Bar Code Solutions


CAPRIS Bar Code Solutions

CAPRIS® bar code solutions have been developed as a revolutionary aid to wire harness assembly, offering the potential for dramatically reducing manufacturing costs and improving productivity.

CAPRIS Bar Code Solutions is a new high-tech development from Spectrum Technologies PLC. It offers huge manufacturing benefits to wire harness manufacturers, especially when fully implemented in conjunction with Spectrum’s CAPRIS wire marking equipment and SATURNTM software systems.

Spectrum’s CAPRIS 60 and CAPRIS 100 UV Laser Wire Marking systems have options to mark wire not only with alphanumeric data, but also bar codes. Bar coding of wire ID numbers or codes, directly on the wire, provides a rapid, automatic, machine readable solution to wire identification. It can also enable additional information, such as pin and connector numbers, to be printed in bar code format at the wire ends, further aiding harness assembly.

When linked to a manufacturing database, the bar code system can provide access to virtually unlimited manufacturing data. Bar coding wire and cable can therefore reduce the need for paperwork on the factory floor and also eliminate the problem of legibility on small gauge wires.

The SATURN range of bar code software packages has been designed specifically by Spectrum Technologies for use with UV laser printed bar codes on wires. It is a major development, which allows users to automate and integrate the management of manufacturing data for many of the wire harness production processes. This offers major operational benefits in all areas of wire harness production, from materials control through to final test. Aircraft operators will also benefit from these bar coding developments, which will facilitate and speed up maintenance by aiding rapid and correct identification of wires.

SATURN software is offered in three configurations, SATURN I, III and V, providing increasing levels of benefits. The three packages offer access to differing amounts of information, but work on the same operational principles. To access and display the wire ID code, the handheld reader is run over a UV laser printed bar code on the wire; additionally when linked electronically (e.g. via a PC) it can also display a wide variety of manufacturing data.


CAPRIS Bar Code Wire Marking



The following information relates to bar code wire marking capabilities of the CAPRIS 60 and CAPRIS 100 UV laser wire markers:

CAPRIS Bar Code Print Characteristics
  • Bar code type USS39 (Bar Code 39), full alphanumeric character set
  • Narrow bar width (X): 0.22mm (and inter-character gap)
  • Wide/Narrow ratio (N): 3
  • Maximum data density: 3.0 characters per cm; 7.7 characters per inch
  • Maximum number of characters per bar code: 17 1
  • Check sum enabled as default
  • Options for other bar code types available

Wire Types

  • Wire colours: predominantly white and pastel 2
  • Wire size range: 30 AWG and larger single core wire and multicore cable 2
  • Polyimide wires: dispersion coated Teflon (PTFE), ETFE and FEP or Teflon tape wrapped wires.
  • Composite wires (TKT/TK) e.g. BMS 13-60, M22759/80 to 92.
  • Extruded wires: Teflon (PTFE), Tefzel (ETFE, XLETFE) e.g. BMS 13-48, M22759/32 etc., or FEP.

1: 17 = number of data characters (excluding Start, Stop bit and Checksum character).
2: Suitability of wire and cable for bar coding may vary due to wire colour, outside diameter or surface topology.


CAPRIS BCR1A Bar Code Reader



The CAPRIS BCR1A bar code reader has been developed primarily for bench top first end termination applications and is optimised for reading very small bar codes on wires. Such small bar codes are normally well outside the range of standard off-the-shelf readers.

Bar Code Reader System
  • For connection and use with IBM compatible PCs
  • Dimensions: 160 mm x 60 mm x 60 mm (approx. 6.3" x 2.4" x 2.4")

Bar Code Readability

  • Accuracy: virtually 100% 1
  • Readability: near 100% 2
  • Scan length: 70 mm maximum (2.8")

Characteristics

  • Weight 164 g (6 oz)
  • Portable within the constraints of the PC
  • Power requirements: 5 V dc @ 140 mA supplied by PC
  • Technology: LED source and CCD detector
  • Safety: CE approved; Part 15 FCC rules compliant
  • Communications: Keyboard wedge
  • Enquire for other barcode readers

1: Bar code reading accuracy is exceptionally high when using the default check sum character setting, with error rates as low as 1 wrong read in 1 billion reads
2: Bar code readability is the probability of achieving a read from the bar code printed on the wire. This is a critical function of both the bar code marking and the reader system, but may also be affected by the wire or cable construction.