Tire enterprise RFID production line management (MES system) design and application solution

1. Project Background

In tire manufacturing companies, accurate collection and storage of tire production information is essential for controlling the production process, quality inspection and quality tracking. At present, the enterprise MES system relies on manual recording and barcode scanning for data collection. However, due to the numerous and complex tire production processes, manual recording and traditional barcode scanning methods are cumbersome and prone to errors, which is not conducive to the refined management of enterprises. When the tire quality inspection fails, it is difficult to quickly trace the cause of the failure, resulting in a waste of resources.

2. Introduction to RFID System

Based on the tire enterprise RFID production line management (MES system), it mainly consists of three parts: RFID tags, RFID Readers and writers, and application systems. The RFID production line management system uses radio frequency signals to transmit data wirelessly. Through the unique identification code of the RFID tag, it efficiently identifies, tracks and manages products, and realizes functions such as query, checkout, inventory control, and statistics.

2.1 RFID tags

The core of RFID electronic tags is a tag with a storage chip, which Stores information such as the identity code and technical parameters of the object to be identified. RFID electronic tags can be installed in the appropriate part of the object to be identified. Compared with barcodes, electronic tags have the following advantages:

Larger information storage space provides the possibility for future information expansion.

Dynamic storage of product information can automatically prompt workers with material information and improve production efficiency.

After secondary packaging, it can adapt to harsh industrial environments such as vibration, corrosion and wet metal.

When reading and writing information, the tag does not have to be within the visible range of the antenna. It can be embedded in carriers, Tooling and pallets, which is very convenient to use.

2.2 RFID reader

RFID reader is mainly composed of UHF RFID reader host, antenna and connecting cable. RFID Antenna is installed on the channel through which the object to be identified passes or the necessary data collection point. UHF RFID reader can collect the identity code information of the object to be identified, such as product model, serial number, production time and other information that needs to be recorded. In the production process of tires, the non-contact identification and fast reading and writing characteristics of RFID reader can avoid manual intervention, reduce errors, and realize the automation of production information collection.

2.3 Application system

The application system is an important part of the RFID production management framework. It is used to manage the communication interface of RFID UHF reader, PC/PLC, server, etc. It is responsible for realizing the information interaction of hardware equipment and is compatible with other systems within the enterprise.

By introducing RFID technology, tire companies can achieve the following management:

Automatic data collection: RFID system can automatically identify and collect tire production information, avoiding the tedious operation of manual recording and traditional barcode scanning, and improving the accuracy and efficiency of data collection.

Fault tracing and quality management: When the tire quality inspection fails, the RFID system can quickly trace the cause of the fault, helping enterprises to take timely measures and reduce resource waste.

Fine management: The RFID system can realize real-time monitoring and management of the tire production process, helping enterprises to improve production efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize supply chain management.

Data analysis and decision support: The RFID system can collect a large amount of tire production data, and provide reference for decision support and business optimization for enterprises through data analysis and mining.

III. Design and development of MES system based on RFID technology

3.1 Original tire enterprise MES system

At present, the more mature MES systems used by tire enterprises mainly include "mixing workshop control network system", "semi-finished product and molding digital control system" and "tire barcode logistics management system". These systems are based on barcode technology to realize data collection, covering all aspects of tire production, including raw material warehouse, rubber mixing workshop, molding, vulcanization workshop, quality inspection process, finished product warehouse management, and tire sales and after-sales business links. However, due to the defects of barcode technology itself, these MES systems have some problems in the actual tire production process:

Manual input: In the production process, information in each link needs to be manually input, which is prone to errors, resulting in the inability to connect work steps normally, affecting production efficiency.

Incomplete data: When there is a quality problem with the product, due to incomplete record data, it is impossible to trace the process and Library-borrowing-machine-touch-query-intelligent-terminal-all-in-one-machine.html target='_blank'>workstation where the problem occurs.

Incomplete information: The production department cannot directly understand the on-site information, resulting in the easy backlog of tire semi-finished production materials, affecting the company's production and management.

Real-time adjustment: Managers cannot directly understand the production status of the production line, and cannot adjust the operation plan in time according to the actual situation to solve problems in production.

