In the automotive industry, manufacturing is a complex process. A vast network of suppliers delivers parts for assembly in a timely manner according to established protocols. Traceability enables all stakeholders to accurately trace the exact source information of each part, including part, serial number, batch number, production time and date, manufacturing location, etc.
A car is composed of tens of thousands of parts, and for various reasons, it is crucial to be able to track each part. This includes:
Assembly and quality control accuracy: In automotive production, only by assembling various parts in the correct order can product quality be effectively guaranteed. By using barcode technology to build a traceability system, it can ensure that there will be no errors during the assembly process.
Full lifecycle tracking of parts: Improve the traceability of individual components, allowing manufacturers to gain in-depth insights into the performance of each subtle part. These data are helpful for future design and manufacturing work to maximize the service life and net value of each component.
Supply chain visibility: The vast supplier ecosystem in the automotive industry itself brings considerable pressure and challenges to the operation of the supply chain. Geopolitical conflicts, as well as sudden supply chain disruptions caused by diseases, natural disasters, and other factors, add insult to injury. In this situation, achieving the tracking of tens of thousands of parts is an inevitable requirement to ensure the orderly development of manufacturing operations and create a flexible supply chain.
Efficient recall: When recalling defective parts, tracing the parts back to the original supplier and obtaining key distinguishing information such as batch numbers and part numbers can be very helpful. Automobile companies do not need to waste millions of dollars on large-scale recalls. With the help of parts traceability information, they can accurately identify vehicles carrying specific manufacturers and batches of defective parts, greatly reducing the scope of recalls. This refined recall management can reduce resource waste, lower costs, and maintain brand reputation.
Avoiding counterfeit products: As car manufacturers rely on numerous suppliers, if not inspected, counterfeit products are easily mixed in. These counterfeit parts not only seriously damage the manufacturer's reputation, but also significantly increase the complexity of recalls. By establishing a traceability system, companies can easily verify the source of parts, trace them back to the original supplier, and effectively prevent the risk of counterfeit products.
Integration with data-driven Industry 4.0: Achieving traceability through barcodes or RFID tags is a key aspect of smart factory construction. By integrating manufacturing execution systems (MES) with traceability process data, it is possible to effectively compress product development and manufacturing cycles. Real time traceability helps car manufacturers optimize discrete manufacturing processes when tracking parts on the production line.
Scannable barcodes make monitoring and comparing production lines easy, allowing factory managers to identify which processes are more time-consuming and optimize accordingly. Closely tracking the manufacturing process can also help factories quickly identify and solve problems before they escalate into bigger challenges. This proactive measure is particularly important as downtime during the manufacturing process can result in losses of thousands or even millions of dollars. Traceability helps companies avoid such high costs.
Traceable manufacturing data is a valuable input for machine learning algorithms, which can train past behavior to enhance future insights. For example, if it is known that a certain component will fail under specific conditions, it can help design algorithms that can actively warn of future failures.
Whole life cycle efficiency optimization: For automotive parts, even if the product is sold, continuous tracking of its status and performance is still of great value, because the feedback data from the after-sales market can allow manufacturers to have a deep understanding of the actual use of the product. With this information, manufacturers can arrange parts replacement in advance and proactively provide various value-added services, which can not only improve customer satisfaction but also open up new revenue channels through after-sales service agreements.
Implementing regulatory compliance: Manufacturers must always adhere to strict industry standards and regulations to ensure safety, quality, and sustainability. Integrating traceability into the production process makes it easier for companies to comply with these standards and generate audit documents as needed.
Traceability steps
Comprehensive traceability means that parts need to be marked, validated, and read in order to transmit data in real-time to MES.
Marking: To achieve traceability of part information, barcodes are usually printed on the parts using Direct Component Marking (DPM) technology. Laser technology can create permanent identifiers such as serial numbers and barcodes on the surface of components. Barcodes can be one-dimensional or two-dimensional, with the latter utilizing horizontal and vertical bidirectional encoding for greater information storage capacity.
Verification: High resolution cameras can verify whether the markings comply with size, shape, and position standards. These cameras can check the accuracy of both manual and machine-readable information and integrate with MES for real-time verification.
Scanning: Barcode scanners read information about each individual component at systematic intervals throughout the entire manufacturing process, from raw materials to quality assurance. Omron Automation's V430 industrial fixed barcode reader (Figure 1) (MicroHAWK product series) is a high-performance barcode reader designed for easy, fast, and reliable decoding of one-dimensional and two-dimensional barcodes. This barcode reader can decode one-dimensional/two-dimensional or DPM two-dimensional barcodes on various labels and is an essential part of manufacturing traceability systems.
Omron Automation's V430 Industrial Fixed Barcode Reader Image
Figure 1: Omron Automation's V430 industrial fixed barcode reader is a high-performance barcode reader designed for easy, fast, and reliable decoding of one-dimensional and two-dimensional barcodes. (Image source: Omron Automation)
The sturdy and compact casing adopts a dual front window structure, which helps prevent moisture condensation. Easy to use, excellent decoding performance, optional liquid lens autofocus function, and ultra small external size make the V430 compact imager flexible for applications in industries such as automotive, food processing, retail, electronics, life sciences, logistics, and warehousing.