Bosch Automotive in Changsha, China (BA) is a subsidiary of Bosch. BA is a tier-one supplier to automobile manufacturers and manufactures components such as generators, radiators and seat adjustment systems. In 2022, BA was the first smart manufacturer to become the "Lighthouse" factory in the province of Hunan.
Business Challenges
1. Prevent defective labels from getting to the customers leading to compensation and losses
2. Fulfill online requirements of printing, inspecting and segregating defects for label of 20 mm in height
3. Build electrical interface between printing inspection and PLC for transmitting results and printer status
4. Work within space constraint and ensure installation of inspection system does not occupy additional space on the printer
5. Conveniently switch between labels types and interface with printer software
Upon careful assessment of various systems, BA decided to proceed with BLC's B-ZT6166, an integrated printing and inspection (single physical unit) solution across the board. The advantages of B-ZT6166 include:
1. Seamless Integration - The BLC not only fully integrates with Zebra ZT610, but maintains the original feature of segregating the defective labels. The smallest possible label size is down to the height of 12 mm.
2. Quality Inspection - The BLC inspection software fulfills the barcode and text inspection requirements. It also allows rapid access to the inspection module and interface with the client's MES.
3. Interfaces - The 7-way input/output feature allows electrical interface with the PLC. Meanwhile, BLC installs smart flat field camera at the printer exit and has the capability of inspecting the first label.
Benefits
The BLC installation ensures every label from BA passes the label output requirements. It eliminates customer panelty and risk of recall due to non-conformities while maintaining the existing manpower. The company continues to maintain its reputation and offer confidence to customers.
