Development of Super Heat Resistance IC Glass Tag for High Temperature Industrial Application
We all heard of IC Tags used for quality control and inventory and merchandising of some sort but you probably never heard of IC tags that can be embedded into shipbuilding pipes. Well, there are around 6,000 to 10,000 shipbuilding pipes go into constructing a ship, and over half of them are hot-dip galvanized otherwise known as plated for preventing corrosion. The pipes can easily be identified through printing or engraving on the pipe, however physical identification of these pipes after they are plated can be only possible by visually looking at their shapes and dimensions for the sorting process, resulting in human errors and inefficiency in shipbuilding operations. Use of IC tags in this process would provide an efficient way in sorting the pipes, however the guaranteed temperature limit for IC tags was originally 100 degrees Celsius, which make it impossible to be used under conditions for plating where temperatures can reach close to 450 degrees Celsius. In response to technical challenge, Toppan Printing has developed a prototype ultra heat resistance IC glass tag which can withstand a temperature of 450 degree Celsius.
The company has developed a technology for sealing an IC chip into glass in a near vacuum condition, resulting in an improved heat resistance of the IC tag. Toppan is also developing a secondary processing technology to ensure that glass does not break in face of vibration and impacts. Toppan is foreseeing the start of mass production of this new IC glass tag in 2011.
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