"Industry 4.0" is one of the concepts that have received much attention, and RFID has also attracted attention. So, what is the relationship between Industry 4.0 and RFID?

What is Industry 4.0?

Simply put, "Internet + Manufacturing" is Industry 4.0. It is a big network that weaves together production materials, smart factories, logistics and distribution, and consumers. Consumers only need to place an order with their mobile phone, and the network will automatically send the order and personalized requirements to the smart factory, which purchases raw materials, designs and produces them, and then directly delivers them to consumers through network distribution.

"Intelligent manufacturing" is the core of Industry 4.0

This is a huge industrial revolution. If you miss Industry 4.0, you will miss this era! The fourth industrial revolution was marked by Hannover, Germany in 2013, announcing that this round of work revolution centered on intelligent manufacturing.

"RFID" is the key point of intelligent manufacturing

One of the key points of intelligent manufacturing is RFID, which integrates "information" in "raw materials". It is quite "sticking" a label, which not only centralizes the production process to computer control, but also facilitates automatic equipment to identify information about different products, facilitating flexible and individualized production.

What role does RFID play in intelligent manufacturing?

(1). Automatic identification management of work in progress

RFID technology can automatically, accurately and efficiently track and identify WIP information wirelessly, which can effectively liberate manpower and realize intelligent manufacturing.

(2). Production process control

RFID technology can not only identify production objects, but can also be used to assist in improving production planning and logistics control. At the same time, by using the collection and storage of real-time information, quality monitoring can be performed to identify whether the product is qualified, and the subsequent processing and assembly of unqualified products can be stopped in time.

(3). Production status monitoring and visualization

Through the automatic identification and tracking of manufacturing resources, enterprise managers can grasp the production progress of the workshop in real time, discover production bottlenecks and waste, identify machine failures, production sequence adjustments and other production disturbances, improve the production process, and realize the entire production process the stable equilibrium.

(4). Closed-loop production planning and control

How to appropriately process the production status data collected in real time, and timely feedback to the management to assist production decision-making, to achieve closed-loop production planning and control, is the most meaningful and difficult problem in the application of RFID in the manufacturing process.

(5). Workshop logistics control optimization

The application of RFID technology to workshop production supervision is not only about the visualization of workshop resources and production process, the monitoring of material consumption and logistics process, but also how to accurately estimate and control the production schedule based on transparent manufacturing information, thereby Proactively implement precise material distribution to avoid the occurrence of material accumulation or shortage of materials on the edge, so as to realize the dynamic optimization of the material distribution process.

(6). Quality information collection and monitoring

According to the function of RFID to identify and store information, real-time and accurate collection and storage of quality information in each link can be realized, and it can assist managers to timely monitor products with quality problems. When the product production is over, a complete quality information document can be formed based on the collected product quality data, which effectively solves the problems of bar code and other data that cannot be dynamically written, low collection efficiency, and facilitates the traceability of quality problems.

The role of manufacturing supply chain management

(1). Accurate material distribution management

By using RFID technology, manufacturing enterprises can grasp the production progress and production dynamics of the entire workshop in real time, and can better share material demand information with suppliers, thereby guiding suppliers to carry out accurate material distribution based on workshop material consumption and future needs. Reduce the bullwhip effect of the workshop line inventory and manufacturing supply chain, improve inventory accuracy, and quickly and accurately identify and match materials when they are distributed online, avoiding manual material collection requirements and receiving and inspection operations that are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and error-prone, which greatly improves production efficiency.

(2). Visualized storage management

The long-term high inventory cost has become a nightmare for most manufacturing companies. Applying RFID technology to the manufacturing process can realize the visualization of raw materials, finished products and WIP inventory, as well as the transparency of the supply chain and the sharing of inventory data, which provides a new solution for the manufacturing supply chain to effectively and rationally handle inventory problems. Fields where the application of RFID technology is feasible and can exert great value.

(3). RFID application integration in manufacturing supply chain

Establish manufacturers' upstream and downstream industry alliances through RFID applications, such as building information systems for manufacturing supply chains, and establishing RFID-based product service systems for accessory manufacturers alliances. Each manufacturer can obtain RFID-based real-time services, which greatly reduces The application cost and technical pressure of small manufacturers to start new technologies accelerate the application implementation process, and can respond more agilely to the requirements of customization.

Roles in the product service process

(1). Product traceability and recycling management

In view of the characteristics of RFID tags that can collect and store information, RFID technology has been gradually applied to product life cycle management, to realize the tracking and query of raw materials, finished products, etc. in the manufacturing supply chain, making the entire supply chain visible and transparent.

(2). Maintenance, repair and overhaul services

RFID technology can not only realize production process monitoring, product quality control and traceability management, but also can be used to monitor the status of processing equipment, effectively count equipment use and maintenance information, and provide a reference for companies to formulate reasonable maintenance strategies.

It can be seen that RFID technology plays an important role in the industry 4.0 era and runs through all aspects of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, since the concept of Industry 4.0 was put forward, RFID technology has attracted more and more attention from enterprises and has gradually been widely used in various fields. The latest research shows that the total sales of RFID in 2015 reached 10 billion U.S. dollars. Among the eight application fields, manufacturing has become the second largest field of RFID applications.