This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Data Matrix code, since its invention by Matrix International Data (Matrix ID). With the passing of this milestone, we shined a light on the impact this symbology made to help manufacturers do more with less in automatic identification. Now, let’s take a look at how the Data Matrix code is being used in major industries and by our own customers.
Electronics
As consumers of electronic devices get smaller and smaller, so must their internal components. But just because a microchip in your smartphone has shrunk to just a fraction of the size of its late 19th century predecessors doesn’t mean we can generalize it in the most concise terms. On the contrary, as manufacturers rely more and more on automation for electronics assembly, and as their customers demand more information about the parts they are supplied, the identification data for each electronic component is only expanding. How, physically, can I encode a large amount of data in a smaller and smaller space without limiting readability? Enter 2D codes, such as the Data Matrix. Over 3,000 characters can be encoded in a single Data Matrix symbol (depending on size), and the code size can be as small as 2.5 millimeters in height/width. With precision barcode readers, highly complete electronic components can be easily identified using tiny printed or marked Data Matrices without compromising the overall size of a component or limiting the marked space.
Case Study: Ultra-Compact High Quality Cameras and Laser Marker
The laser marker manufacturer and Microscan IPTE Factory Automation guarantee the quality of small Data Matrix codes marked on electronics parts, to ensure traceability of components in assembly operations.
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS are also marked with 2D codes to allow manufacturers traceability in high volume assembly environments. As these components go through the assembly process, the 2D code ensures that each part is accounted for and creates a RECORD that all components are on the assembly line as they move from checkpoint to checkpoint. This not only provides a flawless lifecycle history of each component (regardless of the NUMBER of thousands being produced), but also gives the manufacturer all the data needed to track down the source of any errors that occur during or after production. Let’s say, for example, that an automotive company learns that there have been reports of defective parts in its vehicles and that it must INITIATE a recall. The company could have put regulations on its supplier to encode the traceability data into a DATA Matrix code, marked on each part, which can be used to trace the defective parts back through the supplier’s assembly line, to the exact point and time at which the defective parts originated. The information that the Data Matrix code provides the manufacturer, gives them the ability to locate where the mistake was made and recover only the vehicles affected by the defective parts, saving them money and unnecessary damage to their reputation. Instead of playing the guessing game and releasing more products than necessary into the marketplace to ensure safety and customer satisfaction, Data Matrix codes can help determine exactly where problems occur and reduce lost revenue.
Case study: Tier One Automotive Supplier ensures quality of Grille Reinforced opening with branding and decoding solution
Tier One automotive supplier, and customer Microscan Van-Rob, read the data matrix tags to track the base components of grille reinforcements throughout their quality assurance operations.
Clinicians
Data Matrix codes also play an important role in automated clinical applications, such as specimen testing, as is the case below. When providing a fluid sample in a clinic or laboratory, careful steps are taken to ensure that each tube, vial or cup is labeled and coded with its unique patient information, along with the directives for the prescribed test. As specimen containers are sent to laboratories for multiple tests, data matrix codes, which appear on the label, are used to not only track the specimen from NEW to your patient’s medical record, but also to detail which clinical instruments were used to process the specimen for each TYPE of test run.
Case Study: Efficient Data Matrix in Vial Decoding trays using Microscan Smart Camera.
Friedrich Miescher Research Institute and Microscan customer, reads Data Matrix codes on 96 vials at once, the codes ensuring they are present for sample accuracy testing.
For example, a data matrix can be used to label vials that receive a fluid sample for testing, the racks in which those samples are deposited, and the reagents that are added to the samples to assess the presence of a disease. With 2D barcodes capable of encoding much more data than 1D barcodes, laboratories can put all the necessary information about the patient, sample or reagent on a single label on even the smallest vial. This information typically includes the dates and times for each step in the testing process, from the moment a container of liquid enters the testing lab to a time stamp at each point in the testing process, as well as the unique sample or patient ID. Reagent data matrices can also include information about the chemical composition of the reagent, keeping track of exactly what chemicals and what amounts went into each sample. If a laboratory discovers that a particular chemical in their reagents was compromised, they can use the record of information provided by the data matrix codes to know which samples were mixed with the affected reagents and send a warning to those patients who received a potentially incorrect result. As you can imagine, this is a crucial task that testing facilities must be able to do in order for patients and physicians to receive the correct results.
Case study: Ultra-compact integrated barcode cameras enable automated laboratory diagnostics
Medical diagnostics provider EUROIMMUN reads tiny Data Matrix codes on slides to ensure sample data and images are archived within the patient ID.
Packaging
From canned goods to cosmetics, packaging companies need to be able to guarantee that their consumers are getting exactly what they think they are buying to ensure customer satisfaction and safety (especially when it comes to food and chemicals). A 2D code on a can, for example, has information about the contents of the can and the date the contents were sealed inside. The green bean label provides graphics and legible elements that tell consumers what they will find when they open the can. The label, like the can, also has a 2D code that contains information about the contents of the product. Automation technology such as barcode readers and machine vision cameras can read both codes and verify that the two correspond to each other. This process prevents a can of green beans from being shipped with a chopped tomato label, for example. While a customer may not think about the steps it takes to avoid an unpleasant surprise when they open their canned goods, packaging companies invest heavily in quality assurance measures like these to ensure customer satisfaction and avoid product recalls.
Data matrix codes have also been widely used on pharmaceutical packaging to ensure that drugs are labeled correctly and to prevent counterfeit drugs. As information has been standardized and coded on pharmaceutical packaging, it will be easier to verify that authentic drugs are making their way to pharmacies and consumers. Serial numbers, lot numbers, and other information stored in a barcode is very useful for this purpose, but assembling the full set of authentication information within a linear barcode would result in a code too large for small prescription boxes and bottles. The high-capacity data matrix code, however, is capable of containing all the necessary information in a much smaller space. This space-saving feature, combined with its ability to read even scratches, tears or smudges without loss of data, even if more than 20% of the symbol is damaged, explains why the pharmaceutical industry has continued to use 2D codes on its packaging.
Case Study: All-in-One print and Automated Inspection solution ensures traceability throughout the Supply Chain
Pharmaceutical manufacturer and Microscan customer Boehringer Ingelheim provides an example of how data matrix codes are used to prevent drug counterfeiting.
The World’s Largest Data Matrix Code
Although the Data Matrix is probably most famous for packaging, in small spaces. Ben Hopfeng-Aertner, a German programmer, made this 160-square-meter Data Matrix code that says “Hello, world!”
The introduction of the Data Matrix code 20 years ago has opened the door to coding data more accurately and efficiently, in smaller places and smaller spaces. The code continues to become the global standard for providing manufacturers with the ability to track and trace their products from code to end customer. For companies that require high capacity coding, high reliability in decoding, and the flexibility to print or mark parts by a variety of media, Data Matrix offers an ideal means to streamline part identification, tracking, tracing, and other automated operations without sacrificing data, space, or throughput.