Cino FM-480 USB Fixed Mount Linear Barcode Scanner

A handheld scanner has one job: read when somebody pulls the trigger. A fixed mount scanner has a harder one, because there is nobody there. It has to know when to look, what to do when the read fails, and how to tell the rest of the machine what happened. That is the part of the FM-480 worth paying attention to. It offers five distinct operating modes, accepts a trigger from your hardware or from a serial command you write yourself, and reports success or failure on separate OK and NG signals so the surrounding equipment can act without reading a single character of data. The optical and physical figures are in the specifications below.

How it decides when to read

Signals the machine can act on

Separate OK and NG outputs report a good read and a failed one as signals rather than as characters in a data stream. That distinction matters in automation: a conveyor can divert an unread carton, a locker can refuse to open, a lamp can go amber, and none of it requires software to parse the barcode and work out whether anything arrived.

The same three indicators are mirrored on the face of the module as POWER, STATUS and OK/NG lamps, so a technician standing at the machine can see what the host is seeing.

Commissioning by measurement

The test button on the module puts it into a mode where it scans repeatedly and reports the proportion of successful reads. Mount it, run the test, move it, run it again, keep the position with the better number.

This is the difference between an install that works and one that works until the first marginal label. A scanner reading 60 percent of the time looks identical to one reading 100 percent of the time until the day it matters, and the test ratio is how you tell them apart before you close the panel.

Fitting it into an existing system

• Decide what tells it to read. An existing proximity sensor, a PLC output, a software command or the scanner's own presentation mode. This choice sets the operating mode and usually the wiring.
• Decide what listens to the result. If the machine only needs the barcode, USB keyboard output is enough. If it needs to react to a failed read, wire the NG signal.
• Shape the data before it leaves. DataWizard Condensed and DataWizard Premium can strip, pad, reorder and insert characters, which keeps existing host software untouched when a supplier changes a label format.
• Prove the position. Run the test mode before the panel goes back on, and record the read ratio so a future fault can be compared against a known good number.

The five operating modes side by side

All five are set by configuration barcode, serial command or FuzzyScan PowerTool, so the mode can be changed after installation without replacing the hardware.

Full specifications

Before you order

• Confirm the symbology. This is a linear imager. It reads 1D and stacked linear codes such as PDF417 and GS1 DataBar Stacked, and it does not read QR or Data Matrix. Ask us about the Cino FA-480 if you need those.
• Work out the trigger source. The operating mode follows from what tells the scanner an item has arrived. Describe the machine and we will tell you which mode to order it configured in.
• Check the mechanical fit. 47.6 by 40.6 by 23.1 mm, two M3 holes at 4 mm depth, front window, USB cable from the rear. Settle the cut out and the cable route before the order.
• Allow for alignment time. Budget an hour on site for test mode and adjustment on a first installation. Every one after that is faster because you already know the geometry.

In the box

• Cino FM-480 fixed mount linear scanner, front window
• Attached USB interface cable, 4 pin Type A
• Quick start guide

Frequently asked questions

Cino FM-480 fixed mount linear imaging scanner, front window, USB, covered by a 24 Months Return to Base warranty. Supplied and supported in Australia by POS Sales, 1300 026 062.

Part number PCW-FM480-11F. Linear imaging engine reading 1D and stacked linear codes, 47.6 x 40.6 x 23.1 mm, 95 g, sealed to IP54.