Mobile robotics in the fast lane: How lean intralogistics keep automotive suppliers competitive

Automotive suppliers don’t have it easy, especially in today’s environment: Subject to great time and cost pressures, they must supply manufacturers in often widely dispersed locations worldwide with high-quality parts. At t he same time, they must devote increasing resources to their research and development to still be able to offer innovative solutions even in times of e-mobility and autonomous driving. An increasingly number of suppliers are turning to robotics – specifically autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) – to help streamline material flow, produce more efficiently and to save money so they canfacilitate a more strategic vision.

For example, Faurecia, a global supplier of vehicle interiors and car seats to automotive manufacturers, is in a highly competitive market segment. In early 2019, the company implemented mobile robots within 11 of itsplants worldwide. The robots, which can transport up to 200 kg or 440 pounds, help optimise intralogistical processes by relieving factory employees of repetitive transports and ensuring a smooth flow of materials.

The mobile robots transport materials around the facilities but also “perform upstream and downstream process steps such as loading and uploading,” explains Eric Moreau, vice president Supply Chain & Digital Enterprise, Faurecia Clean Mobility Business Group. “This increases the efficiency of the entire production line." This allows Faurecia to make optimum use of its capacity and to free up resources where they are needed more urgently.

Robots create time for R&D

This idea also prompted the supplier NIDEC GPM to introduce mobile transport robots to its production halls. A member of the Japanese NIDEC Group, the former family-owned company develops innovative pump solutions for car engines. Thanks to lean intralogistics, the company now has even more capacity at its disposal: NIDIC uses three AMRs to optimise the internal material flow at its Thuringian plant, freeing up the resources of a full-time employee.

With a hook suspension system attached, the AMRs supply the workers with as many oil pump covers, water pump bearings or drive shafts as needed at the exact moment they need them. Andreas Vogt, deputy head of production and lean expert at NIDEC GPM, reports that a logistician used to do this. “At that time, there was usually far too much material on the assembly lines – and of course that costs unnecessary money.” With just-in-time delivery by the mobile robots, NIDEC GPM is able to optimise its stock and reduce warehousing costs.

Clearing the way for more flexible production

An important factor that led NIDEC GPM to choose AMRs was their independent navigation. When deploying an AMR, it just needs to travel through the environment to map it. Using powerful sensors, it find its way around by itself and is not dependent on magnetic strips or rails. This eliminates the need for costly conversions of building infrastructure.The robot recognises obstacles in time and avoids them. AMRs with artificial intelligence-capabilities enable the robots to differentiate between a human being and an object and adapt its reaction accordingly.

It was precisely this autonomy that won over Visteon Electronics, a supplier of vehicle electronics to manufacturers such as BMW, Ford and VW. Through the strategic optimisation of its intralogistics, the company strives to achieve the highest standards of efficiency and quality and always wants to supply its customers with precisely tailored products. With this in mind, AMRs have become the global standard at Visteon. At the production site in Námestovo, Slovakia, for example, four AMRsnow handle various transportation tasks. Two supply automated production lines for surface mount technology with printed circuit boards for further processing, while one collects wasteand the last supplies material to injection molding machines and collects the finished plastic components. “By delegating such monotonous activities to the robots, we are relieving the strain on our employees," explains Richard Čiernik, manager industrial engineering at Visteon. “They benefit from the fact that the robots bring the material directly to their workstations, so they are spared ergonomically unfavourable movements.”

Reliable and versatile

At the same time, companies such as Visteon and NIDEC lower their production costs due to the more efficient processes, while rapid commissioning also keeps the total cost of ownership low. In both cases, the robots operate 24 hours a day, five days a week, ensuring optimum utilization. As a result, the purchase can pay for itself within a year. Even if a route is blocked once, the processes do not come to a halt. Instead, the robot recalculates the route and continues to its destination. Neither locked gates or elevators are an obstacle either, as theAMRs handle them independently via WLAN or contact thresholds in the floor. This reliability in particular makes them a suitable intralogistics solution for automotive suppliers who must be able to deliver at any time.

Versatility is another advantage: AMRs function as a mobile platform that can be equipped with various attachments. At NIDEC, for example, the hook suspension system pulls floor rollers, while Visteon uses a shelf attachment to transport workpieces. Using conveyor belt modules or robot arms, the mobile helpers can also take on packaging tasks or bridge the material flow between production cells. This enables a wide variety of activities to be automated with just one robot. Since the robots are intuitive to operate, employees quickly learn how to handle them.Using a web-based user interface, they can easily assign tasks to the robots and reprogram them for new jobs. This is particularly useful in an industry that has to adapt quickly to new production orders.

Freedom to look to the future

Mobile robotics offer automotive suppliers decisive advantages: necessary flexibility to efficiently support variable production layouts and increased production efficiency and productivity by streamlining workflow. In this way, they free up suppliers to look to the future – and focus more on research and development. The increasing digitalisation of the car and the switch to new drive technologies require constant, strategic investments in the company's own innovative capability. An optimised intralogistics system frees up the necessary resources to be able to set appropriate priorities and be at the forefront of the automotive market of the future.