The 21st century has ushered in a barrage of innovations and developments across all industries, with the bulk of them circling around one theme — greater connectivity. As activities and operations become increasingly globalised, industrial environments are seeing a rise in technologies that aim to integrate and connect separate components.

Technology has long been touted as the solution to most problems and the same, perhaps even more, applies in the realm of manufacturing. Smart systems are being adopted across all industry verticals as businesses worldwide work hard to retain their competitiveness amidst a drawling economy.

Cost, efficiency, productivity and fast time-to-market are often things that are at the top of agendas. They can be achieved with optimisation, the fundamental principle behind smart systems and one of its core components — Radio Frequency Identification.

Smart systems rely vastly on communication among workers, machines, and between the two groups. RFID is one of the technologies that enable automatic object to object communication. It integrates physical objects by allocating assigned identities to each component and is often coupled with software like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to create digital manufacturing environments.

Buoyed By Factory Automation

Smart factories — where virtual and physical worlds merge to provide a seamless integration of process and people — are set to become the future of manufacturing. Both the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M) markets are seeing exponential growth.

According to a report by Research and Markets, the IoT and M2M markets are expected to have an increasing CAGR of 30.1 percent from 2012. Worth US$44 billion in 2011, it is expected to grow by US$290 billion by 2017. Emerging markets include Europe, Asia Pacific and the US, where Asia Pacific is expected to contribute US$92.8 billion with a CAGR of 33.2 percent from 2012 to 2017.

Analyst firm Ovum believes that manufacturing will be one of the biggest industry verticals responsible for buoyant M2M revenues, of which it is estimated to contribute US$7.1 billion. It also expects a third of global M2M revenue to be generated in Asia Pacific, which will inadvertently trickle down to the RFID market.

According to Too Horng Cheng, area manager, Components and SSCB, Southeast Asia, Rockwell Automation, the metalworking industry is experiencing a moderately high adoption rate of RFID.

“We believe there will be an increasing number of players in the metalworking industry adopting RFID technology going forward. As exposure to RFID increases, especially amongst automotive and semiconductor (wafer fab) players where demand for high-quality end-products is very high, RFID adoption will rise to reduce errors during the manufacturing phase, which is imperative to maximising production efficiency,” he said.

Data from Eurostat has indicated that some of the most common applications for RFID in 2009 included supply chain management and inventory tracking and tracing (29 percent), monitoring industrial production (21 percent) and managing service and maintenance information (15 percent). While exact figures have likely changed since then, the overall trends appear to be the same.

The technology is used in the metalworking industry for a variety of purposes, most of which are aligned to the goal of maximising efficiency and minimising machine downtime. Typical uses revolve around monitoring and detection, preventative maintenance, inventory management, as well as to enhance information visibility and transparency.

Monitoring & Detection

The inability to properly track production status on the shop floor could affect performance by failing to alert operators to problematic areas, which ultimately results in a slower throughput and wasted resources.

As a result, RFID is often paired with business management software to better integrate business processes, enabling fast and accurate data access. Otherwise known as digital enterprises, these are favoured for their ability to enhance operational efficiency, product quality, to lower inventory investments, and reduce cash flow cycles as well as material acquisition costs.

“The RFID system can be an integrated part of a factory automation system to track all the operation information via an EtherNet/IP Interface, so that real-time information can be accessed at any time by authorised personnel,” Mr Too explained.

This is only possible because the wireless technology accords systems with an interconnectivity that results in a tight and coordinated supply chain, taking away redundancies and the need for guesswork.

RFID tags can be attached to physical objects for integration; each tag includes an assigned identity that can be used to effectively track specific parts or components throughout the production process. Operators can then use a reader to verify the processes that have been completed, or check on outstanding tasks.

The ability to access accurate data in real time has not only enhanced the traceability and visibility of parts, but also increased the speed of physical flows and reduced the amount of work in progress. By enabling proper communication between separate components, RFID promotes optimisation through these areas:

•        Recipe management to control material usage and quality of part

•        Shortening cycle times by eliminating waiting time

•        Reducing energy costs by starting a process when it is necessary, rather than letting it run the whole time

•        Providing quality assurance through batch traceability

For these reasons, the techology will continue to see growth in the metalworking industry, especially as its features are highly congruent with lean manufacturing and just-in-time strategies.

Tooling Protection

One specific, and growing, usage of RFID in the metalworking industry is in monitoring and identifying tools. “There is a growing trend here to implement RFID by OEM tool-head machine makers. The main purpose tends to be to protect the expensive investment in materials and tooling heads by ensuring routine maintenance is performed periodically,” said Mr Too.

RFID tags not only provide the object with a unique identity, but also store information. In tool identification, data like ID number, geometry values and service life are stored in a memory chip that is embedded in the tool holder. With these data at hand, operators can engage in preventative maintenance to extend the service life of their tooling heads.

“In modern machines where tool heads are expensive, maximising production efficiency is key and minimising machine downtime is vital. RFID is used to monitor tool usage related to different moulds for end products. Typical applications include tool-head detection, cutter/blades-usage detection, grinders-usage detection, as well as tool-head inventory keeping. In addition, factories use RFID to carry out preventive maintenance on machinery and tooling in advance of the recommended servicing time,” he added.

Fanuc is one such company that have been driving the development of RFID in this area. The company teamed with Balluff several years ago to create an interface which pairs its controllers with Balluff’s RFID-based sensor system to track tool use. End-users used to shy away from using RFID as automating presetter data was considered an inconvenience that could sometimes take weeks to complete. With this development, that deterrent was removed.

This is an instance of how RFID does more than monitoring production efficiency and utilising data storage within tags. According to Mr Too: “There are many other ways that RFID aids production, including facilitating pre-programmed batches, accessing equipment in harsh environments, speeding product processing, as well as allowing reusable tags and hidden tags.”

Opportunities & Threats

Using a non-contact technology does have its perks, especially in complicated settings. RFID provides greater access in large or harsh environments that may register high amounts of dirt, dust, moisture, chemicals or high temperatures, making it easier to track items.

Industry verticals like oil and gas, mining, automotive, and semiconductor, often employ a large variety of components, which are prone to being lost. Consequently, there is room for construction management systems that use RFID to monitor materials, from manufacture to fabrication and eventually on-site.

In the automotive industry, where Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) are often misplaced, RFID technology is used in assembly plants to track containers, pallets, and the progress of an automobile or its parts.

According to Mr Too, many automotive tool-head OEMs are also actively implementing the technology into their machine systems. “This serves as a differentiator to end users, who seek to protect their end-product investments,” he explained.

For instance, General Motors (GM) has been using RFID in one of its engine assembly plants to boost traceability and efficiency. Its biggest benefit however, is to prevent costly mistakes from occurring, such as damaged machines.

The company has installed temporary (and reusable) bolts with an embedded passive RFID tag on each cylinder head and engine block that goes into the engines. Readers register information from the tags and ensure that machines are adjusted for the proper part, which keeps it from being damaged due to processing incorrect or incomplete parts.

Likewise, in the aerospace sector, Rolls-Royce has been employing RFID for its MRO activities. It uses RFID to track the bolt retainer, a key maintenance tool that could cause major damage or failure when left inside an engine.

By creating synergistic elements between discrete parts of the production process, the technology is adept at connecting systems into one fluid, integrated process. “Due to these many reasons, RFID is an ideal solution for most manufacturers in the metalworking industry seeking to achieve greater efficiency, faster processing time and increased environmental friendliness,” said Mr Too.

It is therefore likely that the technology’s presence in the metalworking industry will continue to grow, especially as operators seek new ways to maximise profits while the status quo remains.