How do you tag metal equipment?
On metal construction, and a mechanical fixing wherever one is possible. Industrial tagging differs from retail in one way that decides everything else: the tag has to stay attached for years, on a hot vibrating surface that gets cleaned with solvents.
Two separate problems
The first is that steel cancels the field, so an ordinary tag reads nothing at all. On metal construction, with a ferrite layer between the antenna and the surface, is the answer and it cannot be improvised.
The second is that the tag has to stay attached for years on equipment that is hot, vibrating, cleaned and knocked.
These are independent. An on metal tag with the wrong adhesive falls off, and a well fixed ordinary tag reads nothing. Both have to be solved.
Most failures in the field are the second problem, because the first is obvious enough to be caught during installation.
Prefer a mechanical fixing
Adhesive is the component that fails first almost everywhere in industry: heat softens it, solvents attack it, vibration works it loose.
A tag in a screwed, riveted or cable tied holder removes that failure mode entirely. Many industrial tags are made with a fixing hole for exactly this reason.
Where drilling is not permitted, a heavy duty adhesive specified for the surface and the temperature is the fallback, and it is a fallback rather than an equal.
Cable ties are underrated for pipework, frames and anything cylindrical, and they survive conditions adhesives do not.
The rest of the environment
Temperature at the actual mounting point rather than the room. A surface near a motor or a heater runs far above the ambient figure.
Cleaning regime, since degreasers and steam attack both the tag body and anything holding it on.
Vibration, which fatigues an adhesive bond and can crack a rigid tag mounted rigidly.
And impact, because a tag on the outside of equipment in a working environment will be hit by something.
Installing well
Clean the surface properly. Industrial surfaces carry oil and release agents, and an adhesive bonds to whatever it touches.
Apply above the adhesive's minimum temperature, which rules out a cold morning outdoors and is the commonest silent installation failure.
Verify after mounting rather than before, since a tag tested on a bench and fitted to a bracket has not been tested.
And record where each tag was fitted. A tag replaced two years later needs to go in the same place, and the person doing it will not be the person who chose it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an ordinary tag with a spacer?
It recovers part of the loss and leaves the tag marginal, which across a fleet means a proportion that work sometimes. On metal construction is the reliable answer.
Is a cable tie acceptable?
It is excellent on pipes, frames and anything cylindrical, and it survives conditions adhesives do not.
What kills tags on machinery?
The adhesive, usually, through heat, solvents or vibration. The chip is almost never the limiting component.
Do I need a high temperature tag?
Measure the temperature at the mounting point rather than the room. A surface near a motor can be far hotter than the air around it.