An RFID-Driven Graphical Formalized Deduction for Describing the Time-Sensitive State and Position Changes of Work-in-Progress Material Flows in a Job-Shop Floor

Abstract

As a key advanced manufacturing technology in next generation manufacturing systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is considered to be one of the most promising technological innovations with the potential to increase visibility and improve efficiency. Therefore, research about RFID and its applications are increasing by blasting with all kinds of RFID models in various fields, especially in manufacturing. By introducing RFID technology into the job-shop floor, this paper proposes a systematic RFID-driven graphical formalized deduction model (rfid-GFDM) for describing the time-sensitive state and position changes of work-in-progress (WIP) material flows and guiding where to deploy RFID devices and how to use them for collecting real-time on-site data. Four steps including RFID configuration based on the process flow model, state blocks model, automatic event generation, and extended event-driven model are proposed one by one to support the implementation of rfid-GFDM. The nature of RFID technology is revealed, too. A use case about a computer numerical control (CNC) milling system is studied, and it demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed model. Finally, the possibility of popularizing the model to other field is discussed, too. It is expected to establish a normative RFID modeling method that will facilitate the convenience of RFID applications in a broad scope.