RFID technology is witnessing tremendous industrial and commercial applications and over the last decade, the cost of RFID implementation has come down with soaring demand in RFID-based business automation and process optimization.
RFID technology provides absolute accuracy and efficiency in all kinds of business environments except near metals and liquids due to interference in radio signals. To overcome such operational challenges, RFID Mount on-metal tags are implemented. UHF anti-metals tags or Mount on-metal RFID tags are designed to provide solutions for metallic products and items because most industrial assets and machinery are made up of metallic components. These anti-metal RFID tags can easily overcome metal interference due to their advanced design, i.e. use of high-conductivity material during fabrication. These tags need to be attached to the surface of metal objects, which is as simple as attaching sticky notes to your fridge.
UHF Anti-Metal RFID tags are ideal for various applications, such as asset tracking, inventory management, and access control.
Designing an Anti-metal RFID Tag
The reason behind an ordinary UHF RFID tag not working around metal and liquid surfaces is interference caused by metal. The ordinary dipole antenna offers compromised radiation due to the image current on the metallic surface.
To solve such an issue, various techniques in antenna design have been used including the designing of an antenna based on an electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) or artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) structure. A patch-style antenna design including a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA), and a microstrip-slot antenna have also been developed and these offer significant improvement in the working of an UHF RFID tag near metals.
However, the cost and the rigid design of such tags still limit the conformal application on curved metal surfaces.
Use of High conductivity graphene assembly film (HCGAF) is also used as a substrate to fabricate anti-metal tags which are flexible and work well on curved metal surfaces.
Let’s take a look at various kinds of UHF Anti-metal RFID tags:
What are the Different Types of UHF Anti-Metal RFID Tags?
UHF anti-metal RFID Tags are fabricated in various designs where distinct material is used. The fabrication of an RFID tag includes using RFID components such as an integrated circuit, antenna, and an encasing or substrate.
The most common types of UHF anti-metal RFID tags are as follows:
ABS UHF Anti-Metal RFID Tag
They are made of ABS plastic, which is durable and light in weight at the same time. These tags are also relatively less expensive, which makes them more reliable for various businesses.
ABS UHF Mount On- Metal RFID Tag is water-resistant and immune to high-temperature resistance and widely used in logistic management.
The main applications include logistic management, bags, pallets, containers, fixed assets, etc.
PCB UHF Anti-Metal RFID Tag
These tags are made of polycarbonate. They are durable and can handle harsh outdoor conditions.
These tags can be directly pasted on metal surfaces without any technical installation work. It is a suitable solution for automobile license plates and also for outdoor power equipment inspection, various household products, and electrical appliance tracking.
Ceramic UHF Anti-Metal RFID Tag
The Ceramic UHF Anti-Metal RFID Tag is made of ceramic material. They are also designed to handle harsh outdoor environments and are durable.
A ceramic metal RFID tag is mounted on the metal surface with strong corrosion resistance. It is suitable for component tracking and asset management.
Foam Flexible Anti-Metal Tag
These tags use foam-based material, which is lightweight and inexpensive. These tags are relatively small in size, but they have a long read-and-write range. They are not as durable as other RFID tags. It can be applied to metal assets in IT asset management and other metal asset tracking applications.
Flexible (printable) UHF Anti-Metal Tag
Flexible tags can be printed with custom logos and barcodes. This makes them ideal for use in applications where branding is more important. One can simply interrogate these UHF RFID tags with an UHF RFID reader and read the encoded data.
They are easy to bend and applicable to metal surfaces. It has good resistance to gold and excellent performance in distance character reading. It is suitable for RFID asset management, cylinder tracking, traffic control, logistic management, etc.
Glue UHF Anti-Metal Tag
These tags use adhesive to attach to metal surfaces. This makes it ideal for use in applications where tags need to be attached to a metal surface that cannot screw into metal containers, vehicles, or machinery.
A combination of foam and glue is cost-effective, but it has a limited reading range speed. It is suitable for outdoor conditions like outdoor power equipment inspection, elevator inspection, tower pole inspection, etc.
What are the Advantages of UHF RFID Mount On-Metal Tags?
1. These tags can be read from a distance of up to 12m, even when they are attached to a metal surface.
2. UHF anti-metal tags are quickly accessible for data transfer. In simple words, tags can be read quickly, which makes them ideal for applications where users need a high read rate.
3. Most of these anti-metal tags are durable and can handle harsh outdoor conditions.
4. They can be used in a variety of applications, including asset tracking, inventory management, and product tracking.
What are the Disadvantages of UHF RFID Mount On-Metal Tags?
1. Most of the UHF anti-metal tags are expensive compared to other types of RFID tags.
2. These tags offer less read range than other UHF passive RFID tags due to interference issues.
To summarize, UHF anti-metal tags are a flexible and powerful tool that can be implemented in a wide variety of applications. It is well-suited for outdoor applications because it is capable of handling temperature fluctuations and even harsh weather conditions. These tags are specifically designed for metal surfaces because an ordinary tag cannot provide optimal performance on metal surfaces owing to interference from metal/liquids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1) Which type of UHF anti-metal tag is right for you?
The right type of tag will depend on the specific applications you use. You should focus on the requirements and the environment in which the tag is going to be used, the durability of that tag, and your budget.
Q2) What is the life expectancy of a UHF anti-metal RFID tag?
UHF anti-metal tags can generally last for several years (approximately 10 years); they don’t need battery support. The lifespan of tags also depends on the type of tag and the environment in which they are used.
Q3) How to install a UHF anti-metal RFID tag?
Some manufacturers provide adhesive support on tags to directly attach them to metal surfaces, but there are numerous ways to install a UHF anti-metal tag. You can use special wave-absorbing material to attach this material to the tag; on the other hand, some manufacturers provide ceramic tags.
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