RFID Technology for Tie Rod Cylinder Identification and Maintenance Tracking

Milwaukee Cylinder built its RFID solution around rugged, high frequency (HF) RFID tags made by Balluff, and the Milwaukee Cylinder proprietary RFID tag mounting system. The selected Balluff RFID tags are highly durable, made for industrial applications. The Milwaukee Cylinder proprietary RFID tag mounting system allows an RFID tag to be mounted anywhere on a tie rod, on any side of the cylinder. This flexibility allows placement of the RFID tag for easy access, even while the cylinder is mounted in a machine.   

“Especially when a cylinder is installed on a machine, it can be nearly impossible to read the cylinder tag information, making it difficult to know what maintenance parts to order,” said Douglas Lacina, Enerpac Global Marketing and Engineering Leader. “Having critical information easily available via an RFID tag saves time and aggravation, vastly simplifying maintenance.”

Utilizing industry standard technology, reading and writing to the tag is simple and allows nearly any RFID reader the ability to read the tag. However, Milwaukee Cylinder has partnered with Balluff to develop software templates to be used with Balluff's M-series mobile RFID reader, making reading and using the tags even simpler. With full wireless capabilities, this rugged handheld gives the operator the freedom to move to all areas of the plant without any limitation.