The automobile industry is advancing rapidly in technology and design. For production to keep pace with this development, future-proof control systems need to be deployed. In order to automate the production of active driving safety products, Bosch Breschach has introduced the ctrlX CORE control platform from Bosch Rexlux, which is applied in all assembly units of the entire system and in the magnetic levitation Flexible conveying system (FTS). Due to the open system architecture of the entire system, the station, machinery and shop network can communicate with each other, resulting in more application options and higher efficiency.

0190-75696  The two Bosch Group plants in Imenstadt and Breischach (Aargau) produce active driving safety systems such as ABS, ASR and ESP. The Breschach plant was established in 1960, starting with the production of igniters. After the joint expansion with the Imenstadt plant, the plant becomes the leader of 11 ABS/ESP production plants worldwide.

Closed cycle, timed coordination needed controls

In modern production, machinery, workshops and systems must be able to communicate with each other in order to control processes seamlessly through automation, thereby improving the efficiency and consistency of manufacturing processes. This is crucial to maintaining competitiveness in a rapidly changing automotive industry.

In order to automate the manufacturing of products in the areas of automotive, chassis systems and vehicle safety, the Bosch Breschach plant needed to introduce industrial control systems. The system can be used for both flow control and magnetic suspension flexible conveying system (FTS) between timed control workstations.

Niels Wefers, Head of the Special Machinery division at Bosch Brecchach, explains: “0190-75696  During the production process, the various process stations on the assembly line are connected to each other to produce the brake control modules for the vehicle’s ABS and ESP safety systems step by step. This required control transformation to meet our needs for better performance and communication capabilities.”

Solution: Open system architecture

For a long time, the cooperation between Bosch Breschach and Bosch Rexroth in the field of hardware, especially industrial PCS and drive controllers, has been quite successful. With the adoption of ctrlX CORE in the AUTOMATION platform ctrlX AUTOMATION, countless possibilities will also open up on the software side.

The ctrlX CORE control platform is replacing the old industrial PC. Software uses EtherCat Master, PLC license with current highest scaling stage, OPC UA extension, and Ethernet I/P license. Bosch Rexroth’s industrial controls are based on the latest CODESYS version, providing a whole new generation of control frameworks. The ctrlX CORE also uses several CPU cores.

Niels Wefers said, “We are confident in ctrlX AUTOMATION’s open system architecture, which is applied through the ctrlX data layer and open interface, providing multiple communication possibilities for network connectivity. In addition, the solution is in line with our planned data storage and data interface concepts, for example in terms of MES. Now, everything from sensors to the cloud comes from a single source.”

The benefits of ctrlX AUTOMATION are realized

By using ctrlX CORE, the 0190-75696  Bosch Bleschach plant is taking advantage of the benefits of the ctrlX AUTOMATION ecosystem. The starting point is that the previously used industrial PC is based on the Windows 7 operating system, while the ctrlX CORE is based on Linux, an open architecture that can be designed to achieve scalability and security. The specially developed operating system ctrlX OS is designed to achieve full hardware independence.

Another advantage is ease of configuration and simple engineering. The system used in the past had to be customized, but now it can be configured on demand, making it an instant usable framework. This applies to hardware as well as software.

Niels Wefers explains, “The ctrlX CORE and its associated application 0190-75696  technologies offer a wide range of mobile Spaces that appealed to us. It allows us to implement a wide range of applications, from simple process control to highly automated assembly lines, so that the solution can always be adapted to the needs.”

The new control platform can also improve process efficiency. What makes it stand out is, among other things, its high scalability and cycle time advantages compared to previous solutions – for example, 10% in the ultra-short cycle range. It is possible to implement a one-second loop.

Significantly faster processing speeds increase data availability as well as data processing power. In short, today’s controls can be more consistently adapted to tomorrow’s control needs.

Volker Schlotz, Head of Automation Business Development at Bosch Rexroth, said: “The highly unified openness of all components within the system is unique in the current market. Overall, the potential use of ctrlX CORE as a PLC control on the assembly line is very large, because its large and scalable range of functions can fully meet the market demand for conveyor line automation. Based on this, during the pilot phase, we considered all the requirements of the Bosch Bleschach plant. As a development partner, our goal is to continuously develop the systems used in the Bosch Breschach plant as needed and to make them viable for the future.”