When you have an expensive product, a large product, or simply a product that you do not want to lose tabs on, it is important to keep it identifiable. This ensures that you will always know which ones are yours, who they were sold to, and any other information you need to know about them. This can all be stored on identification plates. That is where UID metal plates come in. These are a form of identification that is permanently placed on such a product. A UID (Unique Identification Marking) is a set of data that is encoded into a bar code. This bar code is then printed on a metal plate which is then bonded to the product.
Many different types of companies use UID metal plates, including large government companies. The military uses UID metal plates to keep track of their aircraft, ships, and other large items. Other companies, such as healthcare companies, manufacturing companies, defense companies and more all use these bar codes to easily keep track of their inventory. The purpose for keeping a bar code on a metal plate is for durability. Metal will not be destroyed by weather, chemicals, temperature, or other things that could affect materials other than metal. Consider that if a company that manufactures airplanes used paper identification on their aircrafts, it could quickly become torn, lost, or otherwise damaged because of the amount of air passing over the plane. Since airplanes travel through all kinds of weather, that same piece of identification could be destroyed after the first flight. That is why it is so important for companies such as those to use metal identification on their aircrafts.
UID metal plates can come in many different varieties. For example, some of them have serial numbers attached, while others simply have a bar code. They can display any type of information that a company wishes for them to display and can be used on pretty much any product that is produced. Though most of the time, you will see these types of identification on industrial products, they can be used for virtually any product.
When UID metal plates were first invented, they were intended for military use. They were used to track military vehicles, ammunition, and many other military items. These same identification markers were used to help military officials keep track of costs and purchase history as well. Today, you will notice that each and every piece of military equipment is required to have one of these identifying markers on it.
Though UID labels have a type of bar code embedded into the metal, the method of reading these codes are different than standard bar codes. Standard bar codes can only be read from one angle and can hold only a small percentage of information that a 2d data matrix code can. 2D data matrix is the name given to the system of identification that a UID bar code uses. In order for this system to work, it has it’s own type of scanner that must be used in order to get the information stored within the bar code. UID bar codes are a system of white and black squares that communicate to the scanner via binary code. Because of how this system is designed, it can hold more than one hundred times more information than your standard bar code system. Unlike standard bar codes, a 2D data matrix code can still deliver the information that is stored within it even when it becomes damaged. Since it can be read at any angle, it makes it faster. for the scanner to read it and easier for a person to inventory the item.