Automotive

The digital revolution is in fact an obligatory step both for Car Makers and for Tier One and Tier Two (component suppliers), as well as for assembly machine manufacturers who want to preserve competitiveness on international markets, mainly because of the numerous disruptive phenomena, including IoT, Big Data, Cloud & Edge Computing.

It is a propulsion for change capable of developing, in addition to new digital technologies, also a new way of designing and manufacturing cars, creating a real revolution of cars and increasingly connected production plants, for which digitization can bring new added value to the proposal of services, products and solutions.

In addition to the concepts "just in time" (JIT) and "just in sequence" (JIS) on which the production processes of the automotive industry are based, the consumption and market logics, at the basis of Mass customization, represent the imperative guide to which Car Makers respond with efficient, quick, flexible, simple and safe solutions.

The driver of growth of the companies operating in the automotive sector is the personalization request, in support of the innumerable needs of customers, who are radically changing the concept of vehicle and car use experiences. In particular, the basis of the digital transformation are four trends with a strong technological component and capable of determining the essential keystone to satisfy the market:

• Green: efficient management of plant energy and environmental resources, through the adoption of an innovative working method that provides the elimination of all types of waste and loss. From a production point of view, this also involves the production of environmentally friendly vehicles capable of reducing CO₂ emissions
• Safe: digitilized processes capable of ensuring constant safety both on the passenger front and in the production of cars. In both cases, this means use of innovative technologies such as the use of safety sensors (proximity sensors) capable of ensuring, on the one hand, greater protection for passengers and, on the other, increasing safety in production plants
• Smart: increasingly connected assembly and handling processes, characterized by a huge proliferation of data from the field, useful to facilitate communication and control of production activities within the factories. On the consumer's point of view, thanks to the use of extremely connected innovative technologies, it is possible to create vehicles connected with the outside world through mobile apps, guaranteeing an emotional driving experience with a high level of comfort through modern infotainment systems
• My Special: greater production modularity to be able to customize individual cars according to a one-piece flow logic that allows the manufacture of a single unit at a time in a flexible and economic way

The companies that will move in this direction will have the best insights available to their customers and will be able to take advantage of the changes and market opportunities, responding to the requests of all the players involved in the Automotive sector. A guarantee offered by a wide and varied range of solutions, services and modular drive and automation systems, able to guarantee scalability, production flexibility, reduction of energy consumption, reliability over time (to prevent failures and / or risky situations), but also simplicity and speed of production processes through the presence of connected and digitilized components.

The automotive industry has always been a very dynamic sector which requires extreme flexibility from component suppliers and machine manufacturers. Customization, efficiency and adaptability are the key criteria at the basis of the design and production of machines and automatic lines to assemble components of various kinds.

The revolution triggered by the Industrial Internet of Things and the new intelligent factory models represents a necessary step in order to get in the new frontiers of machine automation, activated in response to digital transformation and data-based production.

On the operational front, it is precisely the combination of IT solutions together with modular and interconnected automation systems that make assembly plant activities flexible and efficient, thus allowing greater optimization of processes along the entire supply chain, from production and product innovation to the intelligent management of energy resources.

The modular automation system, MOVI-C ® is an example: the end-to-end solution is able to cover all automation needs through a single package that includes engineering software, control and monitoring technology , central and decentralized inverter technology, an efficient energy management system, gearboxes, servomotors and asynchronous motors. Furthermore, through MOVILINK® DDI (Digital Data Interface) technology, it is possible to digitilize the mechanical component in order to allow on one hand the transmission of diagnostic data, from the sensors placed on the motor (temperature, brake, vibrations, encoder) and on the other hand it can enable Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance functions.

The new scenario positively impacts all activities within the plant, including maintenance by guiding the transition from preventive to predictive: connectivity and data management on the machine allows, in fact, to identify any operating anomalies that could generate interruptions (condition monitoring) and take appropriate action avoiding the costs of expensive service stop (predictive maintenance).

In this perspective, the realization of the principles of Industry 4.0 and the new technologies connected to it are the main guidelines to follow in order to satisfy the current needs capable of guaranteeing undisputed advantages in terms of productivity and operational continuity, both in the Machine Automation and Material Handling.

Also on the handling front, car manufacturers who want to be agile are increasingly in need of equipment capable of significantly reducing time to market and guaranteeing a high customization capacity of vehicles through the adoption of a mix of conveyor belts, systems of fixed transport (EMS Eletrified Monorail System) and mobile transport with self-driving vehicles (MAS Mobile Assistance System), for the flow of material.

With this in mind, today we are witnessing the progressive replacement of the rails with self-driving vehicles capable of moving (independently and along dynamic routes) the single body or entire body parts towards the stations on which to install the various components and internal accessories (preassembled dashboard, seats etc ..), depending on the assembly configuration to be made.

Through the motion control features offered by the MOVI-C® CONTROLLER, it is possible to completely manage the various handling needs thanks to the brilliant combination of the MOVISUITE® control software. The integrated software of the MOVI-C® CONTROLLER offers, in fact, the decisive added value to reduce the complexity and programming costs, deriving from a greater freedom to customize the parameters.

In terms of advantages, modern handling solutions guarantee undisputed gains in terms of vehicle configuration: greater flexibility along the assembly lines, increase in production volumes required with punctuality and speed of realization of a wide variety of customized models.

In addition to optimizing the movement of vehicles, MAS and EMS are the ideal solution to ensure greater safety within the plants, but also to improve performance by reducing the waiting and transport times of the individual pieces along the entire line without any kind of interruption.