At present, the RFID production line management (MES system of tire enterprises

3.2 Application design of RFID production system in tire process production line

The tire production line is a closed-loop system. The RFID UHF reader communicates with the UHF RFID station machine. Each station PC is centrally controlled and managed by the background. The tags are installed on various tooling of tire production materials. Each RFID station reader reads when the tooling is installed on the machine position, identifies the tooling material information, and displays it on the RFID station machine, so that the operator can clearly identify it.

Taking the tire production semi-finished product-molding process as an example, the field application design of production line management (MES system) based on UHF RFID technology is introduced.

At present, the tooling used in the tire semi-finished product-molding process is divided into three categories: I-shaped wheels, shutter cars and carts. Taking the commonly used three-drum molding machine as an example, 13 kinds of materials are needed in the tire molding process. When using traditional barcode technology, the barcode of each material needs to be scanned. Scanning is cumbersome and error-prone. With RFID technology, operators only need to install the material tooling on the corresponding workstation. The system will automatically identify the information of each material and record the correct material information in the MES system. If the material is installed incorrectly, the system will prompt an error message to avoid production waste.

RFID tags use anti-metal technology and are installed on the I-shaped spokes. The reading antenna is installed near the top of the workstation. For tooling tags such as blinds, they can be installed under the car and the antenna is installed underground. After the entire system is arranged, when the operator replaces the tooling material, the nearby antenna will automatically read the label information on the replaced tooling and automatically record it in the MES system.

By installing the RFID production line management system in each process of tire production, the production quality traceability of each link of tire production can be achieved.

Material quality traceability process of each process based on RFID technology

3.3 Design of MES system application operation process based on RFID technology

1. RFID tag initialization

After the shift change, the worker enters the type of material to be produced and the required raw materials on the workstation.

After the worker receives the raw materials, the tooling with RFID tags is automatically identified and stored at the use location.

During production, when the worker installs the tooling with RFID tags to the machine position, the system automatically identifies the tooling information and displays it on the UHF RFID workstation for viewing and verification, completing the initialization of the electronic tag.

When the tooling material is produced, the production information is written and the material proceeds to the next circulation link.

2. Read and write electronic tags

When the tooling material to be processed is installed at the molding machine station, the MES system automatically reads and displays the current material information through RFID to avoid wrong materials, and records the current material information on the molding station machine for recording and completing the traceability connection.

When changing materials, the worker first confirms the currently used materials on the workstation machine, and then identifies and produces the next material.

If the material is installed incorrectly, the system will issue an error alarm, and the worker can clearly know which material has an error and make timely and effective corrections.

3. Extracting electronic tag information

Semi-finished tire materials are uniformly placed in the storage area. When quality inspectors find unqualified materials, they extract the written information from the reader and writer, locate and trace back to the material production station, find the quality reasons, and make corrections in time.

By identifying and counting the tooling tags in the material storage area, the current material information can be mastered in real time, providing a scientific basis for subsequent planning and production tasks.

IV. Functional design of enterprise MES system based on RFID technology

4.1 System features

(1) An important feature of the enterprise MES system is that the production plan and process are directly issued to the process and equipment. Compared with the traditional ERP and MRPII systems, the enterprise MES system can guide equipment processing more finely, avoid cross-process processing, and thus reduce the occurrence of process errors.

(2) The data collection of the enterprise MES system is real-time, and it can carry out plan assessment in time and monitor the production progress in real time, so that the enterprise can adjust the production plan in time and improve production efficiency.

(3) The enterprise MES system can realize data sharing between workshops and functional departments, so that each department can understand the production progress of related processes and facilitate production coordination. At the same time, through the enterprise MES system, the delivery time can be accurately confirmed and batch management can be realized.

(4) The enterprise MES system can timely feedback process errors and make corrections, correct process errors in time, and shorten the process correction cycle.

(5) The enterprise MES system can reduce manual operations and paper transmission, improve the effectiveness of processing data, facilitate quality traceability, and improve production quality.

(6) The enterprise MES system can also complete quality information collection and quality analysis through smart dashboards to help enterprises improve quality management.

