When sharp minds work collectively, a cushty sofa isn’t all the time obligatory. Certainly not in Audi’s Production Lab. Anyone who enters the corridor in Gaimersheim appears like they’re in a mix of a store flooring and an IT lab. In one nook are the 5G antennas. Diagonally throughout from them, an industrial robotic is sitting on its base. Behind which might be the server cupboards. IT consultants sit at desks their computer systems. “We take an idea that worked once under lab conditions and get it off the ground so it can go into stable 24/7 operation,” Löser explains. “We don’t need a big sofa or a football table for that.”
For Löser, an actual production surroundings is rather more necessary. In the previous, new applied sciences had been inadequately assessed as a result of Audi couldn’t attempt them out first. To change that, the corporate with the 4 rings created the Production Lab in 2012. Since then, Henning Löser’s group has examined clever help techniques that staff assist with new variants within the mesh between the particular person and the machine. These techniques preserve sources and constantly develop and enhance procedural security and office ergonomics. One instance is modular assembly, Audi’s meeting and logistics idea that’s the solely one in all its type on this planet.
Every day, consultants analysis and take a look at new high-tech options like Ingolstadt store flooring IT or 5G for mass production suitability in more and more networked, digitalized production. “In the process, we are constantly in touch with our colleagues in production so we can be sure we can implement our ideas,” says Löser, who has overseen the P-Lab since 2016. “We show them exactly what we’re working on. There’s no point in us developing something theoretical that nobody uses in practice. We test and learn.”
Stability Is Critical
Stable production is essential for Audi and the P-Lab. “Our goal is 99.9 percent reliability,” says Löser. “We must assess how good uptime is in daily use.” How good is the corresponding service idea? How ought to colleagues from upkeep be skilled in order that the brand new software operates with out interruption? “We only transfer new technology into production when our colleagues say something truly helps them,” the P-Lab boss explains. Another necessary issue is whether or not a great space of software even exists inside the production course of.
Paradigm Shift in Automation
The applied sciences which have occupied the employees within the P-Lab over the previous ten years have modified considerably. They function on the precept of ‘higher, faster, further’. “Making production better is like a competitive sport,” says Löser. “That means we use more cameras, more sensors, and above all, more algorithms in production.” Nonetheless, the system should function steadily. “Make things as simple as possible. Then they won’t break,” the P-Lab boss says.
Right now, a paradigm shift in automation is nicely underway. “If we use 100,000 cameras in production, we also have 100,000 industrial PCs that do the assessment,” he explains. “But then who takes care of maintenance and repairs on that equipment? Who updates the operating systems? At some point, the cost of maintenance exploded.” Driverless autos are one other instance. The extra Audi makes use of, the extra performance and fleet managers it wants.
On high of that, there’s additionally tools upkeep and monitoring. “The overall efficiency has to be right,” says Löser. The answer: work primarily based on software program and cloud expertise. Updates go by way of the server – with three mouse clicks. Löser says, “Right now, we’re running our shop floor IT in the Ingolstadt Heifer via a central server solution.”
Experts Are Looking Toward the Future
The P-Lab plans and assessments far upfront. According to Löser, conventional production planning didn’t permit that form of leeway. 5G is one instance. Since 2018, the P-Lab in Gaimersheim has operated a 5G base station. To use 5G as a radio community appropriate for automated production, the requirements that should be utilized aren’t the identical as these for downloading movies. For instance, controlling the tools requires URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications). The assessments in Gaimersheim enabled them to work out necessities for the worldwide 3GPP normal and contribute them to teams that preserve requirements. “We did our part to make 5G function seamlessly as a radio standard in automation,” Löser explains. The lab’s work ranges from controls for a security cell with robots that should flip every thing off inside ten milliseconds to logistics purposes that link containers utilizing large machine connectivity. “We’ll need that when it comes to the future of production and logistics,” says Löser.
Direct Exchange Makes Pragmatic Solutions Possible
Today, greater than 30 employees members from the Production Lab work intently with the varied websites. Because inter-departmental colleagues from all production areas work concurrently within the P-Lab on a spread of tasks, the variety of employees is multiplied 5 or 6 instances by short-term lab customers. “Something is always going on in the P-Lab. Direct interaction with the users is important,” says Löser. Audi Production thrives on an open innovation tradition, enabling the group to innovate. It makes the P-Lab an engaging employer for formidable IT consultants and engineers.
Löser says that applied sciences can drift to a sure level in a lab. The most up-to-date errors solely come up via use and should be eradicated on the spot. “To stay flexible, we need a smart factory that responds quickly to fluctuations in demand,” says Löser. “We cannot simply check out new concepts in serial production whereas it is occurring. That could be disastrous. We’re within the P-Lab to do the mandatory assessments and take the subsequent steps in smaller pilot tasks. After that, we take a look at out the expertise, for example, in the actual lab of the Ingolstadt Heifer and take it to mass production from there.“
