Cambridge Network : : Release date : 15 Nov 2005

The RFID industry is in an interesting position right now, one typical of emerging technologies. Early tagging systems were put in place largely due to 'technology push,' the technology of inductively coupled transponders has been around for many years. It has found a home in higher value applications such as stock control of military hardware and secure personal identification. Tag costs have been less important than technical factors for such applications.

The industry is now very uncomfortably moving to a phase of 'market pull.' There is increasing interest in disposable tags for stock control and point of sale identification at individual item level of consumer goods. Retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Gillette are placing open orders for millions of tags per month, as long as you can supply them for US$0.05 per tag, that is.

RFID is here to stay, it works and it has a huge and important future. BUT ... the industry shift to market pull for item level tagging leaves antenna manufacturers with a tiny US1-1.5c revenue for their part and many potential manufacturers are questioning the ROI of getting involved. In the world of engineering development the race is on to produce the fastest, most cost effective process for antenna manufacture.

CTD Ltd, working alongside a large multi-national client, has successfully developed a large scale industrial process for plating copper onto one metre wide, thin polyester web. The process uses low cost, printed seed layers to define the antenna circuit. Bulk copper is then plated onto the seed layer to produce a reliable, high conductivity antenna.

Throughput is dependent on required thickness because dwell time governs deposit thickness but several metres per minute are achievable. Copper quality is similar to traditional print and etch manufacture because both are electro-deposited copper.

Print and etch is expensive and wasteful because 75% of the product is removed and disposed of. Plating by contrast adds only the required copper and can operate with no waste at all by recycling wash water and spent electrolyte.

Fully operating RFID tags have now been created by potential licensees of the process by adding proprietary chips either using a strap or by bonding. Other licensees for the process are being actively sort by our client.

There are of course other issues in bringing item level RFID technology to a global market. Technically we need to ensure accuracy and repeatability, free of interference from background noise or obstruction from other objects within the field. Commercially the infrastructure needs to be in place and operating a common standard to allow goods to pass between companies and nations. Socially consumers need educating that read ranges are tiny and that this is not a big brother initiative.


About Cambridge Technology Development

CTD Ltd consists of Oliver Ferguson and a group of associates built up over years of developing high quality engineering products and processes. Oliver operates as a sub-contract mechanical engineer and manager and is available to work alongside your company as a development engineer. Refer to CTD's website for examples of previous projects, they may appear diverse but everything works by the same laws of physics!

Don't Just Recruit on Experience!

We have had some success taking processes and know-how from one sector and applying them to another.  My last major project was a scientific instrument and my current one is a medical implant.  There's no technical correlation between the two, so recruiting on the basis of experience is not sensible.  I find that intelligent, keen people can be up and running on a project within a week.

There are two main advantages to recruiting this way.  Firstly I can recruit from any sector.  (If you are looking for inkjet experience, you have less than 1% of engineering graduates at your disposal).  Secondly, people bring know-how from other sectors.  Last year we conducted a cost reduction exercise for an aerospace company.  By introducing automotive manufacturing techniques, we removed a whopping 97% of the cost.

To quote WL Bateman: "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got."

Oliver Ferguson

Cambridge Technology Development

Cambridge Network : : Release date : 06 Aug 2002

1st ... Cambridge Technology Development are engineers with years of experience designing and developing products for clients. By reducing overheads, CTD can operate at a fraction of the cost of the traditional consultancies in the Cambridge area.

CTD specialise in the design of all types of products; their services save clients time and money during the development process. They offer a wide range of services including concept design, 3D CAD design, prototype manufacture, marketing trial support, transfer to manufacture as well as an element of on-site technical management and interim management.

With years of experience of developing high quality products for a wide range of industrial sectors, CTD are capable of designing any type of product, mechanism, casework, enclosure or marketing display. They are experienced in producing prototype designs, one-off special purpose products through to volume production consumer goods.

For a unique consultancy service, take a look at their website and get in touch to discuss how your company could work alongside CTD.