Making Electric Vehicle Parts Without Humans... Hyundai Wia Showcases at Technology Exhibition

Hyundai Wia announced that it unveiled solutions specialized for electric vehicle manufacturing at SIMTOS 2024, a production manufacturing technology exhibition held from the 1st to the 5th at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), collaborative robots, and machine tools work together to complete electric vehicle parts from transporting materials to final assembly without human intervention. The AMR transports metal materials to the machine tools, and the collaborative robot loads them into the machine tools. Once completed, the collaborative robot removes the parts and the AMR carries them to the final destination.

The company developed the AMR to autonomously avoid obstacles and travel the optimal route to its destination. Considering that electric vehicle parts are relatively heavier, an AMR capable of transporting up to 1 ton will also be showcased during the event. Hyundai Wia supplied this AMR last year to the global innovation center operated by Hyundai Motor Group in Singapore. This AMR will also be used at Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated electric vehicle factory in the U.S., scheduled to start operations by the end of this year, as well as at Hyundai Mobis’ new battery plant in North America.

Autonomous logistics robot by Hyundai Wia exhibited at SIMTOS2024, which opened on the 1st [Photo by Hyundai Wia]

During the event, 18 types of high-performance machine tools will also be exhibited. Ten of these models, tailored to changes in the mobility market, will be unveiled for the first time at this exhibition. Visitors can see multitasking machine tools that combine lathes and machining centers, as well as vertical and horizontal machining centers. Demonstrations of processing electric vehicle motor and converter parts using the machine tools will also be available on-site.

Thermal management components that regulate the temperature of key parts such as electric vehicle motors and batteries were introduced during the event. These components feature functional integration of different devices responsible for cooling the drive parts and batteries, enhancing efficiency. A company representative stated, "We will strive to lead innovation in manufacturing sites through intelligence, digitalization, and automation."