Assembly in Action: Mercedes Benz Uses Small Code to Big Advantage
Keeping track of all these tires and wheels isn’t easy. In the past, engineers coded the tires manually by burning in a number using a special thermal process and then coloring the digits white to make them easy to read. The wheels were engraved with a needle. Both procedures were time-consuming and error-prone. Staff had to visually read the number and enter each digit into the computer system for stock control and analysis.
As the warehouse grew, Mercedes engineers decided to implement an automatic data collection system. They had to find a code small enough to fit into tight spaces. Because tires and wheels are round, a traditional bar code could not be used. Instead, the Data Matrix code was selected, because it could encode an 18-character alphanumeric identification code on a label as small as a penny.