Management Challenges Facing the Manufacturing Industry
The manufacturing industry is a highly equipment-intensive, automated, and process-intensive sector. Faced with a large number of metal equipment and components, companies commonly encounter the following challenges:
Difficulty in tracking equipment assets
Disorganised tool management, prone to loss
Invisible production processes, unable to be monitored in real time
Traditional barcodes or standard RFID tags cannot reliably read signals on metal surfaces, making it difficult to address these issues. The emergence of RFID long-range anti-metal tags has provided the manufacturing industry with an efficient, stable, and scalable solution.
Introduction to RFID Long-Range Anti-Metal Tags
RFID long-range anti-metal tags are electronic tags specifically designed for metal environments. By using magnetic absorption materials, foam, ceramics, PCBs, and other structures, they can shield metal interference with radio frequency signals, maintain stable operation on metal surfaces or in internal environments, and achieve long-range reading distances of 3 to 10 metres.
Key features include:
Strong anti-interference capability: suitable for metal components, metal surfaces, and even when enclosed within metal
Long reading distance: up to 5–10 metres in standard scenarios
Long lifespan and robust packaging: meets the demands of harsh manufacturing environments
Compatible with standard protocols: supports industrial standards such as EPC C1G2 and ISO 18000-6C
Application 1: Production Equipment Asset Management
In manufacturing enterprises, a large number of metal-based production equipment, robots, and conveyor systems are distributed across different production lines, making management complex.
By affixing RFID long-range anti-metal tags to each piece of equipment, the following can be achieved:
Equipment identification and archival management
Regular maintenance reminders and automatic data collection
Remote inventory and status synchronisation
Application 2: Metal tool and mould tracking
In industries such as mould manufacturing and stamping processing, moulds and tools are high-value, numerous, and have high turnover rates.
Traditional manual record-keeping is prone to errors, but by affixing RFID long-range anti-metal tags to each mould and linking them with on-site reading/writing devices, the following can be achieved:
Automatic registration of moulds entering and exiting the warehouse
Real-time location tracking and status updates
Prevention of tool loss or misuse, extending equipment lifespan
Many precision manufacturing companies also integrate with MES systems to achieve full-process digital management of the mould lifecycle.
Application 3: Work-in-Progress (WIP) Process Monitoring
In manufacturing processes, each semi-finished product or component moves between production stages. Traditional methods struggle to accurately track the status of each product.
By attaching RFID long-range anti-metal tags to metal components and using automatic read/write devices at workstations, the following can be achieved:
Real-time understanding of the current process stage and completion status of each product
Automatic collection of workstation production data
Prevention of production process omissions or incorrect assembly
This is of significant importance for manufacturing companies pursuing lean production.
Deployment Recommendations for RFID Anti-Metal Tags
Selection and matching: Choose appropriate tag sizes and packaging forms (e.g., ceramic, PCB, flexible) based on equipment size, material, and usage environment
Installation location planning: Avoid solder joints and sharp edges to ensure the tag is flat and securely attached
Optimal placement of read/write devices: Set antenna placement based on reading distance to ensure 100% recognition rate
System integration: Integrate with MES, ERP, and other systems to streamline data flow
Future Development Trends
As the manufacturing industry’s demand for industrial IoT continues to grow, RFID long-range anti-metal tags will continue to be optimised in the following areas:
Smaller size to accommodate more structurally complex metal objects
High-temperature resistance to withstand extreme conditions such as welding and casting
Enhanced data security to enable tamper-proof and anti-counterfeiting tracking
Integration with 5G, edge computing, and AI to enhance industrial intelligence levels
Conclusion
RFID long-range anti-metal tags are becoming an essential tool for manufacturing enterprises to achieve intelligent and digital asset management. They resolve metal interference issues, break down information silos between equipment, tools, materials, and processes, and significantly improve operational efficiency.
For enterprises seeking to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve smart manufacturing, RFID long-range anti-metal tags are not merely identification tools but the beginning of transformation.