First, the program background

At present, the degree of informatization in the automotive industry is mixed, some of them are highly informatized, some are just in their infancy, and some even use the method of completely manual recording. However, all companies hope to establish a recognition system to help the management of the entire enterprise to a certain level, the efficiency of the entire logistics link can be improved, and the error rate can be reduced. Although most enterprises have established their own ERP systems, each enterprise has its own information systems, the information islands are serious, and the degree of informatization is serious. The informatization of our domestic enterprises is particularly backward. However, each enterprise's investment in information construction is long-term, and the urgency of the establishment of the identification system is very strong.

The auto parts industry is an important part of the auto industry and the basis for ensuring the long-term stable development of the auto industry. After several years of development, the auto parts matching market reached 200 billion yuan, and the maintenance market reached 60 billion yuan. Not only has a certain economic scale been formed, but the quality of automobiles has also been greatly improved. With the localization of automobiles, automobile parts have initially formed a relatively complete and mature parts supporting system.

Second, the program overview

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a rapid identification technology developed rapidly in recent years. It acquires data information through contactless identification of recognized objects. Compared with traditional barcode technology, it has large data capacity, no contact recognition, and long storage time. It is widely used in various industries due to its resistance to pollution and harsh environments.

Compared with other industries, automakers and component suppliers face greater pressure: on the one hand, they need to continuously reduce costs; on the other hand, they also have to ensure that their products meet the industry's particularly stringent quality standards. In recent years, automakers have spent a lot of their IT budget on supply chain management systems in order to achieve a transparent and flexible supply chain. The role of RFID technology in material and product tracking will have a positive impact on the automotive supply chain. By deploying an RFID system, visual management of the supply chain process and distributed control of the manufacturing process can be achieved.

The typical RFID automatic identification system consists of the following components: data carrier, read/write unit and interface module. The interface module is connected to the control unit such as PLC or PC by bus or serial communication.

Third, the system design

Establish a unified central database on the enterprise workshop site as an information platform for the circulation of goods, so as to facilitate the overall standard management. In the industrial sector, RFID technology is used to assign an identification number (ID) to each in-process component, that is, the name of the component in the information network. Through the RFID technology, the production status and inventory status are mapped to the information network, and registered in the In the on-site central database, it is transmitted to the information system (such as ERP, MRP).

Fourth, the system operation process

The application of RFID in the automotive industry system mainly includes vehicle body identification and tracking management, tracking management of parts and fixed assets, and logistics management of complete vehicles:

4.1 Vehicle body tracking and identification in vehicle production

The vehicle body identification system (AVI) mainly refers to the real-time collection of production data, quality monitoring data and other information in various production lines of automobiles, which are transmitted to material management, production scheduling, quality assurance and other related departments to better realize the supply of raw materials. , production scheduling, sales services, quality monitoring and lifetime quality tracking of the entire vehicle. Before the application of RFID technology, the main information of the storage body information is the barcode. The advantage of using the barcode recognition method is that the configuration is flexible and the system cost is low. However, since the body information is stored in the PLC or PMC database, the speed and reliability of the network communication are very high, and a high-performance PLC, a large-capacity database, and a high-speed PMC host are required.

After adopting the RFID system, the electronic tag is generally placed on the sled with the car body, and runs with the workpiece from start to finish, forming a data moving with the car body, becoming a "smart car body" carrying the database in the whole production process. . According to the process and production management needs, the reader/writer can be set at the entrance of the paint shop, the branching of the workpiece stream, and the important process (such as spray booth, drying room, storage area, etc.). The read/write station is mainly composed of a workpiece position detecting switch, a tag read/write device, a communication interface module, and a human-machine interface. The basic process is: after the detection switch detects the vehicle body in-position signal, the read/write device starts to automatically read the data stored in the tag mounted on the slider, and sends the data to the PLC, which is simultaneously displayed on the human-machine interface; The PLC is uploaded to the workshop production process monitoring system PMC for further processing and calculation, so as to realize the tracking and production process control of the entire workshop workpiece logistics. The use of RFID technology on the production line does not require all read/write devices to communicate with the primary database, so failure to communicate with the primary database will not cause production to stop. After the station, data can also be written to the tag. Therefore, RFID is increasingly used in the vehicle body identification system.

