Patent ID: 11861446
Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 11:
12. A materials preparation and analysis equipment, comprising:
processing circuitry;
a memory operatively coupled with the processing circuitry; and
an input/output interface operatively coupled with the processing circuitry and comprising one or more tag readers,
wherein the one or more tag readers are configured to read first indicia from a first tag that is associated with a consumable used by the materials preparation and analysis equipment and to read second indicia from a second tag that is associated with a workpiece or a test sample of the materials preparation and analysis equipment,
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify, from the first indicia received from the tag, one or more parameters of the consumable that reflects at least one of a size, a shape, or a material type of the consumable, to control the materials preparation and analysis equipment based on the one or more parameters, and to monitor a parameter of the consumable during operation of the materials preparation and analysis equipment, wherein the parameter of the consumable includes an amount of time that the consumable has been used, and
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the consumable has reached its end of life based at least in part on the parameter of the consumable and at least one of the first indicia or the second indicia.