Leuze Electronic are launching the BCL 500i Series of bar code readers. They believe that this will be ideal for monitoring the high speed flow of individual components, cartons or complete palletised loads; and when successful, guarantees correct code pickup and faster delivery to the control/monitoring station, even when the bar code is skewed, damaged, or even dirty. Several of the 500i features include code reconstruction, integrated field bus connectivity, simplified installations without need of interfacing units or gateways, and simple parameterisations.
Rather than the full bar code being recognised by a single continuous scan, the code reconstruction technology of the 500i gathers data from several high-speed passes, and via bespoke Leuze software, is able to rebuild the correct identity despite a code label being misaligned or partially damaged. Integral to the data capture process is the new lens developed specifically for use in the BCL 500i barcode reader, giving it a ±30° asymmetrical optical angle of aperture, and creating a large scanning field even at close range.
With a specification list that shows an adjustable scanning rate of 800 to 1200 scans per second and a reading field of 200 by 1600mm, Leuze Electronic is targeting high-speed handlings and transfer applications, such as those found in component manufacture, food processing and packaging areas, high-speed sortation processes in distribution warehouses as well as airport logistics.
A host of connectivity services come as standard with the 500i scanner including serial interfaces for RS 232 or RS 422 and RS 485, plus additional communication channels which can each be configured individually as real-time Ethernet, field bus interfaces such as ProfiBus and Leuze's own multiNet facility for networking applications. The nerve centre for directly integrated communication is a High-End 32-bit network controller, which can potentially create benefits of simplified wiring and a higher data rate, which aims to eliminate bottlenecks caused by additional interfacing units or gateways.
The device can be fully parameterised using the field bus directly via the control system, or can alternatively be addressed via a USB interface. The parameterisation software - called "WEB-Config" -features menu and operator prompting, and allows communication via any optional WEB browser. For the user, this aims to eliminate the effort involved in maintaining and updating external parameterisation and configuration software on service laptops. The interface is conditioned in such a way that a USB memory stick can be used as an external parameter memory with simultaneous capability for performing documentation and monitoring functions.