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Autoalliance car plant installs CC-Link network

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 26, 2009

The Autoalliance car plant in Flat Rock Michigan has used CC-Link networking technology in its automation system to simplify installation and commissioning of new production lines.

The Autoalliance facility in Flat Rock makes more than 1200 vehicles every day, with the Mazda 6 and the Ford Mustang among them.

More than 400 robots are used to make more than 6,000 body welds on each vehicle.

A further 61 robots and ten automatic paint machines apply seals, sound-deadening material and any one of 24 paint colours to each vehicle.

Autoalliance engineers chose to standardise on CC-Link, the high speed, high performance, open networking technology managed by CLPA (CC-Link Partner Association).

One of the main reasons for this was CC-Link's ability to provide effective networking over distances up to 13.2km - important at the Flat Rock factory, which measures approximately 2.7 million square feet.

CC-Link forms the communications backbone for the inverters that drive the complex conveyor system, helping to ensure each section of car body is precisely positioned at the correct time.

A series of conveyors, controlled via CC-Link, move car bodies through the numerous welding, assembly and painting stations.

The motors that power the factory's conveyors are controlled by Mitsubishi VFD Drives communicating via CC-Link.

Key production aspects include assembly and welding operations.

Five CC-Link network masters handle all communications through this vital area.

One provides all communications between the control panels in the body shop, while the remaining four control the materials-handling equipment, robots and welding operations.

The networking technology reliably links more than 125 control panels within the Mustang body shop and a further 125 control panels in the Mazda body shop.

Also within the body shop, CC-Link networking is used for communications to control the jig bed that holds and folds large sections of the auto body and to control and coordinate numerous Kawasaki robots within this manufacturing cell.

The network is used to start and stop each robot movement as they position, weld and move on various car body parts.

It also enables the robots to communicate their positions to each other to avoid collisions.

In all, around 400 robots in the body-assembly part of the facility are connected via CC-Link.

The robust network also provides communication to and from the various PLCs and operator interfaces within the various assembly cells.

The paint line is another critical area of production and here again Autoalliance chose to standardise on CC-Link for the automation network.

Fanuc P500 robots apply one of 24 different paint colours; after this, a further line of robots applies two coats of clear paint over the vehicle body.

Throughout the paint line, Autoalliance uses the latest in pollution abatement equipment.

The strong fumes generated during the body paint process are incinerated to neutralise harmful compounds before being vented to the atmosphere.

Five inverters each control a huge fan to exhaust the fumes from the paint line and pass them through catalytic oxidisers.

The drives are again networked via CC-Link.

Control engineers have not reported a single network failure since the line began running.