Modern manufacturing means keeping an eye on all requirements. To do this, the production steps must be transparent and traceable. An essential component is that data is provided and evaluated. RFID systems are key technologies for meeting the requirements of Industry 4.0. MWAY DIGITAL is developing a software solution for the company Balluff - the Balluff RFID app - to enable identification and correction in production processes.
So-called RFID technologies have been used since the 1960s to individually recognize individual objects in production processes. An RFID system basically consists of a transponder, also known as a data carrier, which is located on or in the object and contains individual information, as well as an RFID reader for contactless reading, writing or changing the transponder data.
This identifies workpieces in automated production processes and optimizes processes. In order for a product to be processed in assembly line production, the information for each workpiece must be written on an attached RFID transponder. These can be, for example, an identification number, torque, temperature or other production-specific information.
In everyday use, production can come to a standstill if incorrect data is written to RFID transponders. In order to restore a smooth process, specialists previously had to manually correct the incorrect data records. This individual overwriting of the RFID transponders is cumbersome, time-consuming, prone to errors and requires extensive knowledge of hardware-related IT.
MWAY Digital GmbH developed a mobile app for the automation specialist Balluff GmbH that allows data to be read and corrected quickly and conveniently on RFID transponders. The app is installed on the RFID handhelds and offers an easy-to-use option for enabling employees in production to correct erroneous data and thus effectively and easily load correct data sets onto RFID transponders.
Great emphasis was placed on stability, performance and simple and appealing operation without compromising the flexibility of the applications.
In addition to NFC-enabled Android and iOS devices, the app is primarily aimed at portable handheld readers such as the RFID handhelds used by Balluff. The devices have interchangeable reading heads to read the contents of LF, HF and UHF data carriers. Communication between the reading head and the app takes place via a serial interface. The NFC antenna installed as standard on every smartphone can also be used to write and read information using the ISO 15693 protocol (also known as NfcV), provided the respective RFID transponder supports this standard.
Each RFID transponder can store a certain number of bytes. A byte has numerical values between 0 and 255, as well as a memory address on the RFID transponder. Different data types can be supported using functions. The coding is based on the ASCII standard, for example. Existing numerical values can be read by the mobile app and the reading heads of the tablets, interpreted based on ASCII and output as letter combinations.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a method for automatically identifying objects via radio. The use of RFID systems is suitable wherever automatic marking, recognition, registration, storage, monitoring or transport is required. RFID technology allows objects and products to be clearly assigned and traced within the company. RFID systems are used to make all production steps transparent and traceable and are therefore an essential component for implementing the requirements of modern manufacturing and keeping an eye on all data.
For identification and traceability, a data carrier (RFID transponder) is attached to the object, which acts as a memory. The data is transferred between the RFID transponder and the read/write head (reader) and passed on to the control system via the evaluation units or an IO-Link network module. The evaluation unit supports the necessary frequency ranges. And that is exactly what is special about RFID – the contactless exchange of information between the RFID transponder and the reader.
Balluff GmbH, MWAY DIGITAL GmbH
