Stuttgart, Germany – June 2024 – A leading German automotive manufacturer has reported a 22% reduction in production downtime and a 15% increase in real-time process visibility after deploying ABB’s PP845A 3BSE042235R2 HMI (Human-Machine Interface) panels across its electric vehicle (EV) battery assembly line. The upgrade, completed in Q1 2024, addresses the plant’s growing need for reliable, high-performance control interfaces to manage the complex, data-heavy processes of EV battery production.
From Legacy Gaps to Real-Time Control: The Plant’s Challenge
Prior to the upgrade, the Stuttgart plant relied on aging HMI systems that struggled to keep up with the demands of EV battery manufacturing. These legacy panels had limited screen resolution (800x600 pixels), slow data refresh rates (up to 2 seconds), and lacked compatibility with the plant’s new ABB AC 800M control system. As a result, operators often faced delays in accessing critical data—such as battery cell temperature, welding precision, and conveyor speed—leading to missed anomalies and unplanned downtime.
“Our old HMIs were a bottleneck,” said Thomas Becker, the plant’s production technology manager. “During peak production, we’d have operators waiting 10–15 seconds just to pull up real-time weld data. If a cell’s temperature spiked, we’d miss it until it was too late, leading to scrapped batches and costly delays.”
The plant produces 500 EV battery packs daily, each requiring 2,000+ individual welding steps. Even a 1% increase in scrap rates translated to $120,000 in monthly losses—making a reliable HMI solution critical to profitability.
After evaluating three HMI options, the plant selected the ABB PP845A 3BSE042235R2 for its unique combination of performance, compatibility, and durability:
- 12.1-inch High-Resolution Touchscreen: The panel’s 1280x800 pixel display lets operators view 4x more data at once—including side-by-side graphs of welding temperature and pressure—eliminating the need to switch between screens.
- 0.5-Second Data Refresh: The PP845A’s fast processing speed syncs with the AC 800M controller in real time, alerting operators to temperature spikes or pressure drops within milliseconds.
- Rugged Design: With an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, the panel withstands the harsh conditions of battery assembly lines (including occasional coolant splashes and high humidity).
- Seamless Integration: The PP845A works natively with the plant’s existing ABB control system, requiring no custom coding—cutting installation time by 40% compared to third-party HMIs.
“We installed 18 PP845A panels along the battery line in just 5 days,” Becker explained. “The ABB team trained our operators in 2-hour sessions, and by week two, everyone was using the new features confidently.”
Tangible Impact: Downtime Down, Quality Up
Three months post-deployment, the plant has seen measurable improvements:
- Downtime reduced by 22%: Real-time alerts from the PP845A have prevented 17 potential batch failures, saving an estimated $360,000 in lost production.
- Scrap rate dropped by 3.2%: Operators now catch anomalies like uneven weld pressure early, reducing the number of scrapped battery cells by 16,000 monthly.
- Operator efficiency up by 18%: The high-resolution screen and intuitive interface have cut the time operators spend navigating data by 2.5 hours per shift.
“The PP845A isn’t just a screen—it’s a tool that lets our team work smarter,” Becker said. “We’re now looking to roll it out to our EV motor assembly line by Q4 2024.”
ABB’s industrial automation director for Europe, Maria Schmidt, noted the PP845A’s role in supporting EV manufacturing growth. “As automakers scale EV production, they need HMIs that can handle more data, work faster, and last longer,” she said. “The PP845A 3BSE042235R2 is built for that future—and this Stuttgart project proves its value.”
