A steel pipe manufacturer approached FOX IV to develop a labeling system for printing and applying a UPC bar code label to steel pipe. The pipe ranged in length from 2 feet to 8 feet and 3/4 to 5 in diameter. The label printer applicator had to be mounted over a 15-foot wide conveyor and operate in a dirty steel mill environment. Air was not available in that part of the plant. FOX IV's solution was an airless label printer applicator mounted on a gantry with an operator control station.
FOX IV's label printer applicators are ruggedly designed to operate in these types of environments. The gantry spanned the 15-foot conveyor. As the pipe moved down the conveyor, the label printer applicator would print and automatically apply a UPC code. Using the control station, the operator could position the UPC label anywhere on the pipe, regardless of the length of the pipe or the pipe diameter.
The control station would also allow repositioning of the printer applicator to the side of the conveyor to change label and ribbon supplies. FOX IV also supplied a handheld terminal with an infrared interface and custom software for easy label changes. Label formats were downloaded from a PC to the handheld device. The operator would select the label and beam it to the printer applicator - no wiring required.
FOX IV also provided the custom label stock necessary to adhere to the oily pipe surface.