OMRON Corporation (HQ: Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto. President and CEO: Yoshihito Yamada) announced the release in December of its new V440-F Series Code Reader. Providing best-in-class accuracy^*1, the V440-F Series can read very small codes that accelerate adoption of IoT in manufacturing sites. A sophisticated production traceability^*2 system can be established, leading to visualization, analysis, and improvement of the products and entire production process. This helps enhance quality control and equipment effectiveness.

[V440-F Series Code Reader reads codes on PCBs]

Manufacturers have used product traceability for counterfeit prevention and recall tracking. In recent years, social interest in safety and security has been increasingly growing. Today's trend is to boost productivity and quality by tracking a history of production processes through IoT and utilizing it for manufacturing site improvement. In the automotive and electronic component industries, where particularly high reliability is required, parts are becoming smaller and smaller, and some parts are too small to distinguish with the human eye. There is a rising need for integrated management of even such small parts from the arrival of materials through the manufacturing process to the shipment of products. One of common approaches to traceability is to mark very small 2D codes on parts and manage individual identification information recorded in these codes. However, this requires not only high-accuracy code reading capabilities allowing the recognition of minute 2D codes, but also the deployment of an advanced vision system by skilled engineers and the associated investment in integration and commissioning time.

[Example of a 2D code on a very small part]

To address these issues, OMRON has developed the V440-F Series that provides both the highest accuracy in its class, as well as compactness and configuration flexibility by combining advanced code reader technology from OMRON MICROSCAN SYSTEMS^*3 and image capture technology from OMRON SENTECH^*3. The V440-F Series can recognize very small codes and other difficult-to-read 2D codes with simple setup through a web browser and offers connectivity to factory networks through a POE (Power-Over-Ethernet) connection. The V440-F Series’ imaging flexibility is also be an advantage when 2D codes need to be read at a long distance, across a wide area or on parts moving at high speed. OMRON offers traceability systems that integrate the V440-F Series and industry's most advanced industrial automation devices for capture of 4M^*4 information, which is essential for quality control at production sites, in addition to conventional item-level product traceability. Such advanced traceability systems can improve quality and productivity by linking individual parts with manufacturing process data and leveraging such information for process optimization and control.

[4M data managed at the manufacturing site]

OMRON set forth a strategic concept called "innovative-Automation” consisting of three innovations or "i's"—"integrated" (control evolution), "intelligent" (development of intelligence by ICT), and "interactive" (new harmonization between people and machines). By offering traceability solutions leveraging IoT technology through the V440-F Series, OMRON will address facilitating the construction of traceability solutions for data management, inspection, and transportation. OMRON accelerates the creation of an "intelligent" manufacturing site — key to the realization of "innovative-Automation”— together with its client companies.

Exhibition
OMRON will showcase the V440-F Series at an OMRON booth in IIFES 2022 to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from January 26 to 28, 2022.

Exhibition	IIFES 2022
Dates	From Wednesday, January 26 to Friday, January 28, 2022
Venue	Tokyo Big Sight
Booth number	West Hall, Booth No.1-01

	✓FReliable detection of very small codes: 5 Megapixel, global shutter imager
	✓FUltra-compact for easy integration into manufacturing equipment: 　40 mm (W) x 30 mm (H) x 61 mm (D excluding connector and lens)
	✓Full optics configuration flexibility: C-Mount lens interface
	✓Single cable industrial network connectivity via PoE (IEEE 802.af)
	✓Easy setup: Web Browser-based graphical User Interface

*1. Highest accuracy in its class: Based on OMRON investigation in November 2021.
*2. Traceability: The manufacturers, suppliers, and vendors in every process from procurement of raw materials and parts through to processing, assembly, distribution, and sales are recoded in a 2D code to track the history.
https://automation.omron.com/en/us/solutions/traceability/
*3. Both OMRON MICROSCAN SYSTEMS and OMRON SENTECH joined the OMRON group in 2017.
*4. 4M: Acronym for "Man," "Machine," "Material," and "Method" which are the four key elements of improving product quality control and optimizing production lines.

About innovative-Automation
Recently, OMRON has developed a manufacturing innovation concept, called "innovative-Automation". With this concept, OMRON is currently committed to bringing innovation to manufacturing sites through three key innovations, or three "i's." Through these innovations in the area of automation, OMRON aims to enable significant productivity improvements in manufacturing sites in order to achieve high-value-added manufacturing. With the first "i," "integrated" (control evolution), OMRON will seek to advance automated control technology so that virtually any operator, even inexperienced operators, can effortlessly perform work that previously required the expert skills of experienced workers. With the second "i," "intelligent" (development of intelligence by ICT), OMRON seeks to create constantly evolving equipment and production lines. By adopting a wide range of control devices and artificial intelligence (AI), machines can learn through experience and maintain themselves in optimal condition. For the third "i," "interactive" (new harmonization between people and machines), OMRON pursues the development of a new harmonious relationship between human operators and machines; as they work together in the same workspace, machines will be able to assist human operators by recognizing human thoughts and behavior in a way that only OMRON, a specialist control equipment manufacturer who knows production floors inside and out, can realize.

About OMRON Corporation
OMRON Corporation is a global leader in the field of automation based on its core technology of “Sensing & Control + Think”. OMRON's business fields cover a broad spectrum, ranging from industrial automation and electronic components to social systems, healthcare, and environmental solutions. Established in 1933, OMRON has about 30,000 employees worldwide, working to provide products and services in around 120 countries and regions. For more information, visit OMRON's website:https://www.omron.com/global/en/

Contact (media):: Brand Communications Department
OMRON Corporation
TEL: +81-75-344-7175
Contact (product information):: Sensor Division, Product Business Division HQ.
Industrial Automation Company
OMRON Corporation

OMRON MICROSCAN SYSTEMS, INC.
Tel: +1-425-226-5700

OMRON Announces V440-F Series Ultra-Compact, High-Resolution, Networked Code Reader