Monitoring the effectiveness of a global car manufacturer

A global car manufacturer installed a new facility for the production of one of its new models. During the construction, numerous manual MIG welding procedures necessary to assemble the underbody fell short of the required quality control processes, which raised concern and needed to be addressed.

The objective was to provide a system capable of monitoring an operator’s effectiveness in manually welding the component parts to the underbody of the car.

The system needed to be flexible to allow for changes in the weld sequence and additional parts to be added during product development. The procedure had to be simple to operate and prevent any unnecessary downtime in the manufacturing cycle in the event of a welding error.

 

Our Solution

Our scope was to project manage, design, document, manufacture, install and commission the agreed system during a planned plant shutdown. Additionally, we were expected to provide all hardware, software, network design, cabling, TV screens, commissioning, training and standby.

The SCADA server HP proliant D360 distributes weld data to clients, collects data for reporting and delivers controls to customise the weld process.

Large Samsung 48” LED monitors mounted in the weld areas show the operator the status of the welding being undertaken. We used an Allen Bradley 1768-L43S PLC controller to communicate with the weld sets to enforce/monitor the weld process via data obtained. Small custom-built panels incorporating Allen Bradley Point I/O push buttons and lamps allow the operator to interact with the system. Mysql database collects and stores data on every weld undertaken for quality reporting.

 

Results

• Improved safe access and quality control processes
• Enhanced product quality
• Reduced manufacturing downtime

 

Client Feedback

The solution has been well received for its ease of use and flexibility. The installation was successful with the highest build quality and considered in high regard for defining a unique solution to managing manual weld processes during manufacture.