Knowledge-based tool Improving diagnostics in automotive production
Production lines consist of numerous parts and components being manufactured, processed and integrated into the final product. As a result, manufacturers have many different types of diverse computer systems and machinery that is best suited to their own environments and products. Where this is more than satisfactory for each individual manufacturer, it can hinder the development of a universally applied software tool for all manufacturers. INTEL-DIAG removed this constraint because it is able to apply itself into any environment with its flexible machine interfaces and networking. The models used within the tool have partially been constructed from source code programmed into robots, machine tools and PLCs. This sped up tool installation ensuring consistency and diagnostic models remained current, which paved the way for a generic, standardised machine interface for product and process information. At the heart of INTEL-DIAG is the execution of remote machine monitoring, automatic malfunction detection, the capture of deterministic diagnosis models and semi-automatic error registration and details refinement, etc. These execution procedures thus facilitate malfunction detection modules, set-up tools for knowledge repositories and user interface error registrations and error processing. The INTEL-DIAG product will initially be deployed to the three consortium partners, with further opportunities arising with approximately 100 other car manufacturers and 40 supply companies. Also, with an estimated 1,000 deployments to the machine and robotic industry, this software tool should ensure that EU industry remains demonstrative of technological innovations.
