Energy from Vahle for Audi's luxury class

The Audi site in Neckarsulm is based on a long tradition: for over 100 years, people have been producing what moves people here. Today, Audi Neckarsulm is the largest employer in the Heilbronn-Mittelfranken region. The Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8 and R8 models, among others, are manufactured in the production halls in Neckarsulm.

The new partial assembly line for the Audi A8 went into operation in January. The individual assembly lines use systems from Vahle, among others, to transport individual vehicle components and the car bodies. The company, which grew up as a manufacturer of conductor rail systems, has been focusing for several years on system solutions that meet the widest possible range of requirements in production or intralogistics. In addition to transporting energy to the consumer, this also includes positioning and data transmission.

Transporting energy and more

Part of this strategy was the founding of a joint venture with the DETO Group from Kufstein in 2013: Vahle DETO offers mobile control systems. In combination with the proven and well-known Vahle products, this opens up a wide range of possible applications for customers. The advantage over comparable systems is the complete solution. Design and delivery from a single source not only guarantee the smooth interaction of components right from the start, but also simplify procurement processes and can thus ensure potential savings.

The company believes that this added value is decisive for customers when choosing Vahle systems. "We notice that our concept is well received by our customers," says Karsten Bigalke, Domestic Sales Manager at Vahle.

Three times Vahle in Audi production

A total of three systems are in operation at the production facility in Neckarsulm, which Vahle has installed and commissioned on site. The commissioning was preceded by extensive tests. These were necessary in order to be able to guarantee the customer the full functionality of the system right from the start, as well as for safety reasons: The positioning of the Vahle systems is TÜV-certified. In addition, two read heads are used to ensure the greatest possible safety of the application.

An electric monorail system (EMS) is used to transport the complete car bodies in the A8 assembly line. Its track length is 1,200 meters. The complete system consists of a four-pole U10 conductor rail for the power supply.

Interference-free data transmission

Data transmission takes place using Slotted Microwave Guide Micro (SMGM). This system, which was jointly developed by Vahle and Vahle DETO, ensures data transmission between the vehicles and the stationary system control. Data is transmitted by microwaves via a slotted waveguide. Other radio systems such as WLAN are not affected by the use of the slotted waveguide and do not interfere with transmission in the slotted waveguide. Parallel operation of many other industrial radio systems such as i-WLAN, Bluetooth or Zig-Bee is possible without any problems. There is also no impairment of the transmission quality due to external environmental influences such as temperature, humidity, fog or dust.