What Are Fixed Industrial Scanners?

What Is Fixed Industrial Scanning?

Fixed industrial scanning involves using stationary scanners in industrial environments to automatically capture and analyze data about objects as they pass by the scanner. This technology helps streamline processes by providing real-time data on the items being produced or handled. Fixed industrial scanners are designed to provide dependable track and trace capabilities in various industrial environments. They offer trusted decode performance to accurately track items from production through distribution. These products are typically used in manufacturing, logistics, and quality control environments to improve efficiency, accuracy, and productivity. These scanners are often integrated into automated workflows, allowing for real-time data collection and decision-making. This automation reduces human error, speeds up processing times, and helps maintain high standards of accuracy and efficiency in industrial operations.

Fixed industrial scanners can be used to read barcodes on products, packages, or pallets as they move along a conveyor belt. This helps in tracking inventory, managing supply chains, and ensuring that the correct items are being processed. Fixed industrial scanners can also be used to inspect products for defects, so that manufacturers can ensure that only items meeting quality standards proceed down the line. This can include checking for correct labels, sizes, shapes, or any surface defects.

What Can You Do With Fixed Industrial Scanners?

1. Scan Tunnel: A scan tunnel is an automated system that typically surrounds a conveyor belt, using multiple scanners to capture barcodes or other identifiers on items passing through. This setup enables high-speed reading of items from multiple angles, ensuring accurate and complete data capture even if barcodes are not perfectly aligned.

2. Deep Learning OCR: This application leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to read and interpret text from images. In industrial settings, deep learning OCR can be used to automatically extract and process information from labels, packaging, or documentation that might not be in barcode form.

3. Forklift Scanning: By equipping forklifts with fixed industrial scanners, operators can automatically capture data on palletized goods as they move them. This facilitates real-time inventory tracking, reduces manual data entry errors, and improves operational efficiency.

4. Dock Door Portal Scanning: Fixed industrial scanners at dock doors automate the process of capturing data from goods entering or leaving a facility. This helps in maintaining accurate records of shipments and receipts, ensuring data integrity for inventory management systems.

5. Pack Bench Overhead Scanning: Overhead fixed industrial scanners installed at packing benches streamline the process of verifying and processing items as they are packed. This helps ensure order accuracy by automatically capturing barcode data during the packing process.

6. In-line Sorting: In-line sorting systems use fixed industrial scanners to read barcodes or RFID tags on items as they move along a conveyor. This information is used to direct items to the correct destination or sorting lane, automating the sorting process and increasing throughput.

7. Pallet Scanning: Fixed industrial scanners used for pallet scanning capture data from pallets of goods quickly and accurately. This is useful for verifying pallet contents, tracking movements, and ensuring inventory accuracy in warehouses and distribution centers.

8. Conveyor Routing: In this application, fixed industrial scanners read item identifiers to direct products to the appropriate destinations along a conveyor system. This is essential for automating distribution processes and ensuring that items are correctly routed for shipping or further processing.

9. Tracking and Traceability: Fixed industrial scanners enable detailed tracking of items throughout their journey in a supply chain. By capturing data at various points, companies can maintain accurate records for traceability, ensuring compliance with regulations and enhancing product safety and quality.

10. Print and Apply: This involves automatically printing labels and applying them to products or packaging as they move through a production line. Fixed industrial scanners can verify the accuracy of printed labels by reading and confirming their data before application.

11. Job/Task Verification: In manufacturing or assembly environments, fixed scanners can be used to verify the completion of specific tasks or jobs. By scanning items at various stages, the system can ensure that each step of a process has been completed correctly, improving quality control and reducing errors.

12. Route Guidance: Fixed industrial scanners can be part of systems that provide route guidance within a facility, directing items or vehicles (like forklifts) to specific locations. This optimizes internal logistics and ensures efficient movement of goods.

Each of these applications leverages the capabilities of fixed industrial scanning to enhance operational efficiency, accuracy, and automation in industrial and logistics environments.

What Are Some Features of Fixed Industrial Scanners?

1. High-Quality Scanning: Some fixed industrial scanner models provide high-resolution scanning capabilities, capturing 1D, 2D, and DPM barcodes, along with OCR human-readable characters. 

2. OCR Capabilities: Fixed industrial scanners can leverage powerful software and deep learning algorithms to automate robust barcode-reading and optical character recognition (OCR) applications. 

3. Advanced Imaging Technology: Imaging software helps capture data even when barcodes are on curved or reflective surfaces. 

4. Durability and Ruggedness: Fixed industrial scanners often come with ultra-rugged designs. Some come with IP65/IP67 sealing to withstand harsh industrial environments.

5. Network and Connectivity Options: Fixed industrial scanners can also offer built-in network support, PoE capabilities, and various communication protocols such as Ethernet/IP, PROFINET, etc.

6. Various Lenses and Lighting: Fixed industrial scanners can offer customizable options with various C-mount lenses and external lighting solutions to meet specific application requirements.

7. Integrated Illumination and Aiming: Some fixed industrial scanners offer high-powered integrated lighting and aiming options like laser starbursts for accurate scanning in diverse conditions.

What Are the Benefits of Fixed Industrial Scanning?

Fixed industrial scanners offer numerous benefits. Here are some of them:

1. Hands-Free Operation: Fixed industrial scanners reduce the need for manual scanning, freeing up workers for other tasks.

2. Enhanced Efficiency and Speed: Fixed industrial scanners can rapidly capture data from 1D and 2D barcodes, which helps streamline operations and improve productivity by reducing manual data entry errors and processing time.

3. Durability and Reliability: Designed for industrial environments, fixed industrial scanners are built to withstand harsh conditions, including exposures to dust and dirt, ensuring consistent performance over time.

4. High Accuracy and Precision: With advanced scanning technology, fixed industrial scanners can accurately read barcodes in various conditions, including damaged or poorly printed codes, which is critical for maintaining data integrity.

5. Seamless Integration: Many fixed industrial scanners can be easily integrated into existing systems and processes, providing flexibility and scalability as business needs evolve.

6. Cost-Effectiveness: By automating data capture processes, fixed industrial scanners can minimize errors, leading to long-term cost savings.

7. Improved Tracking and Traceability: With reliable scanning capabilities, businesses can enhance their inventory tracking and traceability, which is crucial for supply chain management and compliance with industry regulations.

8. Customization and Scalability: Systems can be customized to fit specific operational needs. These systems can scale with the business as it grows. Also, some fixed industrial scanners can be upgraded to add new scanning symbologies, increase scanning speed, or even add advanced machine vision capabilities through simple software license purchases. This helps make sure you are getting the maximum return on investment.

These benefits collectively contribute to enhanced operational efficiency, accuracy, and adaptability, which are critical for businesses looking to optimize their industrial processes.