In the past, extreme temperatures in excess of 1400°C used during the laser sintering process have meant that the radio chips are usually destroyed.
The chip is incorporated use the rapid manufacturing method whereby a machine produces a component based on a three-dimensional CAD model, building it layer-by-layer directly from the computer. The laser melts off the areas of each metal powder layer that are intended to be solid. The scientists say that they can control this process in a manner that allows the RFID to be installed and completely encased by the material.
“This new process finally puts the intelligence into the metal component. You can store critical information in the radio tags, like the serial number or the manufacture date,” said project manager Claus Aumund-Kopp.
RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification) make it possible to label objects or goods and identify them automatically by radio frequency. The appropriate scanner can read and process the data contained in the label.