Case Study | Automotive - Tire Tracking

The "booked" tires for mounting

The variety of tire products is enormous. They differ in size, tread, type of use, hardness and quality of the raw materials and many other properties. Monitoring the various models is a must in quality assurance not only for tire manufacturers, but also for car manufacturers. After all, the right tires for fitting to new cars must be fitted precisely to the intended vehicle during production. Where possible, incorrect fitting should be automatically and proactively detected and thus avoided. At the same time, it is important to prevent incorrect control of the assembly items and the time-consuming, expensive search for the correct materials.

More than just Track & Trace

Of course, real-time monitoring of tires using RFID transponders is the primary benefit. However, OEMs and tire manufacturers now see much greater potential in the use of RFID as a data carrier. Because even if the transponder provides valuable data during the production and subsequent assembly process, downstream stages of the value chain also benefit from it. Long after the vehicle has "rolled" off the assembly line. The transponder data is also relevant in the delivery process to the end consumer and for subsequent maintenance, warranty and recycling, i.e. also for dealers. This allows the entire life cycle of a tire to be mapped and valuable data to be collected over a longer period of time.

Always on the move - the challenges of RFIDRead

The position of the transponder in the tire changes when the wheel rotates during the fitting process. This can be a challenge when reading the RFID transponder, which is embedded in the rubber of the tire. However, if two to four RFID antennas are mounted at the right angle to read the transponder in any tire position while it is mounted on the vehicle and rotates on the assembly line, all data can be reliably recorded in a matter of seconds.

The profiteers: OEM, suppliers, aftersales market

Of course, the major OEMs have an interest in tracking all four tires per vehicle. In the new vehicle market, RFID tracking of tires is establishing itself as an additional quality assurance method. But tracking is also helpful for controlling logistics processes. In aftersales management, e.g. at spare parts or tire dealers, the RFID data of the transponder can be read out with an MDE device to uniquely identify the item. All processes, from development and tire production to recycling, should be traceable and transparent. Of course, Track&Trace primarily serves to ensure driving safety and the tire brand's high quality standards.

Using the new transparency together

Even if each of the players is currently still benefiting individually from the data obtained, it is already becoming apparent that the highly networked market will use data in development partnerships through cooperation between the players involved. The data obtained through RFID-RAIN technology helps to view the tire over its entire service life and thus to improve it in a targeted manner.

KATHREIN ARU 2400 with SMSH or WRA 6060

On the production line of automotive manufacturers, RFID read points with the ARU 2400 reader in combination with the KATHREIN SmartShelf Antenna Unit or WRA 6060 antennas are ideal. If the tires are already mounted on the vehicle, all transponders installed in the tires can be reliably read during the production process with this set-up. These KATHREIN readers and antennas are specialized in high-performance detection at short distances, but can also detect transponders at long distances depending on the selected KATHREIN RFID components. This is possible very selectively, so that only the transponders that are actually to be read are detected. This ensures a high level of data and detection quality. The captured tire data is delivered from the reader to the corresponding software systems and made visually accessible to employees directly on the production line.

 

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Case Study | Automotive - Tire Tracking