Body identification in the automotive industry: Identifying continuously and flexibly with RFID 

Only once every one and a half years, big car manufacturers build the same car. This is hardly surprising, considering the combinations of several hundred different paint jobs, interior fittings, engine types, and accessories. However, this great variety also poses difficulties: For example, one must know at any time and place which car is currently under construction. Therefore, it is important even while assembling the underbody to apply an unambiguous marking that allows reliable identification of the developing car at all subsequent stations, all the way to final assembly and outward transfer. The task is not easy, as the labels for identification necessary to this end must be read reliably at every production step; the must even withstand temperatures of 200 °C (392 °C) common in the painting line.
Until now, different identification technologies were available for this purpose, none of which, however, could be used universally and across all processing systems, since bar and matrix codes are no longer visible after painting. Alternatives such as perforated sheet metal, etc. are elaborate and expensive. 1D/2D or active RFID systems are attached to the skid in the body assembly shop and the paint shop and changed over to a different skid for final assembly. This involves the risk of confusions. Moreover, the closed circulation of transponders causes high maintenance and handling costs.
A great improvement results from marking the automotive body with a body ID on an RFID transponder label from the very beginning. Specifically for this purpose, SICK has developed a cost-effective, temperature-resistant, and dimensionally stable ISO/IEC-18000-6-compatible UHF RFID label. It is attached in such a way as to remain fixed on the vehicle during the ongoing production process. It survives the painting process, one can read and write on it, and it makes confusions impossible. The accompanying RFU630 RFID reader utilizes UHF technology and provides ideal reading and writing properties, specifically for applications in car manufacturing. Reading and writing on the transponders takes just a few milliseconds, which makes it possible to achieve very good reading quality with high scanning rates. Use of the accompanying IDpro compliant interface allows integrating the solution easily into industrial network environments. In this connection, the spectrum extends from Ethernet (TCP/IP), PROFINET IO to EtherNet/IP and all the way to PROFIBUS DP and DeviceNET as well as RS-232/422/485.