Virtual Factory can now be used with RFID applications to track equipment and inventory in real time

Virtual Factory now handles RFID signals. Users can receive instant status updates via cell phone or e-mail when critical inventory items or equipment change locations. Users can instantly pinpoint the current or historical locations of critical items at any time to within 0.3 cubic meter, depending on the RFID scanner/tag combination employed. All data updates can be accessed from anywhere in the world via an Internet connection.

January 15 2004--Virtual Factory, the monitoring and control software solution from Orbit Technology Corporation, now works in conjunction with RFID technology. Companies with critical inventory items and equipment can configure Virtual Factory to notify them automatically via telephone or pager when these items change locations. Users can also check the location of these tagged items at any time and from anywhere via the Internet. They can also look at the history of the movement of an item through a production process.

What is RFID?

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. Using RFID, tiny radio transmitters called tags can be attached to a critical piece of inventory or equipment. The tag transmits the items location to scanners positioned nearby. Tags can be as inexpensive as 20 to 50 cents each, making RFID affordable for small and medium-size operations. Read ranges of scanners vary from 1 to 50 meters (or more). RFID is beginning to replace traditional barcode methods for many monitoring applications. RFID technology can be a critical component of Six Sigma and lean manufacturing initiatives because it feeds process and inventory data immediately to operations managers. RFID offers two important advantages over barcodes:

    Barcodes require line of sight between the tag and the scanner, meaning that items have to be oriented in just the right way in order to be identified by the scanner. Such orientation is labor intensive and often requires a worker to make multiple passes within inches of the scanner in order to get a proper scan. By contrast, RFID tags can be successfully read while in virtually any position as they pass within range of the scanner.
    Barcodes are unique to each type of item being tracked, so all instances of a particular SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) usually carry identical barcodes. With RFID, each instance of a tagged SKU can have a completely unique identification number. In other words, ten identical (i.e., same SKU) pieces of the same product would each have a unique identification number. It is easy to imagine the increased tracking power that RFID affords manufacturing and inventory control managers.


Sample Applications for Virtual Factory with RFID

Virtual Factory can be connected to almost any brand of RFID scanner in order to perform a number of data logging and notification functions. Examples include:

    Receive a telephone call with a pre-recorded message telling you that a forklift has entered into a restricted and potentially dangerous area of your fabrication facility.
    Receive a page indicating that a particular manufactured item has exceeded the suggested time limit for passing through all of the stages of a work process.
    Receive an e-mail whenever a large ticket item moves from Work In Process to Finished Goods status.
    Instantly determine the location of a particular part or raw material inventory item within a storage room or in a large outdoor storage area.
    Run a report that shows the number of times a certain specialty tool was utilized in a particular staging area on your production floor.
    View a status panel display on your computer monitor that flashes a warning message whenever a key piece of expensive equipment exits one of your facility doors.

About Virtual Factory

Virtual Factory gives its users the power to monitor and control any machine or device in their factory from any place with an Internet connection. It treats each real-world machine, device, and worker in the facility as a virtual object that can be viewed or controlled using an ergonomic user interface. Data constantly flows between Virtual Factory and machines/devices/ workers in the factory in real time. The software can poll the current status of machines, PLCs, RTUs, HVAC systems, RFID tags and workers every few seconds and then keep track of data about their activities in a data log for future reference. The data can also be used to instantly trigger actions by other devices using the event feature. Notifications can be sent to managers via telephone, e-mail, or pager about real or potential problem situations. A recently added status panel, or andon, feature can also be used to notify users. This feature leverages the best in Just-in-Time (JIT) process technology to alert users of status changes via an attention-getting, colorful visual display on their computer monitors.

Virtual Factory can also automatically carry out video monitoring and recording task. It can accommodate USB-based video cameras and has built-in video buffering capabilities. It can interface with any number of external software modules, including scheduling and nesting programs and DNC software. Virtual Factory can be configured to interface with any digital or analog input/output hardware device.


For more information about how you can put Virtual Factory to work for your company, please contact Jed Jones at e-mail protected from spam bots or at 1-949-981-7001. Visit us at www.otc.net.

About Orbit Technology Corporation

Founded by manufacturing automation experts in 1993, Orbit has made its name supplying factory automation, CAD/CAM and Web-based collaboration software solutions to its international base of clients.

Orbit employs a staff of highly educated, multi-lingual software solution experts who specialize in the manufacturing sector. The company's innovations continue to give its clients the power to access, manage, and control the data essential to their manufacturing success. Orbit maintains close ties with private industry and leading universities.
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