| RFID in Industrial Manufacturing |
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RFID - The concepts of the "transparent" individual and continuous observation are a nightmare scenario. However observation cannot be stringent enough in manufacturing. There is never enough - in fact there is too little – in this area. |
Turck has presented a new RFID system which will allow for transparent manufacturing.
“Radio Frequency Identification” (RFID) is a method for reading and saving data by non-contact and nonvisual means. Four factors decide if an RFID system is suitable for an application: the distance, the speed, the data quantity and the ease of integration into the existing automation system.
The purchaser makes the final decision
The pioneer in the field of RFID systems is - as so often before - is the car manufacturing industry which is following the trend to the “personalized automobile”. Today the purchaser decides what is fitted to the car and practically every car has individual extras. It is necessary to somehow mark every car with the desired individual features in order provide transparency at all times through out the manufacturing process.
This is undertaken using various methods, as a universal solution for the entire manufacturing process does not yet exist, as a further special feature of automobile manufacturing is the utilisation of almost all classical manufacturing processes. In addition to mechanical engineering it is possible to encounter elements of transport technology, handling technology and logistics as well as general metal processing techniques, presses etc., as well as a wide variety of different interlinked processes with varying demands, which partly differ significantly from those associated solely with the distribution of goods.
Regardless of all differences in the processes, the detection systems should be fast and secure, as well as being robust, insensitive to every type of interference and extreme temperature influences. An RFID system always consists of data carriers (TAGs), read-write heads (transceivers), interface modules, the higher-levels of control, and if required, logistics systems as well as the software required for implementation.
At first glance there is a direct comparison between RFID and barcode systems. If TAGs were replaced by barcode labels and transceivers by scanners, the well-known barcode system with all its benefits and drawbacks would be the result. However, the large differences become evident as soon as the individual components of the RFID system are closely examined and are compared to those of the other systems.
Hot and cold
Barcode labels regardless of if they are one or two dimensional can only be read in one direction. RFID technology could do little more at the very outset as the first data carriers featured a pure read memory only. The most important features such as insensitivity to dirt and humidity as well as the recognition through non-transparent media were benefits in comparison to conventional barcode systems. RFID has also made some major advances. The TAGs of modern data carriers feature multi-write capable memory based on EEPROMs, and in more recent times, even FRAM technology is available with memory sizes up to 2 kBytes...
k-magazin | 02 | 2006
Author:
Walter Hein is Product manager RFID
at Hans Turck GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr
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