he engine is probably the most complex and
technically demanding part of the entire auto-
mobile. If different variants of an engine are built
on the same assembly line, this complexity increases fur-
ther. Engine assembly lines are accordingly also detailed
and complex. Engine production is a sequential process
with defined stations. Once a component is fitted, it is
not easy to reverse the operation – at least not without a
justifiable amount of time and expense.
The consequence from this is that the countless
number of components on each engine must fit per-
fectly and exactly in accordance with customer speci-
fications. In order to ensure this and to exclude errors
as much as possible, one automotive manufacturer
in China is using RFID in its engine production for the
mounting of moving parts. This ensures error-free and
completely transparent production for the customer.
30 APPLICATIONS_RFID
On the Right Track
Turck's BL ident RFID system is ensuring the correct allocation of components
in engine production
Multi-variant production
System integrators Tianyong Mechatronics, based in
Shanghai, used Turck's BL ident RFID solution to imple-
ment the quality assurance and control of engine pro-
duction. The customer produces several engine vari-
ants on one assembly line. RFID read/write heads iden-
tify the current engine variant using an RFID tag that
is fitted to the workpiece carrier of the engine blocks.
The system reads the appropriate configuration of the
necessary components from a database and links them
with the current engine. Large engine components are
provided directly with a tag while smaller components
are brought into the line in special carriers.
Workers sort the smaller components in picking
containers. The read/write heads on the assembly lines
read the engine ID so that the controller can automati-
Integrator
www.ty-industries.com
T
Turck's BL ident RFID
system ensures the
reliable assignment of
engine components
on the drive train
assembly line
Picking containers directly
supply the correct compo-
nents for an engine block
Webcode
|
more11255e
Qiang Lin is a
product manager
at Turck China
in Tianjin
Author
more
@
1_2012
31
cally request the required components. Light signals
at the corresponding shelf compartments indicate to
the worker the parts to be selected for each specific
engine. Employees take the parts and acknowledge
that the correct components have been picked.
A worker brings the carriers with several vertically
arranged boxes to the assembly line where they are
transported by a conveyor belt on multi-layered carri-
ers. Tags are fitted to each individual shelf frame, and
these move past the read/write heads of the stations.
The system can thus assign the picking containers to
the correct engine and enable the production of sev-
eral engine variants on a single assembly line.
The data of each tag is also stored in the central
database. This enables the current production status of
each engine to be called up at any time. The system
also writes onto the tags test values and measures data
taken at the production stations, and compares them
with the reference values stored in the database. The
tags also contain the IDs of the engine and the compo-
nents as well as additional information. The eight kilo-
byte memory is sufficient for this and all data is avail-
able for statistical evaluations, quality assurance and
to ensure the complete transparency of production –
even after the day of shipment.
This provides the automotive manufacturer with
complete statistical data about production, enabling
error accumulations and their sources to be identified
and rectified systematically. Despite the comprehen-
sive acquisition of data, the customer also required
additional protection from data loss or write errors
through unexpected disturbance factors. The system
integrator therefore recommended the additional use
of a Turck RFID handheld device. This enables assembly
workers on the line to carry out read/write operations
manually in order to check tags spontaneously without
having to initiate a stop on the assembly line.
As different fieldbus protocols are used in the
application for different tasks, the modularity of Turck's
BL ident RFID system made a good impression. The
read/write heads on the line are integrated in the
An automotive manufacturer in China is using RFID to coordinate the produc-
tion of different engine versions. System integrator Tianyong Mechatronics chose
Turck's BL ident RFID system – because the modular system was easy to integrate
in the existing Profibus DP and Modbus TCP network structure.
Quick Read
Turck's BL67 I/O system provides communication
with the PLC via Modbus TCP and Profibus DP
The RFID read/write head reads out the tag on the
workpiece carrier in passing
infrastructure with BL67 I/O systems. A gateway com-
municates via Profibus DP with the Mitsubishi PLC and
is responsible for the control and communication of
the RFID read/write heads. UHF read/write heads can
be connected to the same BL67 I/O stations if the sys-
tem requires the integration of additional identification
tasks using the larger UHF sensing range in the future.
Ethernet stations are used for monitoring the field-
bus, collecting information and for production plan-
ning. Here too, Turck supplied a BL67 gateway which
communicates with a PC directly via Modbus TCP,
monitors all field information in real time and locates
important components.
Impressive modular solution
Chuanhua Rong, project manager at system integrators
Tianyong Mechatronics, was impressed by the flexibility
of the BL ident system. “The modular structure enab-
led the same BL ident modules to be used on different
gateways. This simplifies model selection. We only had to
replace the gateways to implement different protocols.
The same RFID base modules, read/write heads, tags and
cable sets could be used for all gateways.”
The customer can connect up to eight read/write
heads to each gateway, as well as additional digital and
analog I/O modules. The required sensing ranges bet-
ween 0 and 200 mm were ideal for the requirements of
the application. Another benefit also impressed Rong:
“The prefabricated cables enabled us to considerably
reduce our installation expenditure. The program adapti-
on using the standard PIB function blocks was also com-
pleted very quickly.”
“
The modular
structure enabled
the same BL ident
modules to be
used on different
gateways. We only
had to replace
the gateways to
implement differ-
ent protocols.
„
Chuanhua Rong,
Tianyong Mechatronics