Enhancing reconfigurability and flexibility in automotive production line automation design
Klemets, Kristian (2024)
2024
Automaatiotekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Automation Engineering
Tekniikan ja luonnontieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-01-08
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023121911053
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023121911053
Tiivistelmä
The automotive industry is on the verge of big transformation of the technologies and tools used in the production systems. To satisfy customer needs, automotive companies must deal with more variation with the models than ever before. This sets up challenges to the design processes of these systems since the systems contain more intelligence and thus are becoming more complex. To an automotive manufacturing company to be competent, the production lines must be easily reconfigurable and flexible to satisfy the changing customer needs.
Traditionally the model of the production line design process is divided into three main disciplines: Mechanical, electrical and software engineering. In this model automation design can be defined as something that all these disciplines contribute to. The term automation design can be complex to define, since it means different things depending on the industry and context. In this thesis automation design is defined as electrical and software design of a production line in control and field level. Electrical design is the process of planning the electrical assembly and defining the devices whereas software design consists of creating the control software.
Some research has been done to create new frameworks and models to satisfy the new challenges in the design process that comes with the development of more complicated systems. A smaller focus has been on the research into how to introduce new design methods and improvements to the design process itself. This thesis tries to answer the questions of how to identify the problems in the design process and how to steer the design methods to support future technologies and contributing to the reconfigurability and flexibility of the production.
A bottom-up approach to analyze the design process is done in this thesis. The electrical and software design of the company was first assessed and then actions to optimize the process were introduced. The assessment was done in workshops, using SIPOC- and operational functional analyses, after which problems were identified. According to the current state of the process, an action proposal was produced. The action proposal consists of next step improvements, which can be done immediately to support the new methods of design and future technologies of industrial automation. A variety of digital design methods were also considered to produce a comprehensive analysis and final proposal.
Traditionally the model of the production line design process is divided into three main disciplines: Mechanical, electrical and software engineering. In this model automation design can be defined as something that all these disciplines contribute to. The term automation design can be complex to define, since it means different things depending on the industry and context. In this thesis automation design is defined as electrical and software design of a production line in control and field level. Electrical design is the process of planning the electrical assembly and defining the devices whereas software design consists of creating the control software.
Some research has been done to create new frameworks and models to satisfy the new challenges in the design process that comes with the development of more complicated systems. A smaller focus has been on the research into how to introduce new design methods and improvements to the design process itself. This thesis tries to answer the questions of how to identify the problems in the design process and how to steer the design methods to support future technologies and contributing to the reconfigurability and flexibility of the production.
A bottom-up approach to analyze the design process is done in this thesis. The electrical and software design of the company was first assessed and then actions to optimize the process were introduced. The assessment was done in workshops, using SIPOC- and operational functional analyses, after which problems were identified. According to the current state of the process, an action proposal was produced. The action proposal consists of next step improvements, which can be done immediately to support the new methods of design and future technologies of industrial automation. A variety of digital design methods were also considered to produce a comprehensive analysis and final proposal.