Oct 5, 2021 | San Diego/Munich

• “Spot Welding Analytics” – the sensible evaluation of machine knowledge in manufacturing – turns the Volkswagen plant in Emden right into a digital manufacturing facility   
• Volkswagen, AWS and Teradata goal to make knowledge analytics know-how obtainable to industrial cloud group companions

On the trail to totally networked manufacturing within the automotive business, there are two key success components: the digital networking of processes, merchandise and machines, and the sensible use of information. An interdisciplinary crew from Volkswagen, AWS, and the related multi-cloud knowledge platform for enterprise analytics firm, Teradata, has now succeeded in each. With “Spot Welding Analytics,” they’ve created an clever resolution that allows larger transparency and effectivity in automobile physique building. The answer integrates and analyzes knowledge generated by welding robots – a beforehand untapped potential of producing knowledge.

Mastering advanced check procedures in automobile physique building

“Spot Welding Analytics” is already in use immediately on the Volkswagen plant in Emden, the place it’s reworking the physique store right into a digitized manufacturing facility. Greater than 1,000 automobiles are produced on the plant, every day. The machines and robots within the car physique store set as much as 7 million spot welds day-after-day. The spot welds not solely should be executed in keeping with supplies, layer thicknesses and positions to make sure high quality and sturdiness they need to even be exactly inspected after execution. The robotic wants just a few seconds to set the spot weld. However high quality assurance afterwards is time-consuming. It’s because the checks are based mostly on samples that should be carried out manually by a top quality assurance crew. The method of reaching transparency with the assistance of information has far-reaching benefits: from the potential of early intervention and speedy detection of weak factors in course of sequences to dynamic upkeep of the welding infrastructure and evaluation of fabric mixtures. As well as, Volkswagen´s “Spot Welding Analytics” not solely reduces handbook effort, but in addition extends the outlined inspection scopes and end-to-end course of monitoring.

“Using course of knowledge for one hundred pc course of monitoring is a decisive step in direction of the sensible manufacturing facility and would be the foundation for additional purposes that contribute to steady enchancment,” says Mathias Boomgaarden, the mission supervisor for the use case at Volkswagen’s Emden plant.

Vital insights into welding processes with AI and machine studying

The answer is absolutely constructed on and aligned with Volkswagen’s Industrial Cloud (Digital Manufacturing Platform). The platform’s base service, the Base Connectivity Resolution, is used to determine native connectivity between operations know-how (OT), IT and the enterprise tier within the Industrial Cloud. Spot weld knowledge and extra metadata are built-in and analyzed within the Teradata Vantage cloud knowledge platform on AWS. That is the place analytical processing, mannequin coaching, and knowledge scoring happen, in addition to combining the info with different sources. Utilizing analytic fashions that incorporate self-learning and self-enhancing synthetic intelligence (AI) or machine studying algorithms, the service classifies and refines the info based mostly on varied course of traits. The outcomes present Volkswagen’s autobody engineers with data on the method stability of all weld spots. Along with the method traits of every spot weld, the answer helps the evaluation of the consequences of built-in upkeep measures, materials mixtures and welding course of parameters.

Information analytics for Industrial Cloud group companions

Volkswagen, AWS and Teradata need to make knowledge analytics applied sciences accessible and scalable for the Industrial Cloud group. The Industrial Cloud is an open business platform that allows firms from the automotive and manufacturing industries and their suppliers to learn from its providers and options as companions.

“Digitalization is essentially altering the strategies by which automobiles are developed, deliberate and constructed. Our Spot Welding Analytics resolution of the Industrial Cloud highlights one of many important potentials for sensible manufacturing within the automotive business from knowledge evaluation of machines, sensors and IT system,” mentioned Christian Schwöbel, Govt Account Director Automotive at Teradata.