t present, the global auto industry is chang-
ing dramatically. The emerging market repre-
sented by “The BRIC Countries” (Brazil, Russia,
India and China) is rising sharply, reforming the pattern
of the global auto industry and market. According to
incomplete statistics, “The BRIC Countries” have made
contributions to over 40% of the growth rate of the
global auto market in recent years, and the increase
rate of corresponding productivity reaches approxi-
mately 55%.
As an important part of the global auto indus-
try, the China auto industry has experienced devel-
opment and has taken a giant leap. The global auto
industry will spread to China and some emerging
economies. This is a big historical opportunity for the
Chinese auto industry.
At present, the China auto market develops rapidly,
and the automobile consumption demands change
form flexible production dramatically. In such circum-
stance, the introduction of the RFID system becomes
very important.
18 APPLICATIONS_RFID
A
RFID in the Body Shop
With its UHF-RFID system Turck demonstrates the benefits of its long-range
identification solution at an automotive manufacturer in China
Intelligent body shop conveying system
The body shop belongs to line production. The produc-
tion line is a strip, long and highly automatic, and the
production efficiency mainly depends on the convey-
ing line. The conveying line is like a blood vessel that
runs through the whole body shop. The body shop is
divided into lower body line, side body line, main body
line and adjusting line according to production pro-
cess. A highly intelligent mechanical conveying system
is used to connect various parts, forming the equip-
ment system of the entire body shop.
Normal operation of the mechanical conveying
system is a prerequisite for production of the entire
body shop. Therefore, a highly automatic mechanical
conveying system that runs efficiently and continuous-
ly is required to link all processes.
In China, Turck is active on the market not only as a
manufacturer, but also as a system integrator company.
After fully engaging with clients, Turck recommended
the use of UHF RFID products in protection class IP67,
The UHF-read/write
head TN840/920
reliably captures
the data carrier on
the car body
Webcode
more11451e
Author
Zhi Kai is a product manager at Turck China
more
@
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2014
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The body parts on the rail are later reliably
captured by UHF-read/write head
Turck‘s BL67 gateway transmits the data via
Profinet to the PLC
“
Turck‘s UHF
BL ident solution
enhances efficiency
and implements flex-
ible production.
„
Jixue Liu,
Turck (Tianjin) Industrial
Engineering Co., Ltd.
If workpieces must be equipped with data carrier, RFID technology in the UHF fre-
quency band is required. Turck has equipped an automotive manufacturer in China
with its RFID-system. Since the data carrier is directly attached on the body, the
production will not only be optimized in the body shop, but also in subsequent
process steps.
Quick read
successfully meeting long-distance read-write and
multi-vehicle type in-line production needs of the cli-
ents. The control system includes Turck‘s BL ident UHF
series, a S7 400 PLC and the fieldbus protocol Profinet.
The PLC controls the entire system and ensures
continuous operation of the system. The fieldbus is a
Profinet network, connecting all RFID substations in
the field. Interface modules in the neighborhood can
execute all writing and reading processes under control
of the control system, and transmit data in carriers into
the control system through the bus.
Optimized welding processes
Welding is an important link among four major process-
es of car production and features in complicated equip-
ment and rapid production. Therefore, improvement of
conveyor efficiency of the production line and reduc-
tion of waiting time of the production are key factors for
ensuring output of a single shift and reducing produc-
tion cost.
The introduction of the RFID system solves these
problems for clients. By mounting UHF labels on the car
body and writing related information about the car model,
the production line can know the specific location of each
car model in real time, so the conveying line can automati-
cally and efficiently classify cars according to models and
convey the cars to different production stations.
The ground production line is informed of pre-
paring the corresponding welding parts in advance
through reading information on the labels of five to
six cars that are going to enter the ground welding
line. This method greatly improves continuity of the
entire production line and reduces waiting time of the
ground welding process.
Moreover, information systems of various shops
of the auto manufacturer are relatively independent
before, and the exchange of a great amount of infor-
mation is required when car parts are conveyed among
shops. With Turck UHF labels on car bodies, data carriers
pass through all shops along with the car bodies, thus
ensuring consistent car information in production links,
avoiding the step of transmitting information among
car bodies, greatly simplifying the operation process
and improving production efficiency.
Turck HF (High Frequency) RFID products are suitable for
environments requiring read/write in a short distance,
while carriers are mounted on conveying tools such as
slides, lifting appliances and trays to read/write repeat-
edly in a closed loop. Turck UHF (Ultra-High Frequency)
RFID products are suitable for environments requiring
read/write in a long distance, while carriers are mounted
on conveying tools, car bodies or products to be pro-
duced to read/write.
All in all, aiming at automatic identification sys-
tems in the auto industry, the fieldbus technology-
based Turck BL ident series of RFID products in IP67
have a broad application scope in processes such as
punching, welding, coating, assembly and engine
production.
First, Turck owns interface modules of various pro-
tection classes (IP69K, IP67, IP20) which are well adapt-
ed to various field environments. Second, all BL ident
series modules support hot plug and HF and UHF read-
write heads can be mounted on the same interface
module. Third, a single station supports eight channels
and can be also compatible with I/O modules for digi-
tal and analog signals. Fourth, Turck supports fieldbus
protocols such as Profibus-DP, DeviceNet™, Ethernet
Modbus-TCP, Profinet and EtherNet/IP, and matches
programmable gateways optically. Fifth, Turck owns
various carriers (metal surface mounting, high temper-
ature resistant, etc), meeting mounting requirements of
clients in various working circumstances.
In short, profiting from excellent performance and
prominent features of Turck‘s BL ident series of RFID
products, the body shop mechanical conveyor system
is further optimized and improved in stability, reliabil-
ity and efficiency during running, beyond the expecta-
tions of clients.