4.2 Tracking and management of parts and assets

The automobile is composed of a large number of parts, and the tracking management of parts can improve the level of logistics management and quality management. The current part tracking is mainly through two methods. One is that the label is attached to the part itself, which is called a hard link. A typical example is RFID for tracking management of tires. These parts are generally characterized by high value, safety requirements, and confusing parts. RFID can effectively identify and track parts. The second is to attach the label to the packaging or shipping rack of the part. The latter can reduce the cost of using RFID. However, it is necessary to maintain a link on the database between the tagged RFID container and the parts in the container. This method is called soft link or soft tracking.

4.3 Vehicle Logistics Management

In the RFID tag, the vehicle intelligent electronic tag is written, which can realize the information management of the whole vehicle logistics, and help solve the problems of vehicle production, inventory management and sales management. The vehicle identification code (VIN) is an ID card in the circulation of the vehicle. This identification number can be written into the RFID tag embedded in the car to realize the management of the electronic digital license plate of the car. By reading the vehicle intelligent electronic tag storage information, the accuracy and working efficiency of the vehicle information are greatly improved, and problems in the after-sales service, product tracking, quality traceability, and the like are solved.

4.4 Application in the whole process of automobile supply chain

RFID technology is breaking through the limitations of the factory to achieve the entire process of the automotive supply chain, Toyota is planning to establish such a system to track the entire process of the vehicle supply chain. In the first phase, the vehicles were monitored in the assembly shop through reusable tags. In the second phase, they used disposable paper RFID tags to track parts and vehicles and implement the vehicle in their distribution center. Track management. In the third phase, Toyota is planning to use RFID in the retail sector. RFID will be permanently retained in the car and used throughout its life cycle. The information on the RFID will include customer information and raw production data.

In addition, RFID can also be used as an anti-counterfeit mark for components, such as implanting electronic tags on tires, engines, airbags, drive shafts, etc., using its encryption and automatic identification functions to distinguish counterfeit parts and protect consumers. Legal rights. We are also trying to use RFID to manage vehicle compressed natural gas vehicle cylinders, attach RFID tags to gas cylinders, store information about cylinder manufacturers, cylinder time, inflation times, etc., monitor the use of cylinders, and timely recover expired Cylinders reduce the potential hazards in the use chain.

4.5 Implementation Benefits

4.5.1 Error Prevention Management

Applying RF technology to the assembly line to produce as many custom-made cars as possible is based on the user's requested style. Users can select the color and engine of their desired vehicle from tens of thousands of internal and external options. Models also have tire style requirements, so that the car assembly line has to be equipped with hundreds of styles of cars, without a highly organized, complex control system is difficult to complete such complex tasks. Equipped with an RFID system on the assembly line, using a reusable RF tag with all the requirements for a detailed car, with readers at each point of operation, so that the car is guaranteed Assembly tasks can be completed without errors at each pipeline location.

4.5.2 Warehouse Management

Parts management: establish a complete supplier delivery quality record and batch information: for each supplier to enter the enterprise according to the electronic version of the label can be recorded, to understand its model, type, batch, production date, etc. Carry out warehousing and outbound management.

4.5.3 Real-time monitoring of the production line

RFID tracking management of the entire production process from the product entering the assembly shop to the final inspection of the whole vehicle.

4.5.4 Cost Control

Utilize modern logistics theory to improve auto parts and vehicle storage, save costs, and save production and temporary inventory waste in various workshops.

4.5.5 Product traceability

China has officially implemented the automobile recall system and put forward higher requirements for product traceability. Product traceability requires detailed production site records, including production, quality, and materials.

According to the RFID tag information, the manufacturing information of the car at each key station of the assembly shop, such as production time, operators, inspectors, batches, serial numbers, quality data, process data, test data, etc., can be found in real time. Information on manufacturing processes, such as repairs and processing results.

According to the RFID tag information, the quality information of the car at the important station, including the defect data and the measurement data, and the process capability of the station, can be queried;

According to the RFID tag information, the quality information of the important parts and safety parts of the car, the manufacturer information of the main accessory parts, and the specific details of the installation can be traced;

Based on product information, it can be traced back to product batches and key component batches to find other products in the same batch; up to traceable to materials and components, down to end users.

4.5.6 defect management

The whole vehicle production is mainly assembled, involving a large number of components (including self-made parts and spare parts in the factory). In the assembly process, various defects are inevitable, and there are parts from the parts, which are produced in this process, and also have the previous process. produced. In order to improve the quality and reduce the repair rate, it is necessary to monitor each vehicle's defects in real time, record in real time, and take timely measures.

Fifth, the main equipment deployment

Electronic tags

Fuen M8E UHF Handheld Terminal

Fuen RFID fixed reader