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Automation and Robotics

Replacement of EHB carriers control system in the assembly room

 

Client: VW Poznań
Location: Poland, Poznań

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The problem: The main task and expectation from the client was to replace the existing carriers control system in the assembly hall. The existing system was built 15 years ago on components mostly not supported anymore, with no possibility of its expansion.

The solution

 
 
In order to solve the problem, it was necessary to replace some of the components and create a new management and control system of EHB carriers based on PLCs.

 

 

In order to fully accomplish the task set by the client it was necessary to establish cooperation with a company providing components for carriers control.

 

The modernization involved the replacement of the existing carrier control elements with a new system consisting of a master unit - MCU (Master Control Unit) and smaller subunits - clients - responsible for controlling sections of the track - TCU (Track Control Unit). MCU together with TCU were delivered by a company with which we have established cooperation within the project. Along with the replacement of the control part the program was modified using the PLC controller. First, it was replaced with a newer model and then the program was adapted to new hardware and safety requirements.

 

The control replacement was planned for the summer production break. At the same time the client planned a number of other modifications in the assembly hall, from the replacement of parts of the hall roof to the implementation of new control systems to improve the production process. With such a labour system it was necessary to plan the replacement of the carriers control well, in order not to interfere with the work of other external companies. For this purpose, work on software development and possible tests were planned before the production break, both at the headquarters of APA and at the headquarters supplier of the necessary components.

 

The replacement of the system was multi-stage and multi-threaded. The main task, which is emphasized many times, was the replacement of the system, although it had to perfectly reflect the movement of carrier and its specific properties to which the production part adapted.

 

My point is that after the replacement of the system, on the one hand, people from the maintenance department could feel the improvement of the system but, on the other hand, people from the production should not notice any changes that would negatively affect their work or force a change in the way of production.

 

The programing and electromechanical parts were replaced. Due to the level of complexity, all the work had to be perfectly refined, reported to the client on an ongoing basis and discussed many times at the design stage. The replacement of the control system did not assume any possible failure during the summer production break which could result in having to return to the previous system.

 

The work had to be planned and coordinated not only within the APA design group but also with the supplyier of the components and with external companies carrying out their own projects on the assembly hall, as these interfered with the EHB carriers control replacement project.

  

 

Benefits

 

The objective has been achieved. The replacement was successful, tests before, during and at production showed that the system is stable. In addition to the new components, while retaining the previous features, the client gained access to extended monitoring of the carriers' movement in the form of a visualisation of the track along with information about each carrier, such as position, speed, errors, etc. Moreover, thanks to the new system, the client can make a number of subsequent changes without the need to introduce new components into the system (e.g. programing of new driving trajectories for subsequent models or for a specific model of a single carrier movement). During the replacement of system, certain places on the assembly hall, such as the place where the chassis is being connected to the body of the car, were improved. At this point it should be noted that the client also planned to modernize this part of the hall during the production break together with APA and modify the driving trajectory for the new model.

 

Interesting fact

 

  • VWP as one of the first companies in the world planned to replace the existing carriers' movement control system with a newer model. This project is extremely risky to implement in a short time such as a production stoppage.

 

 

The technologies used

 

 

  • Siemens PLC, PLC416F unit
  • Visualization based on WinCC and InTouch
  • Beckhoff PLC, MCU (Master Control Unit), TCU (Track Control Unit)
  • Profinet, ethercat, CAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

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