Ford Australia, the leading automobile manufacturer in Australia, has opted for the sensor/actuator bus, INTERBUS, for the production of new models.

After various bus systems had been evaluated by a project team specially set up for this purpose, the decision was made in favor of INTERBUS, the worldwide market leader. All the requirements made by Ford are ideally fulfilled by this industrial standard. The decisive point is that INTERBUS can not only convert parallel data into a serial protocol, but that it also has comprehensive performance features, such as diagnostics, data preprocessing and  inter-system open communication options (e.g. between PLC and VME controllers). From planning through start-up, down to actual production,  INTERBUS has proven itself at Ford as the appropriate system in the flexible automation concept.

For the production of new models and for the modernization of existing robotic welding cells, a comprehensive automation concept to optimize production processes and at the same time minimize setting-up and standstill times was brought to paper by the project team at Ford. The aim was to considerably reduce costs and maintenance.

The problem was:
The automation concept must take into consideration various robotic cells. One robotic cell can theoretically consist of one to three robots and between one and eight operator stations, each of which may be fitted with up to two different tools to take up parts of the body. The higher level control function is adopted by a Siemens PLC, whilst each robot is controlled by a VME controller. In all new cells, robots from Kawasaki are used, in old cells that are to be upgraded, robots from ABB. The control system must be in a position to recognize the actual cell configuration and to assign and activate automatically the correct functional sequences of the hardware and software. Furthermore, the evaluation of various error statuses is also necessary in order to generate actions such as the partial or complete operational standstill of the cells. In a nutshell, this means maximum flexibility to minimize setting-up and standstill times, resulting in ideal operating performance with maximum cost-effectiveness.
The successful use of INTERBUS has played a decisive role in putting into practice the automation concept initiated by Ford.