GKN Automotive i Köping ser ett behov av att utreda möjligheten av att utöka spårbarheten inom kronhjulstillverkningen. Med en utökad spårning finns möjligheter att lagra information om referensmått, tidpunkt för tillverkning och detaljernas väg genom produktionsflödet. Informationen kan användas till att se trender, analysera rotorsaker och planera produktionen. I examensarbetet utförs en förstudie om vilka möjligheter som finns för en utökad spårbarhet på 2 artikeltyper i kronhjulsflödet, Artikel 1 och Artikel 2. Nuläget i tillverkningsflödet analyseras genom observationer och intervjuer. En litteraturstudie genomförs för att hitta möjliga lösningar för spårbarhet. Genom att kombinera nulägesanalysen med litteraturstudien kan 3 lösningskoncept skapas. Lasermärkning som var en av de tre lösningskoncepten valdes ut för vidare utvärdering. Tester utfördes för att undersöka huruvida en lasermärkning på detaljerna klarade sig genom produktionsflödet. Resultatet visade att lasermärkningen inte påverkades av tillverkningsflödet på Artikel 1. Däremot upptäcktes det en del svårigheter för Artikel 2. Märkningen var omöjlig att läsa efter kulpening samt svår att läsa av efter fosfatering. Ytan var tvungen att rengöras efter fosfatering för att märkningen skulle kunna läsas av. Resultatet av arbetet visar att individmärkning är möjlig på Artikel 1. På Artikel 2 behöver vidare undersökning göras huruvida det går att bygga bort de problem som uppstod. För vidare arbete rekommenderas det att undersökas hur avläsning av detaljer ska ske och vilka parametrar som ska användas i lasermärkningsmaskinen. Det behöver även undersökas mer huruvida RFID på korg och nålprägling fungerar i produktionen. Vilket var de två lösningar som valdes bort för vidare tester. / GKN Automotive Koping requested an improved traceability in ring gear manufacturing. Improved traceability gives the opportunities to store information about measure values, timestamps and the parts way through the production flow. The information can be used to recognize trends from measurement, root cause analyses and production planning. This student thesis is a pilot study about the opportunities to improve traceability for two product types in the production flow for ring gears, Product 1 and Product 2. The current state in production flow is analyzed trough observations and interviews. A literature study was made to find possible solutions for traceability. The status analysis was combined with the literature study to create three solution concepts. Laser marking was picked out from the rest of the solutions for further investigation. Test were made to investigate how laser marking was suited to maintain readability trough the production flow. The results showed that Product 1 wasn’t affected by the operations during its production flow. However, problems were recognized for Product 2 in its production flow. The laser marking was impossible to read after dot peening and hard to read after the phosphating process. The surface needed to be cleaned after phosphating process in order to read the marking. The result shows that it’s possible to direct part mark Product 1 with laser marking. Product 2 needs further investigation on how to solve the problems in the production flow. Other areas that need more investigation is how to read the parts in every operation and how to setup the marking machine to make markings with good readability. RFID on basket and needle marking also need further investigation. These are the 2 solutions that was neglected for further investigations.

Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Traceability systems are capable of both tracking and tracing parts. They offer many benefits to an organisation from assisting with recall applications to monitoring the everyday workings of a production line or supply chain. There are numerous methods able to act as traceability systems but only a few can be regarded as automatic and unique identifiers. Automatic traceability of individual entities is the future. It is already widely used by a number of leading companies throughout different business sectors and wide mass adoption is imminent. At present, they are slightly more expensive than the simpler technologies but once mass produced, the cost will come down. To completely understand how traceability systems are implemented, practical experience is required. When starting a traceability project, there are a lot of different options. The different systems offer their own set of advantages and some don’t work in certain environments. It was for this reason that The Decision Making Model was developed to assist users through the difficult initial stages of traceability implementation (i.e. choosing the system most suitable to a particular environment). This model was programmed in Excel and supplies the user with a number of questions regarding the environment the system would work in as well as the user’s requirements. The answers to these questions help the user work through the different types of traceability options to eliminate unsuitable choices. The result is an easy to use program designed with the ability to be upgraded as the technologies evolve.