EuroWire July 2021

Focus On USA Tracking wire products through harsh processes

In industrial settings, identifying products early, so they can be tracked through processing, quality assurance and inventory, and on to the customer, is critical to an efficient operation. However, industrial processes present challenges to lasting identification. In 1998, a major North American wire mill approached InfoSight, looking for a tag that would provide the ability to barcode wire bundles and have that barcode survive pickling (acid baths) and annealing (extended heat exposure). This led to the development of InfoSight’s Pic-Anneal® Tags, specifically designed for use in wire and rod mills. The Pic-Anneal Tag is one of many InfoSight tags that are designed to survive specific processes. Wire coils are exposed to acid baths and annealing ovens, and identification tags and information need to survive those processes. The Pic-Anneal high-contrast barcoded tag survives up to two hours in heated acid baths, including 20 per cent H 2 SO 4 at 82°C (180°F) and 24 per cent HCl at 38°C (100°F).

Pic-Anneal also survives temperatures of 760°C (1,400°F) for 48 hours or 982°C (1,800°F) for two hours. Therefore, a wire coil that is tagged with Pic-Anneal can be processed through pickling and annealing and the tag will be intact, the data will be readable and, most importantly, the barcode will be readable. As wire mills increase production, they need a means of producing identification tags at the same rate as their wire bundles. Many mills would like tags to be produced “in real-time” – as coils are produced, the corresponding identification tag is ready to be attached. InfoSight’s LabeLase® Metal Tag laser printers are designed for this purpose. The printers easily integrate with a mill’s inventory control system, so information can be automatically sent to the printers when a tag needs to be produced. The printers are designed for industrial environments, meaning they are durable enough for the production floor, but are also quiet enough to be located in a control room or office.

▲ InfoSight’s Pic-Anneal Tag on a wire coil

The LabeLase printers can produce one tag at a time or a batch as large as 300 tags. Each tag can include unique information, including alphanumeric characters, 1D and 2D barcodes, graphics and logos. Colour coding is an effective tool for rapid visual identification. InfoSight added Pic-Anneal VI TM Tags to offer the option of special order colours for Pic-Anneal Tags. Another option is the Pic-Anneal InfoStripe TM Tag, which provides a stripe of colour along one edge. InfoSight Corp www.infosight.com

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July 2021