Challenge

The production of electric cables for the automotive industry is still depending on considerable manual processes, therefore, most cable assembly factories are in cost-effective labour countries. However, due to increasingly stringent quality requirements, together with the demand to lower production costs and miniaturisation, there is now a strong push towards automation and robotisation of the cable assembly processes.
Such transformation is a major challenge for the manufacturers of cable processing machines and requires new knowledge and competences on novel robotic solutions. Allbesmart, an ICT company, has been challenged by Stoneshield, a robotic integrator, to joint efforts to take advantage of this need and market opportunity.

Impact

Collaborative assembly reduction of 30%: Collaborative assembly has the potential to considerably reduce assembly times, whilst ensuring, reduction in human errors by inspecting the final product quality. They may also increase workplace ergonomics. Using a mid-range collaborative robot, assembly times can be reduced by, at least, 30%.
Training-time reduction by 50%: Augmented Reality (AR) based solutions improve knowledge transfer, and reduced training time by 50%. They also improve field service quality and productivity, reducing overtime spend with maintenance operations.
Cost savings up to 70%: AR with remote video assistance considerably reduces, the need for travels related to maintenance.