Final 12 months, CleanTechnica reported on the collaboration between Ford Motor Corp. and Rockwell Automation for automation on the store flooring of the Ford Blue Oval Metropolis, an roughly $6 billion mega manufacturing facility in Stanton, Tennessee. As soon as totally operational, the manufacturing unit can create roughly 6,000 new jobs and, based on Ford, will “reimagine how autos and batteries are manufactured.”
Ford is constructing a second plant in Glendale, Kentucky, for batteries alone. The corporate formally broke floor for the plant on December 5 of final 12 months. Referred to as the Ford Blue Oval SK Battery Park, the $5.8 billion undertaking will produce batteries for the Ford and Lincoln EV strains and in flip create 5,000 new jobs within the city.
Whereas the graduation of manufacturing at Blue Oval SK 2 confronted delays, development is steadily progressing. These setbacks had been formally acknowledged by the corporate in October 2022, with causes attributed to numerous components equivalent to the worldwide chip scarcity and mounting inflation. Ford has not disclosed a revised beginning date for manufacturing on the battery plant.
Since development of the plant continues to proceed based on the unique schedule, Ford’s technical companions like ABB and Siemens additionally proceed their plans for outfitting the plant with their automation and digitalization options for the brand new factories. Siemens has its Manufacturing Operations Administration (MOM) software program, which is able to assist Ford to optimize its manufacturing processes, whereas ABB is offering its robots and different automated manufacturing options for the brand new crops.
Nearer to house is Rockwell Automation. The American automation know-how supplier will provide Ford the varied course of automation techniques which is able to assist Ford to regulate and monitor its manufacturing gear.
Rockwell Automation signifies it’s on the forefront of innovation within the electrical car (EV) manufacturing, motor, and battery industries. The corporate operates an 8,000 square-foot Electrical Automobile Innovation Heart in San Jose, California, the place automotive startups and established producers go to take part in an interactive studying surroundings which, since 2019, showcases an evolution of the most recent EV manufacturing applied sciences, together with AR/VR modeling, state-of-the-art battery pack meeting machines, cutting-edge robotic applied sciences, and rigorous practical testing.
These improvements are serving to producers like Ford, Tesla, and Rivian to provide EVs extra effectively, reliably, and sustainably. Here’s a detailed take a look at a few of Rockwell Automation’s key improvements in these areas:
Built-in Structure System
The Built-in Structure system is Rockwell Automation’s next-generation automation system. It’s designed to assist producers obtain their digital transformation objectives by connecting and controlling all features of their operations, from the sting to the cloud.
The Built-in Structure system is utilized by automakers to attach and management all features of their EV manufacturing operations, from the battery cell manufacturing course of to the ultimate meeting line. This connectivity permits automakers to optimize their EV manufacturing operations and enhance the effectivity and high quality of their EV merchandise.
FactoryTalk InnovationSuite
FactoryTalk InnovationSuite is a set of software program instruments that can be utilized to gather, analyze, and visualize knowledge from EV manufacturing operations. FactoryTalk InnovationSuite will help automakers to establish areas for enchancment of their EV manufacturing operations and to make higher choices about their operations.
For instance, automakers can use FactoryTalk InnovationSuite to establish developments of their EV manufacturing knowledge and to establish potential issues earlier than they happen. This will help automakers to enhance the uptime of their EV manufacturing strains and to cut back the variety of faulty EVs produced.
Related Enterprise Platform
The Related Enterprise platform is Rockwell Automation’s cloud-based platform that enables producers to attach their EV manufacturing operations to the cloud. This connectivity permits automakers to share knowledge between completely different elements of the EV manufacturing course of and to collaborate with suppliers and companions.
For instance, automakers can use the Related Enterprise platform to share knowledge about their EV manufacturing plans with their suppliers. This will help suppliers to raised plan their very own manufacturing operations and be certain that they’ve the required parts readily available to satisfy the calls for of the automakers.
Electrical Automobile Battery Testing & Simulation Options
Rockwell Automation gives quite a lot of testing and simulation options for EV batteries. These options can be utilized to check the efficiency and reliability of EV batteries below completely different situations, equivalent to excessive temperatures and high-power charging.
Automakers use Rockwell Automation’s electrical car battery testing and simulation options to make sure that their EV batteries meet their excessive requirements for efficiency and reliability. This helps automakers to provide protected and dependable EVs for his or her clients.
Electrical Automobile Motor Management Options
Rockwell Automation gives quite a lot of motor management options for EVs. These options can be utilized to regulate the efficiency of EV motors and to enhance the effectivity and reliability of EV powertrains.
Automakers use Rockwell Automation’s electrical car motor management options to provide EVs with excessive efficiency, lengthy vary, and quick charging occasions. This helps automakers to satisfy the calls for of their clients and to provide EVs which can be aggressive with gasoline-powered autos.
Rockwell Automation’s improvements within the automotive EV manufacturing, motor, and battery industries are serving to automakers to provide EVs extra effectively, reliably, and sustainably. These improvements are additionally serving to to speed up the adoption of EVs and to make EVs extra inexpensive and accessible to customers.
Observe: This text was written from out there press releases and course of/product info from Rockwell Automation. Its goal is to start out off a sequence of articles on automation and sustainable manufacturing within the electrical car manufacturing sector.
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