The automatic identification industry in the 20th century was dominated by barcode technology. Since the 1970s, with the global adoption of the EAN-UPC barcode system, barcodes rapidly expanded across commercial, industrial, warehousing, and logistics applications. Today, over 100 countries and regions participate in the International Article Numbering Association (IANSA), with 1.2 million companies using standardized barcodes on millions of products. Barcode technology has been pivotal in supply chain management—streamlining manufacturing, logistics, and distribution while reducing costs and supporting global economic integration.
However, as industries evolve, RFID in manufacturing is now transforming automation with wireless, real-time tracking capabilities—overcoming barcode limitations and enabling smarter, more efficient production systems.
Under the requirement of diversified production technology, the industrial intelligent manufacturing production line applies the RFID technology to carry on the automatic diagnosis to collect the data, the RFID technology is not just the simple replacement of the bar code technology, the RFID technology can be the wireless long-distance range read-write, can penetrate the strong, can be in the high-speed moving state to collect, store the data information is bigger, satisfy the bad environment to use. the RFID read-write and the RFID electronic label. Combined with the production line information technology, optoelectronic technology to complete the automated production. RFID technology has been widely used in production control, the establishment of production line visualization management, production process control in the intelligent management and control, RFID help intelligent manufacturing production visualization.
System process: When the products with RFID tags in the production, in order of sequence through the RFID reader A and RFID reader B, RFID reader will read the product on the RFID tag information, and will upload the data to the system host computer. In turn, to determine the completion of the product in the birth of the situation and the operation of the various workstations.
1.Production line RFID reader in the intelligent manufacturing production line applications
1.1 Data collection
RFID tags will be affixed to the production of materials or loaded materials on the tray, the product specifications, quantities, time, the person in charge of the relevant information recorded in the above, instead of the traditional manual records; production management personnel through the reader to read product information at any time; other relevant personnel can keep abreast of the production situation and adjust the production arrangements, and control the material at any time. Adjust the production arrangements, as well as control the flow of materials at any time.
1.2 Data transmission
In each collection point to install read-write equipment, when affixed with RFID tags of materials or trays through the collection point, RFID read-write equipment will automatically obtain the material’s information and transmission to the background, the management personnel can be accurately known through the background of the location of the material.
1.3 RFID main equipment components
RFID equipment mainly consists of RFID tags, RFID fixed read-write, RFID antenna, RFID handheld devices and RFID cables.
2. Principle of RFID production line process management system
- Install RFID readers and RFID antennas at the process points on the production line that need to be controlled, and install RFID tags on the work boards or boxes that carry work-in-progress.
- Before the start of production, through the production management system will be fixed in the workpiece board or box on the RFID tag ID and production lot number corresponds to, that is, through the RFID reader read to the workpiece board or box on the RFID tag ID, and through the bar code gun scanning the production bar code, the management system will be the RFID tag ID and the production bar code on the production of bound.
- In this way, managers can learn from the system to the production line of the product through which processes, to achieve an accurate grasp of the data, to understand the progress of product production and staff work.
- Management software production interface to generate the production information (such as name, number, batch, etc.) through the RFID reader to write RFID tags, written correctly in the products transmitted to the various processes for production.
- The work in progress each reached a controlled process point, RFID reader will be the contents of the process and process point information written into the RFID tag, through the network will be transmitted to the server production data, and real-time update database.
- To reach the last process point, RFID reader reads the workpiece board or box on the RFID tag information to the production management software, production management software statistics of the number of processes of the product, if there is a missing process can be traced back to the missing process, the operator can return the product to the missing process point for rework, if the number of processes is correct, then the production is completed.
- The production has been completed for the production of products in progress, the production management system automatically RFID tags and production bar code unbundled, and the production bar code is identified as a unique identification code stored in the database for future product traceability to provide a basis.
3.Summary
RFID technology can be referred to as RFID radio frequency identification technology, mainly RFID read-write and RFID tags work between the data communication are reached data exchange, and then automatic identification. RFID technology to achieve batch management data, real-time feedback production line information, improve management efficiency. Let the production of product process stability, RFID equipment can work in harsh environments, to ensure data integrity, reliability, to ensure that the production line products stable production, to understand the specific production of products, timely deployment of production conditions. Real-time statistics to each group, each station, the production progress of the process, to provide managers with accurate data, improve production efficiency, reduce manual input, improve the transparency of the production line, visualization management.