Turck: Plagiarism protection with RFID

Counterfeiting is causing increasing problems for companies in various sectors. In addition to legal avenues, there are also technical options to efficiently protect against the sale of counterfeit products or spare parts. In the industrial environment, robust RFID systems are particularly suitable for identifying spare and wear parts - for example from Turck.

All over the world, companies are dealing with the challenge of expanding their business and expertise. from unauthorised imitators. The German mechanical and plant engineering industry also has to contend with plagiarism, as a study by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) makes clear: machines and, in particular, spare parts for machines are frequently copied.

The „VDMA Product Piracy Study 2014“ shows that an average of 71 per cent of mechanical engineering companies in Germany are affected by product piracy. Product piracy are affected. The figure is even more serious for companies with more than 500 employees: In this group, the study even counts 90 per cent of companies affected. According to the study, counterfeiting caused an estimated 7.9 billion euros in lost sales for the affected companies in 2013.

Product protection through RFID

One method that is particularly suitable for industrial machines is the identification of components using RFID. The big advantage over other technologies is that RFID solutions Meet industry standards and usually function smoothly even in harsh industrial environments. In contrast to other identification methods, RFID data carriers can also be installed in a tool, a workpiece carrier or other relevant components in such a way that they cannot be easily replaced. This makes the unauthorised use of counterfeit products much more difficult.

Integration into the customer's existing automation infrastructure is also extremely simple, as the BL-ident system can be operated on standard industrial fieldbuses and Ethernet systems. Read/write heads for different frequency bands (HF and UHF) can be used on the same gateway and even on the same modules. If required, Codesys-programmable gateways or supplied function blocks facilitate data integration into existing systems and controllers.

BL ident also offers a large selection of read/write heads for many applications and ranges. For example, the TB-Q08, currently the smallest ISO 15693-compliant RFID read/write head with IP67 protection on the market, is brand new. Thanks to its compact rectangular design measuring 32 mm x 20 mm x 8 mm and the 150 mm long connection cable with M12 plug, the TB-Q08 is particularly suitable for use in confined installation situations.

Particularly in combination with the new R10 and R12 data carriers from Turck, the TB-Q08 can demonstrate its strengths in the Identification of metal objects to the full.

„The new data carriers with diameters of ten and twelve millimetres can be mounted directly in metal and are equipped with a chip that Password functionality is supported. In conjunction with BL ident, the user can easily realise simplified plagiarism protection, access protection, access rights management, etc.“ René Steiner, Business Development Manager RFID at Hans Turck GmbH & Co. KG, Mülheim a. d. Ruhr.

Serialisation for pharmaceuticals

How efficient plagiarism protection can be implemented in practice is shown by Turck Korea with a Serialisation project for the pharmaceutical industry. All medication packaging can thus be unequivocally assigned to its production series. The manufacturer and batch of the medicine must be identifiable at every point in the manufacturing and distribution chain. As soon as the medicines end up in the first packaging unit (primary packaging), for example a blister pack, they are labelled with a Serial number and a Barcode or Data Matrix code labelled. This identification must also be possible in larger packaging units at the wholesaler or logistics service provider and ultimately also in the pharmacy.

The pilot project for pharmaceutical manufacturer Daewon Pharm was funded by the South Korean government and is an example of the automated serialisation of pharmaceutical products. However, in addition to the actual identification, the highlight of the project lies elsewhere: the data must be available in the system not only at individual points, but in a Data cloud which will be used by the entire production and distribution chain in the final expansion stage. Today, end-to-end serialisation ends with the storage of medicines in the Camp of Daewon. In the final expansion stage, wholesalers and each individual pharmacy will also be integrated into the system and the data cloud.

Turck Korea provided the automation part of the project. Turck developed and built machines that print, fix, check and read the necessary data carriers on different packaging units. These machines in turn communicate with a database system and centralise the production and packaging processes there.

Box Matching Machine

One of the machines that Turck developed and built for the project is the Box Matching Machine. Before being stored, the individual pharmaceutical packages have to be combined into larger units. summarised but should Individually identifiable to ensure seamless tracking. The Box Matching Machine uses RFID to identify all packs contained in a box, even if it is closed.

This is one of the major advantages of RFID over barcode technology: in one Bulk reading the entire contents of the box (up to 500 individual data carriers) can be read. The packer simply inserts a box of medicines into the opening of the machine. The reading process starts automatically. Ten RFID antennas detect all tags inside the carton. One antenna moves inside the machine to prevent double readings or unread packaging. Rollers inside the machine also move the box back and forth in order to clearly identify each tag.

Following identification, the machine prints a label with a barcode and serial number, which is stuck to the box for further identification and despatch. The compact machine is just 1.6 metres high and very mobile. Turck was also able to supply large parts of the box matching machine from its own portfolio. Safety light curtains, emergency stop buttons and other optical sensors come from Banner Engineering, Turck supplied its BL20 Ethernet I/O stations, power supply units, Ethernet switches and the VT250 HMI Codesys controller.

In mechanical engineering Plagiarism protection so far one Voluntary decision of the manufacturers. In the pharmaceutical industry, on the other hand, legislation has created facts. As counterfeit products pose a health risk here, manufacturers in the EU and other economic areas are obliged to set up end-to-end serialisation. This is to be implemented across the board in the EU by 2019.