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Smart Automotive Manufacturing

Automation and Control Systems for the Automotive and Tire Industries

Smart Automotive Manufacturing
Automotive & Tire

Get There First

Auto and Tire Innovation Shows No Sign of Wear. Stay One Step Ahead.

The automotive space is an exciting place to be, but constant change in technology and disruption can be challenging.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a mature automaker, startup electric vehicle (EV) company or tier supplier. The growth of EVs, new battery technology, increased customization and future of ride sharing impacts all of us – as consumers, as manufacturers, as innovators.

So, call the new era of automotive manufacturing what you will. Smart manufacturing. E-mobility. Industry 4.0 Automotive. The bottom line is this: A fast start and rethinking how things are made will be key to remaining relevant. To get to market first, you need a partner, a catalyst, to help you succeed.

Rockwell Automation has built the tools you need not only to manage that change, but to drive it. Our singular focus on automation, combined with our deep automotive manufacturing experience, means that we understand your world, and how to improve on it. We bring a passion to connect the imaginations of people with the potential of machines to make your plant work smarter, today and tomorrow.

Increase efficiency, create flexibility and get to market faster with our:

  • Global specification design development
  • IT and OT integration, everywhere you need it
  • Real-time information and analytics
  • Machine builder coordination
  • Workforce training
  • Local and remote support
Automotive and Tire Manufacturing
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Overview
Automotive and Tire Manufacturing

Operate more efficiently and get to market faster using concepts like Industry 4.0 Automotive.

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Solutions for Automotive and Tire

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Electric Vehicle Production

Rockwell Automation provides flexible, scalable smart manufacturing solutions for electric car manufacturers to optimize and extract value as operations grow.

Discover Our Industry Expertise
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Technology Challenges in Auto and Tire

Start solving your technology challenges in the automotive industry to create more competitive operations, prepare for program launches and keep pace with market demands.

Discover Our Industry Expertise
Tata Motors Migrates to New MES
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Case Studies
Tata Motors Migrates to New MES

Indian automaker standardizes enterprisewide communication and connects plant floor to enterprise, opening door to production and efficiency gains.

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Do You Have Access to the Right Data?

Being Flexible and Responsive Requires the Right Data at the Right Time

Imagine your office filled with 500 million DVDs. That’s what it would take to store the 2 exabytes of new data manufacturing creates each year according to McKinsey Global Insight. Finding valuable insights amidst this noise will be a huge competitive advantage for companies who can do it quickly and efficiently.

Ask yourself:

  • Will we meet today’s target output?
  • Is repeated downtime hurting our productivity?
  • Can we identify quality problems before they hurt production?

Are these hard questions to answer? If so, bring clarity to confusion with our FactoryTalk® AutoSuite™ Manufacturing Execution System (MES). The software integrates your production and business systems across the enterprise. And just as important, it turns all your raw data into actionable information for better visibility and data-driven decision-making.

A more responsive, quality-driven operation starts with FactoryTalk AutoSuite MES. With it you can:

  • Provide performance insights to pinpoint efficiencies and optimize assets
  • Enforce work instructions to help make sure users build to specification
  • Synchronize the flow of materials with vehicles as they progress through assembly
  • Use content from a common automotive manufacturing application library to speed new deployments
Learn More About Our FactoryTalk AutoSuite MES

Get Ready for the Powertrain Revolution!

Meet Current and Future Demand with Modular, Scalable Powertrain Operations

There has been a monumental shift in powertrain. Fuel-efficiency and emissions standards are a moving target, driven not only by legislation but eco-conscious drivers as well.

Today, traditional powertrain suppliers are investing more and more in EV technology. However, many are finding their processes were designed for single vehicle platforms and can’t adapt.

The future is yours, and fast, flexible powertrain operations are possible with an agile, information-driven infrastructure.

Current powertrain and drivetrains manufacturing systems can be unreliable. Meet consumer and market trends in real time with a flexible strategy that grows/adapts to your changing needs.

For instance, our pre-engineered Automation Solutions can simplify your powertrain machining cells and make them more productive. And, when you combine FANUC robots and CNCs with our cell controllers, you’ll spend less time specifying connections and reviewing equipment for compliance. Better still, this packaged solution allows data collection from multiple devices over one network.

Looking to reduce line balancing times? A flexible powertrain assembly system helps there too. With this system, you can:

  • Quickly assign tasks, parts and tooling to stations
  • Easily revise assembly workflow without reprogramming
  • Conduct full-line error proofing before production launch
How Automotive Manufacturers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge
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Overview
How Automotive Manufacturers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge

Current powertrain and drivetrains manufacturing systems can be unreliable. Meet consumer and market trends in real time with a flexible strategy that grows/adapts to your changing needs.

