In 2024, special machine manufacturer, ruhlamat Huarui Automation Technologies unveiled the second generation of its mass production line for flexible stators with bar winding (pins). This enables extremely short production cycle and line changeover times, supported in many ways by PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff.
ruhlamat Huarui Automation Technologies (Changzhou) was founded in 2021. This Chinese-German joint venture offers intelligent manufacturing solutions and services for manufacturers of bar-wound stators. In line with the corporate strategy of ‘globalisation, diversification, productisation, digitisation, platformisation and innovation capability’, the aim is to drive industry development and transformation with innovative products and solutions.
Accordingly, the new generation of the stator production line is characterised by high flexibility and modular design. According to Qianfeng Yang, director of the electrical and software design department of ruhlamat Huarui, 50% of the process stations allow for fast automatic changeover, resulting in a total line changeover time of less than 45 minutes. In addition, upgrades and further developments have been made to important process stations such as pin forming, insulation stripping, automatic lacing, pin insertion and welding. This has significantly improved the overall effectiveness and the degree of automation of the system. Overall, a production cycle time of 30 seconds can be achieved, which meets customer requirements for high efficiency and high quality. Furthermore, driven by the rapid growth of the electric vehicle industry, bar-wound stator technology continues to innovate, evolving from I-pin and hairpin to X-pin and S-winding.
Automation technology as an enabler
Advanced, high-performance automation technology is of great importance for such highly flexible production lines. This is the only way to improve production efficiency, reduce resource consumption and meet diversified product demands. For this purpose, ruhlamat Huarui used PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff. This includes AX5000 servo drives, AM8000 servomotors, TwinCAT HMI with its numerous interfaces, C6030 ultra-compact Industrial PCs, multi-touch control panels and various EtherCAT I/O components. The efficiency and flexibility of the EtherCAT communication system developed by Beckhoff have also been perfectly applied to the automated production line.
According to Yang, Beckhoff’s comprehensive product portfolio has contributed to the successful implementation of the electric vehicle stator production line, adding significant value to the entire electric vehicle industry. The C6030 ultra-compact industrial PC offers high system stability and reliability for sophisticated control tasks, NC processes and human-machine interactions in the production line. EtherCAT and the corresponding I/O components have enabled high-speed data transmission and high-performance real-time control, improving system responsiveness and simplifying wiring and installation processes.
According to the ruhlamat experts, the servomotors from the AM8000 series with their high dynamic response and efficiency, perfectly complement the fast response times and advanced control algorithms of the AX5000 servo drives. This ensures stable operation of the entire system in sophisticated production environments. In addition, the TwinCAT software platform incorporates necessary functions such as HMI, PLC, motion and I/O into an integrated system, consolidates the development environment, simplifies development processes and improves efficiency. Overall, this reduces compatibility problems, standardises communication protocols, lowers maintenance costs, increases flexibility and facilitates future machine upgrades and modifications.
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