Turin, Italy – A leading Italian automotive manufacturer has reported a 28% reduction in production delays after integrating the ABB CI820V1 communication interface module into its assembly line control systems. The upgrade, completed in Q1 2025, has also improved data accuracy—cutting errors in production logs by 40%—and enabled the plant to adopt real-time quality monitoring tools.
Automotive assembly lines are complex ecosystems, with dozens of specialized machines (e.g., robotic welders, conveyor systems, and quality inspection tools) from different vendors. Prior to adopting the ABB CI820V1, the Turin plant struggled with incompatible protocols between its legacy PLCs and new robotic equipment, leading to frequent data gaps. These gaps caused delays—for example, when a conveyor system failed to receive speed adjustments from the central control system—and made it hard to trace the root cause of quality issues.
“Our assembly line can’t afford downtime—even a 10-minute delay can disrupt production for the entire shift,” said Marco Rossi, Plant Operations Manager at the automotive facility. “The old communication modules couldn’t keep up with our mixed equipment; we’d spend hours troubleshooting protocol mismatches. Since installing the CI820V1, data flows smoothly between every machine, and we’ve gone from 3–4 delays per week to just one.”
The module’s impact was felt across three key areas of the plant’s operations: Faster Issue Resolution: Real-time data transmission allowed the plant’s control room to detect anomalies (e.g., a robotic arm moving outside its expected range) in seconds, rather than minutes. This cut troubleshooting time by 50% and reduced production halts. Improved Quality Control: By unifying data from inspection cameras and assembly machines, the CI820V1 enabled the plant to implement real-time quality checks. For example, if a camera detects a faulty weld, the module sends an immediate alert to stop the line—reducing the number of defective parts by 35%. Scalable Expansion: The module’s support for multiple protocols made it easy to add 12 new robotic welders to the assembly line without reconfiguring the entire control system. This saved the plant an estimated €120,000 in infrastructure costs.
“Automotive manufacturers need flexible, reliable connectivity to keep up with demand for faster production and higher quality,” said Luca Bianchi, ABB’s Regional Sales Director for Southern Europe Industrial Automation. “The CI820V1 is designed to adapt to mixed-equipment environments, and this success in Turin shows how it can turn connectivity challenges into operational wins.”
The Italian automaker plans to install the ABB CI820V1 in two more assembly plants in Milan and Naples by mid-2025. For more details on how the module supports manufacturing operations, visit ABB’s customer success page.
