Engineering giant Siemens and automotive company Audi say they are “revolutionizing manufacturing processes” with “next level” software-defined automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
The long-standing partnership is accelerating innovation for the automotive industry by focusing on integrating virtual and hardware controllers, enhancing safety functions, and streamlining production processes.
Audi has also implemented AI-driven automation for optical inspection based on the Siemens portfolio. The goal is to automate detection and removal of weld spatter on vehicle bodies using a customer-trained AI algorithm and high-resolution images.
As a result, Audi has realized a higher car body quality and more efficient manufacturing processes.
Virtualizing the shop floor with software-defined automation
Audi is using Siemens’ automation portfolio to standardize and optimize its shop floor operations, creating a more agile, flexible, and safe production environment.
To speed up the transition from automated to highly adaptable production, the IT and OT levels are merged by successively virtualizing the shop floor.
As software-defined factory automation is only feasible with a corresponding controller solution, Audi is using the Simatic S7-1500V – Siemens’ first entirely virtual controller – for their car body assembly line at Audi’s Böllinger Höfe factory in Neckarsulm, Germany.
The automotive manufacturer has started integrating the virtual programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which are compatible with Audi’s cloud infrastructure platform Edge Cloud 4 Production. Audi is planning to roll out the virtual PLCs in their body shop at the Neckarsulm factory this year.
Gerd Walker, Audi board member for production and logistics, says: “A virtualized shop floor is a key enabler for a flexible production.
“Siemens’ software-defined automation portfolio empowers us to rapidly respond to market changes and optimize our manufacturing for more efficiency and flexibility.”
Cedrik Neike, CEO of digital industries and member of the board at Siemens, says: “Controllers are the ‘brains’ of machines and factories. Now we are virtualizing these brains and bringing them to the cloud.
“This accelerates Audi’s digital transformation and increases agility, efficiency, and safety in production – for more flexible, future-proof manufacturing.
“Together, we’re taking automotive production to a new level and significantly strengthening competitiveness.”
The Simatic S7-1500V, part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, is designed to integrate IT and software capabilities in the automation world. As a hardware-independent solution, this virtual controller provides the same functionalities as a Siemens hardware controller.
It’s fully compatible with Siemens’ Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) portfolio and can be engineered via TIA Portal. Users gain access to all the functions, interfaces, and tools they’re familiar with from previous hardware PLC use.
The controller is available via Industrial Edge, and it can be directly integrated into the IT infrastructure. This allows Audi to centrally manage the virtual PLC and adapt it flexibly to meet specific needs.
This makes PLC projects easier to scale, and open data interfaces mean they can be readily combined with other IT offerings.
Siemens has reached another milestone with the TÜV safety certification for its virtual PLC: The Simatic S7-1500V F is the first fail-safe virtual controller on the market.
Implementing robust fail-safe functionalities in automation technologies is critical to safeguarding production workers and ensuring reliable machine operation.
In the past, fail-safe components have required specialized hardware to provide the necessary functional safety. With the fail-safe virtual PLC, Siemens has now implemented safety mechanisms in an industrial edge environment.
These advanced safety features allow users to migrate safety-sensitive applications to software-defined automation environments.
AI vision inspection for detecting weld spatters
Siemens has supplied Audi with the infrastructure to deploy and manage an AI-driven system for real-time quality control in car body construction, which has helped Audi make their production processes AI-ready.
By utilizing the Siemens Industrial AI Suite and the Simatic industrial PC BX-59A as an edge device, the solution enables Audi to conduct complex AI-based quality inspections, meeting the requirements for automated removal of weld spatters.
Consequently, Audi is significantly increasing its production rates and improving occupational safety.