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9 Reasons Why Automation is the Future
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Brochure
9 Reasons Why Automation is the Future

Many automakers have already transformed their operations into connected, data-driven plants, granting them the ability to meet consumer and market trends in real time.

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Press Line Production Customized for You

Find Profitability as Press Runs Get Smaller and Changeovers More Frequent

Trends in vehicle customization mean big changes for how automakers look at their capital investments. While a lot size of one may not be impacting your operation yet, accelerated refresh rates and portfolio shifts from sedans to larger vehicles are reaching us all.

You need flexible, smart stamping, forming and fabricating systems to keep up with these demands, and to take full advantage of the speed and variability that servo presses bring. We can help you get there. And we can help boost productivity, enhance safety and reduce total costs.

See it in Real Time: Our Integrated Architecture system merges motion and sequential control in one platform. It can enhance precise tension control for press automation systems. And, it can communicate with ancillary equipment and plant-wide systems.

Safety First: Industrial safety solutions and services can enhance operator and press safety. The benefits are far reaching. These solutions help improve the functional operation of machinery, increase efficiency and productivity, and reduce waste.

Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Upgrade your pressroom controls to a single open control platform using our metalforming automation systems. These proven, pre-engineered solutions include:

  • PressGuard™ press control system
  • Compact PressMaster™ press control system
  • ClutchGuard™ for clutch brake control
  • FeederPro™ for press feed or cut-to length applications
  • STFPro™ for servo transfer feed systems

Assembly Makes it Beautiful, Inside and Out

Turn Projects Into Products Faster with Intelligent Motion Control

More choices for consumers mean a more complex manufacturing environment for you. And with that comes potential for inefficiencies and increased errors and costs.

But compromised performance is not inevitable. Get the speed, flexibility and confidence you need to make multiple models and variations under one roof with our automotive assembly solutions. We can work with you to optimize every step of assembly:

Body Shop: Is worker safety a concern? Utility costs? Our technology can help. It can also integrate data and machines across third-party equipment.

Paint Shop: Our solutions can help you better control your process parameters, optimize your supply chain, improve quality consistency and meet standards.

Final Assembly: We can work with you to solve challenges like parts management and sequencing, quality control, and workload leveling. Together, we can push the boundaries of what’s possible to create a more flexible, agile operation set to meet customer needs today, and tomorrow.

One Smart Conveyor, Boundless Possibilities
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Case Study
One Smart Conveyor, Boundless Possibilities

Based on independent cart technology, new KUKA system solves assembly buffering challenges – and features extraordinary flexibility.

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Evolve Your Manufacturing Production Processes
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Brochure
Evolve Your Manufacturing Production Processes

Learn how we can help manufacturers bring their factories up to speed in preparation for new, growing demands.

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Get Smart About Tire and Rubber Optimization

Modernize Tire Design, Development and Production with Industry 4.0

The increasingly global tire industry is racing ahead as trends and technology evolve faster than ever before. SKU proliferation, smart tires, larger rim sizes, airless variations and increased mileage forecasts are just a few things you face. That’s why many tire producers are turning to smart manufacturing to help increase production efficiencies amidst all this change.

We can help you develop smarter solutions and scalable flexibility with our tire manufacturing automation and control systems. We make it easy to get the most out of every stage of tire production, from raw material processing and mixing, through final finish and inspection.

Our full-spectrum, connected approach eases integration and standardization across plants and throughout the production lifecycle.

Move toward More Agile Tire Production
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Brochure
Move toward More Agile Tire Production

See how digital technology can help you transform what’s possible in tire production.

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Tire Building, Where Rubber Meets Road

You can create productive, safe, flexible and easy-to-use tire building machines with our Integrated Architecture system. This high-performance system with integrated safety can help you:

  • Synchronize machine sections such as wind-up and let-off
  • Achieve tension and edge control
  • Optimize cut-to-length accuracy, independent of machine speed
  • Easily adjust to process changes such as tire dimensions
  • Tire Curing, and Ready to Roll

Further leveraging our Integrated Architecture system, you can improve equipment utilization and productivity in this critical, capital-intensive process. Get immediate access to process details like trends, alarms, recipe data and energy consumption so you can make more data-driven decisions. And, you can pinpoint the cause of quality issues or production disruptions to help optimize curing processes.

Driving on the Edge
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Blog
Driving on the Edge

Scalable analytics platform delivers insights tire manufacturers need to improve quality, performance and productivity – from the edge to the cloud.See how digital technology can help you transform what’s possible in tire production.

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Automotive Production: Why the New Normal Must be Digital
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Blog
Automotive Production: Why the New Normal Must be Digital

Reimagining automotive production using digital technologies can help automakers and suppliers stay competitive in this time of great change.

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Ready to talk to a Rockwell Automation consultant?

We offer industry expertise to help design, implement and support your automation investment.

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