preh GmbH is now implementing the multi-code reading system VIPAC STATIC SMALLS from VITRONIC to capture the barcodes. The camera-based multi-code reader is installed abovea manual workstation. The operator manually moves the objects through the reading field. Alternatively, the reader could also be installed over a conveyor belt or roller
VIPAC STATIC SMALS also identifies 2D codes (DataMatrix, PDF417) and plain text. The captured data is transferred to the connected processing system together with an image of the object. There, the data can be used for incoming goods inspection or for data synchronization with the ERP system or MES (manufacturing execution system).