A Customer Example of An Electronics Traceability Application

Samsung in South Korea was able to replace manual barcode scanning with fixed-mount barcode readers in order to increase production volumes by 20-30% in an electronics traceability application.

At a PCB (printed circuit board) testing station, each operator would scan the codes on two PCBs before performing the tests, The manual barcode scanning took employees 20 to 30 seconds to complete which slowed down the entire line. In addition to the extra time, the codes were placed on the PCBs at 30 degree angles causing the scanners to struggle with low read rates. Samsung was able to work with a Cognex partner, Shenzhen Xihai Data Acquisition System Co., Ltd. of China to increase efficiency by adding advanced image-based fixed-mount readers to automate the scanning part of the testing process.

The DataMan barcode scanner was chosen because of its high read rates, speed, wide viewing angle, and its ability to see and scan codes at extreme angles. After evaluating the new readers on four production lines, all of the plant’s manual barcode scanning stations were replaced. Because of this success, Samsung is also considering other applications along their production line to help their electronics traceability initiatives.