Industry
Automotive, vehicle assembly.
Customer story · Automotive
Volvo Cars: 60 components placed right before the line moves.
In a new production line area, Volvo Cars uses Arkite to guide operators through the picking and placement of 60 components, and connects the guidance to the line PLC so production only starts when every part is in position.
At a glance
Project summary
Process
Picking and placement of 60 components, including rapgards, on the vehicle body.
Scope
Two workstations, multiple 3D sensors and nine projectors.
Integration
PLC connection with a line interlock.
The challenge
A high-risk placement task in a new line area
Volvo Cars, the Swedish manufacturer of sport utility vehicles, station wagons, sedans and compact executive cars, faced a demanding manual task: the placement of 60 components, among them the rapgards. Correct placement of these parts is critical to the quality and safety of the finished vehicle.
Three issues made the task hard to control. The number of parts carried an inherent risk of missing or wrongly positioned components. The introduction of a new production line area required extensive operator training on the placement procedure. And placement errors were often only found at the end of the line, where correction means costly rework and a potential impact on vehicle quality.
What had to change
- Remove the dependency on operator memory for 60 placement positions
- Catch missing or misplaced parts at the workstation, not at end of line
- Shorten the training effort for operators in the new line area
- Keep placement consistent across operators and product variants
The solution
Guidance and validation at the point of work
Volvo Cars deployed Arkite's operator guidance platform at two workstations. Arkite projects the picking and placement instructions directly onto the work area, so the operator sees where each component goes in the order it must be fitted.
Real-time monitoring by the 3D sensors confirms that the placement procedure is followed. The connection to the line PLC adds a hard stop: the production process only starts when the components are correctly positioned.
- Step-by-step picking guidance, including the critical rapgards
- Projected placement guidance for all 60 components
- PLC integration with a line interlock
- Multiple 3D sensors and nine projectors across the two workstations
Implementation
How the setup works on the line
- 01
Picking
Arkite guides the operator to the correct components for the vehicle at the station, including the rapgards.
- 02
Placement
Projections show the exact position of each of the 60 components on the body, step by step.
- 03
Monitoring
3D sensors follow execution in real time, so deviations from the placement procedure are flagged at the station.
- 04
Line interlock
Through the PLC connection, the line only continues when all components are correctly positioned.
Results
What Volvo Cars achieved
Accurate picking and assembly
Step-by-step guidance and real-time monitoring keep operators on the correct placement procedure and minimize the risk of errors.
More production flexibility
Operators work with confidence across different variants, which supports smoother operations and faster adaptation to changing requirements.
Reduced training effort
The guidance significantly reduced the training effort for new operators and supports consistent placement across the workforce.
Errors that used to surface at the end of the line are now prevented at the workstation, before the line moves.
Control critical placement steps on your line
See how Arkite guides and validates manual placement and connects the result to your line control.