Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter Toppan Printing; head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shingo Kaneko) has completed the world’s first prototype of an ultra heat resistant IC glass tag that can withstand a temperature of 450 degree celsius.

Toppan Printing has established a technology for sealing an IC chip into glass which is as close as possible to a vacuum and improved the heat resistance of the IC tag in order to produce a tag that can withstand a temperature of 450 degree celsius, twice the temperature that previous IC tags can withstand. Currently, the development of a secondary processing technology is underway to ensure that the glass does not break due to vibration and impacts during use and mass production is targeted for 2011.

Since June 2010, in order to collaborate in development, Toppan Printing has participated in "Research and development for heat resistant wireless transmission tags (for hot-dip galvanization)(*)", a joint research project by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd. The objective of this joint research project is to develop an IC tag that has the workability, durability and heat resistance for use at ship construction sites. Toppan Printing received a request from the joint project and carried our development of the ultra heat resistant IC glass tag with technical cooperation from NSG Group.

Copyright 2010 TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD.

Background to development
-In recent years there has been growing need in various industries for the use of IC tags under harsh conditions. In particular, highly durable and heat resistant IC tags have been sought by the shipbuilding industry for the quality control and efficient management of parts.
-Around 6,000 to 10,000 shipbuilding pipes are used to construct ships and for over half of them hot-dip galvanization (plating) is used to prevent corrosion. Before plating, physical identification is possible due to printing or engraving on the pipe but after plating, the surface is covered with the metal plating and the part name (physical ID number) cannot be seen. This means that currently operators have to sort parts visually using the shape and dimensions as clues.
-The time needed for the complicated sorting process, the difficulty in securing the space required for an efficient process, and the occurrence of human errors have become obstacles to improving the efficiency of shipbuilding operations. Sorting a single shipbuilding pipe can take around 5 minutes but if IC tags are used, the task can be completed in less than a minute and it is anticipated that human errors will be considerably reduced.
-Manufacturers’ guaranteed temperature limit for IC tags was originally 100 degree celsius. This meant that the limit for heat resistance even after processing the chip to protect it against heat was around 200degree celsius. Therefore, it was not possible to use IC tags under the conditions for plating where temperatures reach close to 450 degree celsius.
-In order to tackle this challenge, Toppan Printing has used the know-how accumulated in developing and manufacturing IC tags for various industries to complete this prototype. By making the inside of the IC tag as close as possible to a vacuum, the heat resistance has been improved and durability to temperatures of 450 degree celsius has been achieved.

Future developments
Toppan Printing is aiming to launch mass production in 2011 targeting industries considering use of IC tags under harsh conditions such as the shipbuilding, automobile and construction machinery industries.

* The ultra heat resistant IC glass tag will be exhibited as a sample in the Toppan Group booth at Auto ID Expo 2010 (sponsored by the Japan Automatic Identification Systems Association), held at East Hall No.1 in the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center from September 15 to 17, 2010.
*The ultra heat resistant IC glass tag is scheduled to be announced as a result at the 52nd Shipbuilding System Seminar held at Shin Kurushima dockyard on September 27, 2010.
* "Research and development for heat resistant wireless transmission tags (for hot-dip galvanization)" is joint research by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd. Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Hiroshima University and Ehime Institute of Industrial Technology are participating to collaborate in development.
Research is being undertaken to develop an IC tag that has heat resistance that enables use even under the conditions of hot-dip galvanization, and also has the high durability and workability to be used at shipbuilding sites. The research will contribute to the growth of the Japanese shipbuilding industry by developing an IC tag for practical use.