As technology advances and industrial demands for efficiency grow, automation systems based on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) have become essential. SCADA is particularly suitable for large-scale operations with high safety risks, such as the Car Body Assembly Process at the welding line. This study develops a prototype of an automated car body assembly system integrating an Outseal PLC and Dobot Robot with Haiwell SCADA via the Modbus RTU protocol using RS-485 and internet communication. The developed programs enable the PLC and robot to operate automatically and execute assembly tasks in real time. The SCADA system was configured by inserting binary and relay bits into the PLC program and linking input-output variables in Haiwell SCADA. Experimental testing confirmed the system operated successfully as designed. The prototype achieved a fastest cycle time of 1 minute and 19 seconds for producing one car body unit. However, minor inconsistencies occurred during roof installation, welding, and miniature car body pickup due to conveyor response delays affecting the Dobot Robot. Overall, the integration of PLC, robot, and SCADA demonstrated effective automation and monitoring suitable for industrial-scale car body assembly.
Tugino et al. (Tue,) studied this question.