RFID integration as an application to industrialize and qualify high-volume composite production

Carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) offer great potential for lightweight construction of technical products due to their high stiffness and strength combined with their low weight. Due to their outstanding mechanical characteristics, CFRP are increasingly used for high-volume production i.e. for the automotive industry. However, the industrial application of these materials results in high costs because of a lack of adequate production systems. High-volume production requires appropriate machinery and a reduction of material cost and cycle times. In addition, capable process control systems are necessary to ensure a full traceability of the CFRP products. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an innovative technique that can help to achieve the logistic objectives and avoid non value-adding activities for the documentation of the production process. Therefore RFID should be included in composite materials. This paper presents the fabrication process of CFRP and discusses its requirements for the integration of RFID.