Cutting-edge collaborative automation and ABB Ability™ digital solutions will showcase ABB’s advanced offering for sustainable mobility.
No one is arguing that electric vehicles (EV) are rapidly growing and transforming our transportation landscape. But even industry experts don’t agree on the timing and scale of this transition and the eventual phasing out of combustion engines.
This creates challenges for the world’s major automakers, who need to adapt complex automation processes to launch models today but at the same time maintain flexibility and scalability for a promising but unpredictable future.
ABB Robotics will showcase a number of its cutting edge solutions for Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing in Hall 11, Stand A 35 at this year’s Hannover Messe - one of the world’s largest and most important industrial trade fairs - to be held April 23-27 in Hannover Germany.
ABB’s solutions are designed to help manufacturers maintain productivity and quality while adapting longstanding automation processes like power train assembly for a new generation of axles and transmissions for today’s e-motors. Flexible and scalable automation solutions are also urgently needed for entirely new processes, such as EV battery assembly.
Even for the same model vehicle, there can be numerous configurations of battery cells, trays and packages. And EV’s – while rapidly growing - are still in a relatively early adoption phase which makes it difficult to predict which battery styles will ultimately emerge as consumer favorites. ABB flexible robotic solutions can help assembly these complex components with greater efficiency compared to traditional, fixed manufacturing lines, and at the same time remain scalable for future needs.
“We are really close to an exciting tipping point in sustainable mobility,” said Per Vegard Nerseth, Managing Director of ABB’s Robotics business. “It is a privilege for ABB to bring our decades of deep experience and complete solutions portfolio to help our automotive customers successfully make this large and important transition toward electric vehicles.”
The Hannover Messe exhibition will highlight ABB’s broad collaborative automation portfolio for different needs. This includes ABB’s YuMi dual-arm collaborative robot, which brings flexibility to automate the many small part assembly applications and delicate electronics which go into a modern EV. ABB’s SafeMove2 software monitoring and control solution can turn any industrial robot into a collaborative one by allowing people to safely work close to robots while maintaining productivity.
Digitalization solutions will include ABB’s RobotStudio, which can help simulate and troubleshoot new lines without disrupting current production and ABB Ability™ Connected Services. This suite of advanced services can unlock greater performance and reliability across entire fleets of robots, and reduce costly unplanned downtime.
The ABB stand will also highlight two state-of-the-art EV manufacturing stations: a battery assembly demo which includesjoining solutions in cooperation with Atlas Copco, and an innovative final trim and assembly (FTA) simulated application in cooperation with Volkswagen, the world’s largest automaker in 2017. FTA is one of the least automated parts of automotive manufacturing and often requires repetitive overhead tasks. ABB’s solution uses advanced vision guidance and its SafeMove2 software to automate the door assembly of a Volkswagen Golf while improving production quality and workplace ergonomics.
ABB (NYSE: ABB) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com
ABB Robotics is a pioneer in industrial and collaborative robots and advanced digital services. As one of the world’s leading robotics suppliers, we are active in 53 countries and over 100 locations and have shipped over 400,000 robot solutions in a diverse range of industries and applications. We help our customers to improve flexibility, efficiency, safety and reliability, while moving towards the connected and collaborative factory of the future. www.abb.com/robotics
