Revamping

Revamping of automated car plants

Revamping is the adaptation of old plants to modern technology.

The flow of potential of automated automotive systems decreases over time due to of physical wear and tear, making interventions necessary to restore the functionality progressively lost. In other cases, however, it is more appropriate to realize an increase of this potential by virtue of continuous technological evolution.

The first type of interventions can be attributed to routine maintenance processes, the second involves a real restructuring of automated systems, or even of lifts that are dated and/or inoperative, so as to lengthen their life cycle.

Revamping makes it possible to increase the potential of automated systems in various aspects such as:

  • productivity: in this case, making plants more productive and efficient means improving their performance and safety
  • the size: you can choose to physically expand the facility
  • operational flexibility: increasing the availability of automated lines means increased plant speed and a significant reduction in downtime
  • greater energy efficiency.

Revamping, therefore, includes all operations to modify, transform, and modernization of automated automotive systems, or relevant parts of them, aimed at increasing previous operating standards.

These are more radical interventions than ordinary ones, in that they do not merely restore or maintain the functionality gradually lost through use and the passage of time but increase it: they go to modify the technological part of the system, updating it with more powerful and high-performance software, while keeping the basic structure unchanged in terms of regard to its composition.

Depending on the case in question, Svecom-P.E. can also carry out revamping for what concerns the mechanical and electrical part, but the feasibility in terms of cost-benefit and see whether it would be worthwhile, instead, to replace it with new plants of a more advanced design.

From our decades of experience, we have found that with targeted interventions of revamping, one can often avoid incurring the high costs related to the purchase of plant or new machinery by going to increase the efficiency of the existing plant: it is modernized from the electrical, mechanical, software or CE marking point of view, depending on the depending on the customer’s needs.

Essentially, the revamping of automated automotive systems differs from their revamping only in the scope of the intervention, the object of which is limited to only a part of the plant (or machinery), although perhaps of crucial importance.

However, this does not exclude the possibility of acting in multiple directions, involving other parts of the plant should the need arise.

To understand revamping even better, a distinction must be made between the decay technical-physical and the phenomenon of obsolescence:

  • Technical-physical deterioration: it is countered by maintenance processes that tend to contain and delay the effects of technical and physical attrition such as:
    • The passage of time (weather…)
    • The degree of use (volume and variety of production…)
    • The conditions of use (materials, use of substances affecting the technical operation, sudden power surges, changes in temperature, etc.).

In this sense, we speak of the physical life of the plant, that is, the time interval within which it can operate fully in technical terms, completely fulfilling its activities production; it represents the maximum limit within which the useful life can extend of the plant, which concerns, on the other hand, the phenomenon of obsolescence.

  • Obsolescence: the plant tends to be no longer economical, that is, while presenting sufficient operational capacity from the technical point of view, it is no longer convenient from the the economic one due to the following causes:
    • Scientific-technical progress
    • The growing needs of consumers
    • The enactment of production bans or constraints (e.g., ecological)
    • Compliance with current regulations (e.g., directive 2006/42 of then ce marking for machinery).

In particular, scientific progress requires the plant to have superior technical-economic characteristics with regard to:

  • The consumption of materials and energy
  • The simplicity of operation
  • Safety
  • Speed and production capacity.

The phenomenon of obsolescence is related to the useful life of the plant, which represents the time interval within which the plant can be used under conditions of economic viability.

Revamping concerns plant and machinery deemed obsolete and allows them to be kept modern and competitive in the market throughout their useful life.