Dear community members
AUDI has recently released an article in various print and online media in Germany in which the company announces that they want to replace the traditional rigid line assembly ("Fließband") by modular and flexible assembly concepts and logistics.
"AUDI will das Fließband abschaffen" or here
I would like to draw your attention on a potential solution that we have just demonstrated during the Manufacturing in the Age of Experience mega event in Shanghai a few weeks ago. We have developed a demonstrator that shows how we bundle the strength of 3D Virtual Manufacturing Planning and Simulation with the powerful algorithms provided by our puzzle solving scheduler from Quintiq.
With this setup we can already plan and validate the factory of the (near) future and simulate in 3D the factory flow.
The approach supports variation of
- Product Configurations - different configuration=variant mix, alternative pearl-chains, introduction of new variants
- Station Assignment Rules - which station workplace can offer which service
- Station Availability - which station is currently available (e.g. downtimes for maintenance, availability in different shifts)
- Availability of transport media - Number of AGVs
- Line/Station physical layout - Obstacles, potential collision points, waiting positions, trajectories
The solution is based on the following components provided by Dassault Systèmes:
- Planning and Simulation: 3DExperience Platform with 3D Configurator, Manufacturing Planning, Robotics Simulation
- Scheduling Optimization: Quintiq(*)
Finally it is noteworthy that the idea and the story are not specific for Transportation & Mobility industry.
Such a concept can be interesting for many other industries as well.
If you need more details and would like to work with us on your business case, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Let me wish you and your families and friends a merry christmas and a happy, successful new year.
Frank Gugenberger
(*) Dassault Systemes has recently acquired Ortems, which could also be used for the scheduling optimization.
