WaMeWo’s RNT module, designed specifically for industrial robot diagnostics, achieved its wide range of functionality in collaboration with Magyar Suzuki Zrt. We previously discussed the purpose and challenges of this introduction in the „Ipar 4.0 Backstage” podcast with Tamás Winiarczyk, engineering team leader at Magyar Suzuki Zrt.’s welding plant, at the invitation of Zoltán Beke.
The range of software services developed during the project to support various areas (engineering, maintenance, quality control, technologization, etc.) has now found its users in everyday life. Since we maintain active contact with our customers even after each WaMeWo installation, and we believe that our solutions are not “made for the shelf,” we were curious to find out:
more than a year after its introduction, what business benefits has RNT brought to the welding plant?
We asked the engineering staff about
- the tangible ways in which the system has supported their work and
- whether it helped to highlight problems that were previously impossible or very difficult to detect without such a production digitization tool.
Fortunately, there are plenty of them. We will go through them in this article.
Mechanical diagnostics
Continuous monitoring of shaft currents (on 6 shafts of 480 robots, with sampling every few seconds) has proven itself on several fronts. Alarm limits automatically set in relation to the normal current consumption of each axis predict wear and tear on the robot joints and provide an accurate picture of which robots require maintenance or parts replacement outside of production hours due to mechanical problems. As a result, robot availability has been increased and downtime due to shaft failures during production has been reduced.
Monitoring motor currents also indirectly revealed quality issues. If the pick-up or placement position of a “hand robot” (these are robots used in manufacturing that move parts using a special gripping mechanism) does not fit perfectly with the current location, a motor current increase also occurs at that point. Incorrect positioning can leave marks on the parts or even deform them. In the case of these robots, the analysis of motor currents revealed several cases where it was necessary to correct individual positions in order to avoid quality defects.
Cycle time analysis
One of the system’s built-in functions is to record the cycle times of each robot type and cycle. This means that WaMeWo stores every single production cycle run by each robot, grouped by model ID. Alarms can also be set for these, so if a robot deviates from its specified cycle time, users will be notified.
Thanks to the measurement and collection of cycle times, indirect anomalies were detected:
- in the case of the aforementioned “hand robots,” the air pressure in the working cylinders performing the gripping operation is sometimes inadequate, causing them to open/close more slowly, resulting in longer cycle times
- the so-called “timers” that control the welding guns mounted on welding robots may also cause increased cycle times if their parameters are not optimally adjusted
- the cycle times of robots that apply sealing materials may also increase if the sealing material tank is not filled at appropriate intervals
Checking technological settings and positions
It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that one of the highest priority functions in RNT is the continuous monitoring of the technologies used by robots (spot welding, sealant application) in order to minimize quality defects. The system monitors that each joint or seal is positioned with millimeter precision relative to the reference state of the robots and that their technological parameters also comply with the standards. Since the programs of robots in production are “in constant motion” (due to periodic developments and component modifications, it is common for robot programs to be changed), it is essential to be able to monitor and track changes affecting the technologies.
Since WaMeWo monitors all relevant positions, it immediately sends a notification if, for example, a sealing strip is applied or a spot weld is placed in the wrong place. Thanks to detailed logging, it is possible to trace who modified which settings or programs and when. And all this can be done without having to carry out investigations on site in the extremely large production area during production. Instead, it is sufficient to log into WaMeWo anywhere within the factory network, and all relevant data is immediately available, for example, to check pressure settings.
Monitoring wear values
The electrodes on spot welding robots wear out over time during normal use. A worn electrode can no longer form a bond of sufficient quality (due to positional shift), and oxidation on the electrode can also damage the component during welding. To eliminate this (and for cost-effectiveness reasons), the caps at the ends of the electrodes are automatically sharpened by the robots after a certain number of cycles, thus extending their service life. During sharpening, a special knife removes the top layer of the cap (a few tenths of a millimeter).
WaMeWo continuously collects data on the wear values of the caps and their condition before and after sharpening, making it possible to monitor the adequacy of the sharpening process. This revealed that in some cases, some of these sharpening knives were worn out and did not remove enough material from the caps.
In another case, observation of the wear values revealed that the robot was unable to perform post-sharpening calibration due to a cable getting stuck, resulting in quality variations in the weld points it created.
Tracking program changes
The RNT records all changes to the robot programs of robots integrated into the system. As mentioned earlier, modifications are frequent, so now the engineering or maintenance department can track all such changes (e.g., during the night shift). This is important because after each intervention, a dispute may arise as to who did what (or did not do what), but the relevant menu item shows exactly what happened and can be linked to any negative impact that may have occurred.
There are robots (such as screwdrivers) whose technological positions are very difficult to set up for large series in general. The “Program Change Tracking” function also helps in this regard, as online tracking of coordinate changes shows which direction of correction resulted in improvement or, possibly, deterioration.
Collecting error messages
One significant segment of the diverse data warehouse is the service that collects the robots’ own error messages. This allows engineering and maintenance teams to see what errors have occurred on the robots, even months ago, and the statistics compiled from this data highlight the most frequent or longest-lasting malfunctions.
In manufacturing, it is common for multiple robots to work in a shared workspace, so their interference must be managed to avoid potential collisions and to ensure that cycles run in sync so that all necessary operations are performed at the given station on the given part. I/O communication between robots allows them to share this information with each other. The status of these signals after the robot is turned on and off can be selected with a setting (it retains the last status or resets them to the default [OFF] status).
Due to an incorrect setting of this option, the robot sometimes skipped a technological phase at startup. Since the setting in question was above another menu item that acknowledged the error, it was possible to deduce from the error message that the maintenance colleague had probably “pressed the wrong button” and did not make the correct setting.
Final thoughts
With the introduction of the RNT robot diagnostics module, it has been proven in practice that manufacturing digitization is not just a technological fad, but a tangible business advantage. Predicting robot axis errors, continuously monitoring cycle times, and tracking welding parameters not only makes engineers’ work easier, but also directly contributes to production safety and predictability. Fewer unexpected downtimes, less scrap, and faster response times—these are the results that the Suzuki team is already enjoying on a daily basis.
The power of WaMeWo RNT lies in the fact that it not only generates reports from the data, but also
provides real decision support: it shows which robots need timely intervention, where maintenance is justified, or which technological settings may cause costly problems in the long run.
Ultimately, it’s all about increasing efficiency, controlling costs, and ensuring production stability—factors that represent a direct competitive advantage in a modern automotive environment.
In short, RNT is not just a diagnostic tool, but an invisible guarantee of continuous stable operation – and in the future, it will increasingly become a basic requirement for sustainable, competitive production.
Do you have questions about what you have read? Would you like to learn more about WaMeWo? Feel free to contact us!
What is this series of articles about?
We recommend our series of articles to professionals involved in the digitization of the industrial sector who are thirsty for professional and business know-how. We had two guiding principles when compiling the content of the chapters:
- to explore the reasons behind the use of manufacturing digitization software technologies
- and to present the possibilities for their business application
We hope that our content will spark a constructive professional discourse.