(7) The enterprise MES system can also expand Logistics Management functions to realize the management of RFID batch numbers, barcodes and products.

4.2 The system includes the following functional designs

4.2.1 Construction of overall architecture and system model

The overall architecture and system model of the enterprise MES system need to be deeply analyzed, including network architecture, factory equipment, communication routing, software and hardware combination, system scale and performance, etc. By determining the hierarchical relationship between the monitoring system software and the data acquisition hardware equipment, dividing each functional module and determining the interface between the modules, the overall architecture is completed. During the design process, the system's integrability, configurability, adaptability, scalability and reliability need to be fully considered.

4.2.2 Architecture of the software platform

The software platform of the enterprise MES system needs to be built based on object-oriented design technology, distributed networks and advanced database and configuration technology. The platform should be suitable for real-time, on-site and remote monitoring, and easy to expand and modify. At the same time, the platform should fully reflect the system application integration oriented to the characteristics of tire production, and support the combination of real-time activities and comprehensive management knowledge.

The architecture of the software platform includes software system function positioning, platform selection and data collection, data storage, network application and client query browsing. Through such an architecture, the enterprise MES system can realize real-time activities, and carry out control and decision-making based on on-site management rules and comprehensive management knowledge.

4.2.3 Functional module design

(1) Production planning and production management: This module is responsible for the formulation and management of production plans, including process guidance, equipment scheduling, production progress monitoring and other functions. Through this module, the refined management and optimization of production plans can be achieved.

(2) On-site data collection: This module is responsible for real-time collection of on-site data, including equipment status, production data, quality data, etc. Through this module, information on the production site can be obtained in a timely manner to achieve real-time monitoring and data analysis.

(3) Material information management and tracking query: This module is responsible for the management and tracking query of materials, including functions such as material warehousing, outbound storage, and inventory management. Through this module, material traceability and management can be achieved.

(4) Semi-finished product information management and tracking query: This module is responsible for the management and tracking query of semi-finished products, including functions such as processing, warehousing, and outbound storage of semi-finished products. Through this module, traceability and management of semi-finished products can be achieved.

(5) Product life cycle archive: This module is responsible for the management and archive records of the product life cycle, including product design, production, sales, and other links. Through this module, the full life cycle management and traceability of the product can be achieved.

(6) Equipment management: This module is responsible for the management and maintenance of equipment, including functions such as equipment operating status, maintenance records, and maintenance plans. Through this module, effective management and maintenance of equipment can be achieved.

(7) Production monitoring and analysis: This module is responsible for monitoring and analyzing production, including production statistics, abnormal alarm, efficiency analysis and other functions. Through this module, real-time monitoring and analysis of production can be achieved.

(8) Quality and performance analysis query: This module is responsible for the analysis and query of quality and performance, including quality indicator analysis, performance evaluation, abnormal analysis and other functions. Through this module, comprehensive analysis and evaluation of quality and performance can be achieved.

4.3 Workflow design

The workflow design of the enterprise MES system is to support various control and communication strategies and various workflows in the production process. Through workflow design, the automatic driving, recording, tracking, analysis and information sharing of the manufacturing production and management process can be achieved. At the same time, the workflow design also needs to be easy to integrate with other application systems to form a smooth channel for information flow.

Through workflow design, the enterprise MES system can realize the automated management of various workflows in the production process and improve production efficiency and quality.

V. RFID hardware equipment selection

(1) Work reliability: Select RFID hardware equipment with high reliability, which can work stably and provide accurate data.

(2) Cost-effectiveness: Select RFID hardware devices with high cost-effectiveness to meet the needs while controlling costs.

(3) Identification distance: According to actual needs, select RFID hardware devices with appropriate identification distance to meet the production needs of the enterprise.

(4) Operating frequency: According to actual conditions, select appropriate RFID operating frequency to enable seamless integration with other devices and systems.

(5) System scalability: Select RFID hardware devices with good scalability to meet the future development needs of the enterprise.

(6) Portability of product provision and maintenance: Select RFID hardware devices with portability to facilitate product provision and maintenance.

(7) Successful application cases: Select RFID hardware devices with successful application cases to provide reliable reference and support.