Michelin accelerates its labeling program and launches RFID applications
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Use embedded EPC ultra-high frequency (UHF) passive tags on the tires of heavy trucks, buses and busesRFIDAfter many years of the system, Michelin, one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, began to deploy it on all products. For this reason, before permanently embedding the label in the sidewall of the tire, the company used testing technology to confirm whether the label is functioning properly. At the same time, the company also launched a program based on RFID technology to monitor tire pressure.
Michelin’s label supplier Hana Microdisplay will verify the function of the label before delivering it. Before shipping to the Michelin factory, Hana used the Tagsurance system provided by Voyantic to automatically test multiple tags loaded on the pallet. After that, before assembly, Michelin will also use Tagsurance manual test station for full inspection. The manual and automatic test stations are basically the same. The difference is that the manual version uses a foot pedal to trigger the measurement and emits a sound to indicate that the tag has been tested.
In addition, Misic also recently launched Michelin tire care suite applications, including cloud-based iManage applications and cloud services. Using iManage, the team can use the RFID reader to read the tag ID number and the pressure sensor data in the tire. These data will be transmitted to the cloud server, and the fleet can track the tire history and pressure readings, so as to better judge the tire status and life, and ensure the safe operation of the vehicle.
During the tire manufacturing process, Michelin places the label directly on the rubber on the sidewall of the tire.
The rubber and steel belts on the tires will affect the RFID signal. Therefore, these tags must be tuned to compensate for the off-frequency effect of the material to ensure better signal transmission. Michelin and Hana also developed an EPC UHF RFID tag dedicated to this environment to improve its use in the tire environment. The label can also be used on tires of other tire manufacturers.
Michelin RFID integration design engineer Julien Destraves said: “Before the curing process, the label will be built into the tire. Once cured, it cannot be restored.” It is very important for Michelin and its customers to ensure that the label is used well. He explained: “Insufficient reading range of poor quality labels will lead to poor customer use results, which is why we insist on 100% full inspection.”
However, large-scale label testing is not a simple task.
According to Niina Aurén, Voyantic product manager, in 2012, Michelin and Voyantic began to develop a test system to inspect Hana RFID tags before leaving the label factory and retest them before putting tires in the Michelin factory. He said: “They want a reliable inspection program for rapid testing and to ensure good label performance.”
Voyantic has developed a solution using a Tagsurance tester, which uses the EPC Gen 2 protocol to measure the operating sensitivity of the tag. It also uses Snoop Pro couplers and components to act as a near-field UHF reader antenna. This solution can provide wideband detection from 800 to 1100MHz, covering the entire UHF band that the tag can transmit. Rubber and steel belts will bring frequency-off effects, so it is more important to confirm that the entire RF frequency band is working properly.
In 2014, the manual inspection station was put into use by Michelin, and then the Hana factory also used an automatic test station. Currently, Hana has invested a total of two test stations.
At the Hana factory, labels are placed on pallets and flow through a conveyor belt to a Tagsurance tester for inspection. If the tester detects that the label sensitivity is too low, the data will be displayed on the screen, and the staff needs to remove it from the tray. The compliant label will be shipped to the Michelin factory, where a second inspection will be carried out.
Aurén said that although the far field is the best test condition for tags, this is obviously impossible in a production environment. Therefore, the tester uses the Snoop Pro coupling element, which is different from the near-field antenna of ordinary even and inductive tags. This element is tested with a UHF tag with a coupled induction dipole antenna developed by Voyantic. In this way, the tester only needs 10 milliseconds to verify the functionality of the tag in a wide frequency band, and only 25 milliseconds to measure the exact sensitivity of the tag. The shielding plate on Snoop Pro can shield the signals of adjacent tags, reducing interference.
The Snoop Pro’s shielding cover is cut into two parts from the middle. This creates two independent capacitive loads connected along the edge of the opening. Using this design, the Snoop Pro coupling element can create a tire environment.
Erdmann said: “Although the test system was developed for Michelin, it can also be used on other tire labels.”
Michelin plans to use RFID tags on all tires by the end of 2016, and use the test station to inspect each tag at the same time.
(Exclusive manuscript of rfid world network, please indicate the source author for reprinting!)
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