Wireless RFID Sensors in a Mesh Network for Discrete Manufacturing : An Industry 4.0 Application

Abstract: This thesis presents the work of a master degree project in mechatronics by two students from The Royal Institute of Technology. The project was carried out during spring 2017 in collaboration with Bosch Rexroth Mellansel as part of their desire to improve their operations. It is also in line with the Bosch Groups ambition to lead the development within Industry 4.0. The aim was to investigate the information need on a discrete manufacturing process and how radio-frequency identification (RFID) can be used to cover that need. The background research was made with qualitative methods using a literature review on relevant areas and a case study of Bosch Rexroth Mellansel. A discrete event simulation was created to confirm the possibilities of an RFID tracking system. It acted as a target for what the developed demonstrator should fulfil and was realised through a system of four wireless nodes connected in a mesh network. The plant in Mellansel partially implemented a Bosch standardised RFID system in parallel with the development of the demonstrator, which enabled a comparison of the two systems. The results show that from a tag event, which gives information on what, where and when, it is possible to, in real time, analyse and visualise valuable key performance indicators for a production process. It is also possible to use the data to automate transactions in an enterprise resource system which removes non-value adding activities from an operator while also ensuring consistency in the reporting procedure. The results indicate that benefits can be achieved. However, this requires further quantitative analysis before it can be fully confirmed and be used to push the development of Industry 4.0 forward.