High-mix lines that change model without losing takt — and trace every single part.
Automotive and e-mobility mean high mix, frequent model changeovers, multi-axis kinematics, and OEMs that demand per-part traceability. We build the line automation and the MES/SCADA software that keeps the takt the market demands and documents every station — from raw material to tested part — ready for the customer's audit.
Four recurring knots we see on assembly lines and new e-mobility lines. They usually coexist on the same line.
Model changeover that eats the takt
Daily mix across variants, long manual changeovers, SCADA with no structured recipe management: every new model becomes a PLC intervention instead of a configuration. Productivity collapses exactly where the market asks for flexibility.
Per-part traceability required by the OEM
The OEM won't settle for the lot: it wants the single part's genealogy — materials, process parameters, test results — recallable in an IATF audit and during a recall campaign. Excel and hand-signed sheets don't hold up.
Multi-axis kinematics and safety
Winding and assembly run on dozens of synchronous axes in virtual camming and gearing, with minimal margin for error. Functional safety must be documented for the audit, not bolted on afterwards: the PLC has to know when it may NOT restart.
Multi-station lines, different vendors, no coordination
Ten to twenty stations from different vendors have to behave as a single line, with shared takt and diagnostics. Without an orchestrator, each station is an island and the root-cause of a line stop becomes a blame hunt.
One team from PLC to line dashboard — no handoffs between mechanical integrator, software house, and SCADA vendor with misaligned SLAs.
PLC, multi-axis motion control, and safety
Siemens PLC programming (S7-1500, S7-1500T for motion), synchronous motion on V90/S210/S120 with virtual camming and gearing for winding and assembly. Offline simulation to cut field commissioning. ISO 13849 / IEC 62061 safety documented for audit.
Robotics and machine vision in line
Fanuc, KUKA, and ABB robot cells for palletizing, machine tending, and handling, integrated with the PLC. Cognex and Keyence machine vision for in-line quality and robot guidance — inside the line logic, not bolted on beside it.
ARIA MES/SCADA: orchestration and per-part traceability
ARIA coordinates the distributed stations as one line, records the single part's genealogy (materials, parameters, test results), computes OEE, and runs the Andon. Model changeover goes through a recipe: the PLC stays the source of truth, ARIA observes and records.
IT/OT integration and OT cybersecurity
Production data to the OEM's MES and ERP via OPC UA and a secure API. OT networks segmented per IEC 62443 — often required by the large groups' supplier audits and by NIS2: IT/OT convergence without opening doors to threats.
We build automation with the requirements the OEM and its auditor want to see.
- IATF 16949
- VDA 6.3
- ISO 9001
- Traceability / part genealogy
- DMC / GS1 marking
- ISO 13849 / IEC 62061 (safety)
- Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (CE marking)
- IEC 62443 (OT cybersecurity)
- NIS2
Real projects on lines in production. Client identity under NDA; detailed numbers in deep-dive calls.
- Challenge
- Scaling to serial production of electric-motor stators at the takt the market demanded, with complex kinematics and 15+ independent stations that had to behave as one line. No monolithic vendor covered the full scope.
- What we did
- Distributed architecture: each station with its own PLC (S7-1516TF on the critical ones), 42 Sinamics S210 servo drives in virtual camming on the winding station, a vision-based palletising cell. ARIA as line orchestrator and MES, with per-stator traceability and a shared web HMI.
- Result
- Required industrial-plan takt reached on schedule. Mean time to identify the faulty component dropped from hours to minutes with the unified ARIA dashboard. Line configuration replicated on two twin plants without rewriting PLC code.
- Challenge
- Manual changeover of 45 to 90 minutes on daily mixes. Legacy SCADA with no structured recipe management: every new model required PLC intervention and recompiling.
- What we did
- Fully SCADA-configurable software standard on top of an S7-1515T PLC, with four V90/S120 servo drives on the critical axes for precision and repeatability. Model changeover via recipe selection, parameters imported/exported over OPC UA from the ERP.
- Result
- Format changeover from 45+ minutes to under 8. Adding a new variant became a master-data task in the ERP, not an automation project: zero PLC code written for new models after go-live.
What teams ask before we kick off.
Do you handle complex multi-axis kinematics (virtual camming, gearing)?
Yes. We work synchronous Siemens motion (V90, S210, S120) with virtual camming and gearing across dozens of axes — as on the 42-axis stator winding. We use offline simulation to validate the kinematics and cut field commissioning time.
How do you implement the per-part traceability the OEM requires?
ARIA records the part's genealogy — materials, process parameters, test results — tied to a unique identifier (DMC or serial), queryable forward and backward. That's the level of detail IATF audits and recalls require, not just the lot.
Do you integrate with the OEM's MES/ERP systems?
Yes. We expose production data to the customer's MES/ERP via OPC UA and a secure API with webhooks: orders and recipe master data come down to the line, traceable consumption goes back up, with no double entry.
Do you help us pass the IATF 16949 / VDA 6.3 audit?
We prepare the evidence the auditor asks for: forward/backward traceability, user audit log, recipe management and change management, documented safety. We sit with your quality lead before the audit to dry-run typical questions.
Do you work on existing lines or only new ones?
Both. We do revamps on running plants — retrofitting obsolete PLCs, new SCADA over existing PLCs — planning downtime with production, alongside designing and building complete new lines.
Which PLCs and robots do you use?
Siemens is our default (S7-1500 / S7-1500T, TIA Portal) with Fanuc, KUKA, and ABB robots; we also integrate Rockwell and others via OPC UA. The choice follows the customer's and OEM's requirements, not a vendor lock-in.
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ARIA Suite
MES/SCADA, HMI, Warehouse, and Mobile as a single platform. Already in production on multi-station lines.
Explore ARIA →PLC programming
Siemens S7-1500, motion control, safety. The layer underneath every MES and SCADA we build.
Go to PLC programming →OT cybersecurity
Network segmentation, hardening, IEC 62443, NIS2 readiness. For plants that can't afford a single incident-driven downtime.
Go to OT cybersecurity →Got a project in mind?
Tell us about your idea or your operational challenge. Our team is ready to listen and propose the right technology fit.