RFID Bus Mode Ensures Quality of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Bus mode combines a high data transfer rate with a low cost per read position

With the current boom in the NEV (new energy vehicle) market, demand for lithium-ion batteries is rising. The level of automation in battery production has a direct impact on the quality of the batteries. Manufacturers use RFID technology to monitor production and to document quality tests.

The quality of every weld spot is checked 

When assembling battery modules from individual cells, the cells are welded to an aluminum strip that connects them together. The quality of the weld spots is vital to ensuring the quality of the finished battery. Therefore, the entire module is tested after welding. The result of the test is written directly in the tag located under the product carrier of the module. The production line includes around 35 read/write positions in total. 

Your Benefits

  • High product quality ensured by reliable test documentation
  • Cost-effective production thanks to RFID HF bus mode
  • Multiprotocol functionality for easy integration into different Systems
  • Short read/write times for high productivity

  • In HF bus mode, 32 RFID devices can be connected in series to a single RFID

  • The read/write devices can read both EPROM and FRAM tags

  • Trigger sensors are connected directly in the field to the IP67 RFID interface

With so many read/write heads, using standard RFID systems can become expensive. RFID via IO-Link is frequently used as an alternative, but is often too slow due to the low bandwidth. 

Low price per read/write position with HF bus mode

We recommend using Turck's HF bus mode. Up to 32 read/write devices can be connected in series to a single interface RFID port, effectively reducing the price per read/write position. The production line can maintain its original speed because bus operations offer a relatively high bandwidth. Another advantage is that every read/write head can read both EPROM and FRAM tags, which are both used on these production lines.  

Inductive sensor triggers read/write head

Tag reading is triggered by an inductive sensor. If multiple tags are present in the air interface of different read/write heads simultaneously, the PLC creates a buffer to execute the commands at the different read/write heads one after the other. The trigger sensor also helps to detect errors: if the read/write head cannot read a tag after it has been triggered by the sensor, this indicates that the tag is faulty. 

TBEN-S connects triggers and read/write devices

RFID devices and trigger sensors are connected directly to the TBEN-S2-2RFID-4DXP. The IP67 interface communicates with the PLC via PROFINET. As a multiprotocol device, it can also be used seamlessly in Ethernet/IP or Modbus TCP networks without requiring any user intervention.  

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