HANNOVER, Germany - RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification, a technology that uses tiny radio transmitters and receivers for contactless object identification and localization. It is thus a highly efficient means of tracking items through production processes and indeed the entire value chain.
"The RFID Factory activity zone demonstrates a key implementation of digital integration in the wood and furniture industries that delivers benefits to companies of all sizes, including SMEs. RFID provides the basis for Industry 4.0 because it is a highly efficient means of enabling workpieces to carry and exchange key information," explained abaco director Anja Koitka.Technology providers will use the RFID Factory showcase to demonstrate RFID, Integrated Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 products and solutions from across the entire development spectrum, from tried and proven to cutting-edge. These technologies are the gateway to Industry 4.0 in the wood and furniture industries.
The RFID Factory activity zone will provide an immersive perspective on RFID-based applications and solutions across the entire furniture-industry production and supply chain, from parts suppliers and logistics operators to manufacturers, and from finished-furniture warehouses to furniture stores and right through to the end customer. The aim of RFID technology is to streamline throughput while keeping faults, rejects and complaints to a minimum.
"Industry 4.0 means that RFID technology will steadily grow in importance and, in many applications, even replace barcode technology," commented abaco project manager Andrej Ermlich. RFID is, in fact, already widely used in industry, including in such areas as automated goods checking at point of receipt, KANBAN inventory control solutions, quality control, workpiece processing and logistics.
The RFID Factory activity zone’s exhibitors and supporters include:
- abaco Informationssysteme GmbH, Löhne/Germany
- AGIMERO GmbH, Karlsruhe/Germany
- Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau GmbH, Langenberg/Germany
- Panotec s.r.l, Cimadolmo/Italy
- Packsize GmbH, Herford/Germany
- BIESSE S.p.A, Pesaro/Italy
- dmaic software GmbH & Co. KG, Detmold/Germany
- Franz Glane Maschinen- und Gerätebau, Melle/Germany
- ims, ingenieur- und managementbüro sauter, Bad Bocklet/Germany
- Item Industrietechnik GmbH, Solingen/Germany
- Hecht Electronic AG, Besigheim/Germany
- Logopak Systeme GmbH & Co. KG, Hartenholm/Germany
- Torwegge GmbH & Co. KG, Bielefeld/Germany
- Venjakob Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Rheda-Wiedenbrück/Germany
- W&K Metallverarbeitung GmbH, Lippstadt/Germany
RFID Factory highlights include displays of how intelligent RFID labeling systems can support process flows.
Logopak Strategic Development Manager Lars Thuring explains, "Growing interest in custom production and just-in-time processing is driving the uptake of solutions that are capable of marking and identifying individual workpieces and parts." At LIGNA, Logopak will demonstrate a new RIFD-based solution that enables manufacturers to apply non-visible markings.
TORWEGGE, a manufacturer and supplier of integrated intralogistics solutions, specializes in the development of systems that integrate seamlessly into existing production processes. At the RFID Factory showcase, it will demonstrate an autonomous pallet truck that uses optimized sensors and integrated navigation and safety scanners to recognize humans and obstacles in its path.
Venjakob Maschinenbau will be at the activity zone with a simulated production and logistics process that will, among other things, demonstrate the capabilities of its new RFID-controlled automatic spray coating machine.
Hecht Electronic AG will likewise be showcasing its contribution to integrated manufacturing: measuring systems that integrate fully into production processes and communicate directly with up- and downstream machines as well as with workpieces. Hecht’s measuring technology can, for instance, send feedback to individual machine assemblies, "telling" them to make various on-the-fly adjustments to keep the workpiece or the production job as a whole within the prescribed tolerances.
The RFID Factory activity zone at Stand B78 in Hall 11 will feature intelligent solutions for all areas of the woodworking and wood processing industry, whether it’s an integrated single-batch production solution by dmaic software, a fully automated, precision product packaging system by Becker Sondermaschinenbau, or an ultra-reliable logistics control solution for truck loading and unloading by abaco.
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