Shortest Travel Distance For Full Reads On Least RFID Friendly Carton Stacking Configuration Using Advance DOE Techniques and Gage Reproducibility and Repeatability

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are placed on one face of a carton. When cartons are unloaded from shipping containers, they are segregated into product type and re-stacked on pallets. It takes considerable effort for warehouse staff to re-stack cartons such that the tags are orientated for optimal readability by RFID gantry. To minimize the re-stacking effort, the least radio frequency (RF) friendly carton stacking configuration to achieve full reads was done. Design of Experiments (DOE) was done to obtain the least area for full reads possible from different factor settings of top antennas, side antennas and pallet push speeds. An understanding of the interactions between the factors will help the experimenter select settings for full reads in the shortest distance possible even with varying pallet push speeds. Steepest slope ascent to further minimize read distance was also attempted. To ascertain that the travel distance obtained are due to factor settings and not the measurement system, a gage repeatability and reproducibility (Gage R&R) experiments was done. The results should encourage experimenters to make use of advance DOE techniques to obtain robust reads and optimize read distances.