Initial project situation:Lack of automation in production

At the Siemens site in Rastatt, which previously belonged to the Building Technologies Division and will in future be part of the new operating company Smart Infrastructures, components for heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology as well as for building automation are developed and manufactured. In the past, the high mix, low volume characteristics of the products in combination with complex assembly processes have meant that not only value-adding activities but also pick and place work are often carried out by people in production.

Manual assembly was the better option financially and provided the flexibility required for the varied product portfolio and customer requirements. As a result, the lack of automation meant that all departments lacked the experience and know-how to work with robots. With the growing competitive pressure in the international environment in which all Siemens production plants operate, automation must now be stepped up in order to continue to be able to produce profitably as a location in the high-wage country of Germany.

Objective of the project:Creation of a basis for robot automation throughout the entire production plant

The aim of this project is to introduce robotics technology into the assembly production of the production area for valves and actuators (PBV). At the same time, this should create the basis for robot automation in the entire plant. By implementing at least one robot as a pilot application as part of this project, all stakeholder departments should gain experience and build up expertise so that subsequent projects can be implemented more quickly and easily.

By analyzing and researching the state of the art in the field of advanced robotics, the aim is to find ways of increasing the profitable fields of application.

In particular, safety fenceless HRC robots, so-called cobots, should be considered, as they are advertised as a beacon of hope in robotics. The current safety requirements are the most important component of this.

For the further automation of production, a strategy for broad robot automation in the factory must emerge from this project. The strategy must find a way to achieve efficient and profitable automation in the high-mix, low-volume product environment.

Project development:Building blocks for individual strategy development for automation

Based on the robot market analysis, which included conventional industrial robots, advanced robots and HRC robots, a fully collaborative robot was selected for the first pilot and learning project. Siemens Rastatt accompanied the development and implementation process of this robot application, which was carried out by an external partner, in order to strengthen the development of know-how in practice. In the second robot project, system integration, as system construction in robotics is called, was carried out completely in-house for the first time.

The development of expertise was followed by the development of the robotics strategy for the broad introduction of the technology at the site. Following the McKinsey model for describing the factors influencing automation, the key factors and their influence on robot automation were considered in the four sections technological automation potential, solution development, economic efficiency and introduction.

This analysis is based on the robot market analysis. Due to its central importance, safety is placed before the four sections. The results of the analysis are then used to derive 15 strategies, which together form a modular strategy toolkit. Eight strategies deal with technical topics, such as the use-oriented deployment of HRC robots and dealing with component variance. The necessary increase in efficiency in system integration is achieved primarily through the remaining seven organizational strategies. All 15 strategies were verified and further developed on the two robot projects described and two other robot projects. The strategy toolkit enables each company to analyze its own production and situation with regard to robot automation and to design its own individual strategy.

Added value for Siemens AG:Foundation stone for the further development of automated production

In principle, the project creates financial savings in the form of cost reductions through the realization of the robot applications. However, the experience gained, the know-how acquired and the analysis results of this master’s thesis in the technical and organizational field of robotics represent a much greater added value of this project. The strategies based on the knowledge gained and developed in this project form the basis for the further automation of production at the site. As a result, an interdisciplinary robotics team was put together before the end of the project. This team is initially only working on the automation of the PBV and will be extended to the electronics production area (PBE) once conceptual studies have been completed. From January 2019, the team will be responsible for implementing the strategies developed as part of this project in order to increase the speed and extent of automation.

In particular, safety fenceless HRC robots, so-called cobots, should be considered, as they are advertised as a beacon of hope in robotics. The current safety requirements are the most important component of this.

In addition to the two robot systems described above, two further projects for robots in the paint shop and in machining prefabrication have been launched outside of this project and are already being implemented.

The project thus lays the foundation for the widespread introduction of robots throughout the Rastatt plant in the coming years in order to counter international competitive pressure with more automated production in the future.