Stellantis Automates Filter Insertion on a Moving Part
Stellantis in Charleville, France is looking for automating a moving line without stoping it.
Customer: Stellantis
Location: Charleville, France
Challenge
Stellantis sought to automate the repetitive task of inserting filters into molds, which takes place in a harsh production environment. However, this process occurs on a continuously moving assembly line, making it impractical to invest in costly modifications or retrofits to implement a stop-and-go system. Such expenses would prevent achieving a return on investment (ROI) within the desired timeframe of 12 months.
Solution
After an onsite validation, Stellantis opted for the GuideNOW Real-time solution. This system allows a collaborative robot (cobot), placed at the side of the moving line, to track molds entering the station and precisely guide the robot to insert filters—without stopping the line.
GuideNOW enables seamless automation without requiring costly changes to the production environment or additional mechanical infrastructure. Furthermore, its real-time guiding capability ensures that the cobot can operate reliably even in challenging conditions, such as handling the shocks caused by nearby press operations.
With a programming time of GuideNOW under 10 minutes per new variant, Stellantis can now automate the production of 20 different mold variants efficiently, even by non-expert users.
Benefits
- Cost-Efficient Automation: No changes to the existing production environment, lowering automation costs.
- Ease of Use: Non-expert end-users can program new mold variants in GuideNOW in under 20 minutes, allowing quick adaptation to new product requirements.
- Flexibility: The use of cobots allows workers to continue working alongside the automated station on the same line, improving overall operational flexibility.