RFID Aircraft Parts Marking

The two major players in commercial aviation Airbus and Boeing have in the past mandated RFID for parts marking on their newest aircraft – the A350 XWB and the 787 Dreamliner. The two planes have almost 70% commonality in parts suppliers. RFID part marking is critical for both companies, and requires very specialized RFID expertise. ODIN was selected as the exclusive RFID integration partner for Airbus over five years. If you are looking for the lowest cost way to meet the parts marking compliance with the least amount of risk ODIN’s aviation parts marking solution is what you need.

When looking at the parts marking standard it is important to adhere closely with the two key standards which have been developed to address the main part of the guidelines: SAE AS5678 and ATA Spec 2000 Chap 9-5. The ODIN aviation parts marking solution is set up for tagging the parts themselves not the containers or boxers (shipping labels) that hold the parts. This would be covered under our automated shipping and receiving solution.

How do you know if you need to participate in a parts marking initiative?

If you have already been contacted by one of your clients and asked to participate in the RFID parts marking program you are most likely looking for a solution. If you have not been contacted yet, but your parts meet the following four criteria you need to enable RFID part marking:

1. The part is a serialized item
2. The part is a line replaceable part (LRU/LRI/LRM etc.)
3. The part is repairable or has a life limit
4. The part has an expected GMTBUR lower than 60 000h or the part is
   subject to life monitoring

The minimum tag memory is 512 bits for the program. This is considered the “low memory” tag for purposes of the parts marking programs. Currently there are three suppliers who produce such a tag, with very different performance results. In many instances there are issues that arise with these new 512 bit tags that create specific challenges when embarking on an RFID installation. ODIN’s extensive experience and deep hardware relationships ensure there is no risk to end-users. No one is more familiar with the 512 bit RFID solution than ODIN. In fact ODIN was the first company to deploy an Intelliflex solution in the aerospace industry, and the first company to deploy 512 bit tags on multiple vendor UHF readers. The lessons learned from these pioneering efforts ensure that ODIN’s global support team can deliver a guaranteed optimal UHF RFID solution at the lowest costs and least risk to you.

The second critical component after choosing the RFID tag is where the tags are affixed. Both companies specify a particular use of the RFID tags. Improper placement can not only effect the performance of the system, but also the useable life of the tag.

The ODIN RFID aviation parts marking solution takes into account all required components and starts as low as $25,000 including hardware, software and services for Boeing and Airbus suppliers. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at ODIN for more information.