isolation-d.blogspot.com[material handling equipment]
Sunday 7 January 2007


Magnetic Stripes

A magnetic stripe card
  • sometimes called a magstripe
  • a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card
  • is read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head
  • commonly used in credit cards, identity cards, transportation tickets, and so on

How it works

Magnetic stripe is basically a row of tiny magnets. The data entered is encoded to the media by setting the polarities of these magnets. In order to do this, a reader must detect the changes (known as flux reversals) in the polarity in the magnets. If the reader detects the change, it signifies a binary value, "1" or "0".

There are two manually operated readers:

1. Swipe Reader
It has a slot where a magnetic stripe card is dragged past a stationary read head. This type of reader allows the individual to keep full control of the card at all times. However, it will not perform well if the card is dragged too slow or too fast.

2. By Inserting the Card
Reading takes place by either passing a head over a stationary card or the card over a stationary head. This system gives constant reading and writing speed and control over head to media distance and is preferred if higher data densities is an important factor of the design.

Benefits of Magnetic Stripe
  • Data can be modified or rewritten
  • High data capacity in relation to bar codes
  • Added security since it is not in human readable form
  • Immune to contamination with dirt, water, oil, moisture, etc
  • No moving components, physically robust
  • Well established standards
  • No consumables required for writing or rewriting

Applications

Magnetic Stripe Cards are widely used as well in managing time and access. One area used is in manufacturing shops and warehouse floor. If bar codes are mostly used in industrial applications to identify and track the movement of inventory, magnetic stripe cards do essentially the same tasks when we deal with people rather than inventory. It can identify people to a data collection system and be used to record the individual's time and attendance. In addition, it can control access to particular area in the shops and warehouse floor. Besides the easiness of the card, it also provides excellent data flexibility. The information can be changed using a standard encoder.

Material Handling Equipment
Identification and Control Equipment

lom200704 shared at 21:39