By Visual Components
As part of a research project, an assembly line from BENTELER Automotive was analyzed. In this assembly line, a passenger car axle is assembled from sheet metal parts. The task: Automatic assembly and welding of a car axle from sheet metal parts.
Assembly lines of such complexity cannot be planned manually
When planning such an assembly line, numerous requirements must be considered. The rotary tables and handling robots must be arranged in such a way that optimum accessibility is ensured, i.e., that the distances and thus the cycle times are as short as possible. Collisions must be avoided at all times.
In addition, the processes must be coordinated in such a way that processing and loading/unloading can be carried out in parallel. Finally, the welding line must be supplied with the sheet metal parts and the end products must be removed. In the past, such assembly lines were planned manually and with the help of Excel spreadsheets.
However, such complex production systems cannot be modified or adapted in a short time; moreover, a realistic representation of the assembly line and its processes is missing. To enable more precise planning of production systems and to reduce the time-to-market, it is necessary to use modern software for factory planning and simulation. The Institute of Production Science has chosen Visual Components for this purpose.
Professional software for factory planning and simulation
With the software users can create digital twins of everything from individual machines and production lines to entire factories. These digital twins are essential tools that facilitate meticulous planning, optimize production processes, and enable virtual commissioning, ensuring that our customers are well-prepared for real-world implementation.
In this specific case all stations of the welding system were set up in Visual Components. The modular structure facilitates future modifications because new concepts of the welding system can easily be set up and quickly tested and optimized via simulation. It is also possible to extend the model into a digital twin after the physical welding line has been built. Such a digital twin behaves exactly like the real system. A digital twin saves a lot of time and costs in development, optimization, and commissioning.
Read all about the possibilities of simulation in tomorrow's production in the case study of Visual Components.
About Visual Components
Visual Components develops 3D simulation software as well as offline programming for manufacturing. Manufacturing companies use the software to plan production layouts, simulate processes in advance or program machines offline beforehand.
