Knowledge
As a core component of passive safety systems, automotive airbags place extremely high demands on the synchronization of pneumatic actuators and the reliability of on-site signal acquisition during manufacturing. Against this backdrop, distributed valve terminals and I/O modules are becoming the mainstream choice for automation control on automotive airbag production lines. In this case study, we take you into a real automotive airbag production line to see how the Solidot C3 series valve terminal and IOL7A series IO-Link bus I/O modules play their roles.
Solidot products used in this case study
C3 series valve terminal
(IO-Link Master)
(16-channel digital input IO-Link HUB)
Device introduction
The automotive airbag production line consists of an automatic feeding unit, a multi-station rotary table, an assembly and pressing unit, an ignition test unit, an inline inspection unit and an automatic sorting mechanism, completing the full process from component supply to product conformity assessment.
Process step | Action description |
① Feeding | Vibratory bowl feeders and feed tracks supply components such as the housing, gas generator and cover plate to the pick-up position |
② Assembly | The multi-station rotary table works with grippers, lifters and feed tracks to complete positioning, clamping, pressing and pre-tensioning |
③ Testing | Ignition cylinders and valve cylinders perform leak and ignition tests on the airbag |
④ Sorting | Based on the inspection results, OK/NG air circuits divert conforming and non-conforming parts |
Solidot Solution
This production line uses a hybrid layout of line-type and rotary-type stations. The actuators are distributed along the line, and the air supply lines are relatively long, which places high demands on the deployment flexibility and response speed of the pneumatic components. At the same time, signals such as cylinder positions must be acquired in real time on site to determine whether the actuating motion has reached the correct position.
To meet the above requirements, this solution uses the C3 series valve terminal, distributed via PROFINET to each pneumatic workstation to drive the actuators nearby, greatly simplifying the air supply line and cable layout. For signal acquisition, one IOL7A-1600B-M12 connects the magnetic switches of each cylinder to acquire extend and retract position feedback in real time; another is installed at the feeding station to acquire the material detection signal of the feed track and determine whether a part is in place at the pick-up position. The signals from both slaves are aggregated by the IOL7A-PN01B-8A master and uploaded to the PLC.
Solution Architecture
Control layer:
The Siemens S7-1500 PLC serves as the core controller, responsible for logic scheduling and cycle time coordination across the entire line.
Network layer:
The C3 series valve terminal and the IOL7A-PN01B-8A both connect to the PLC via PROFINET, distributed at each workstation node.
Field execution layer:
The C3 series valve terminal is installed at the air supply point to drive the actuators; the IOL7A-1600B-M12 is installed on some cylinders and at the feeding station, and the signals are aggregated and uploaded via the master.
Application results
Aspect | Application performance |
Cycle time coordination | Under the distributed PROFINET network, drive and signal feedback are completed synchronously, and the workstation motion cycle is stable |
Reliability | The C3 series valve terminal has an IP65 protection rating and individually removable solenoid valves; The IOL7A series has a metal housing with IP67 protection rating, suitable for vibration and harsh environments |
Supply and maintenance | Standardized products delivered from stock; faults can be located at a single point without affecting the operation of other valve slices and channels |
Solidot C3 Series Valve terminal and IOL7A Series IO-Link bus I/O module
C3 Valve terminal:
The C3 Series Valve terminal supports configurations of up to 24 Double Solenoid Valves and has an IP65 protection rating. Its Solenoid Valve Slices use a Bottom-Insert Mounting design for fast replacement and servicing. The Solenoid Valves have a service life of more than 50 million cycles and support online firmware upgrades.
IOL7A Series IO-Link bus I/O module:
Designed to the IO-Link V1.1.3 specification with a metal housing and an IP67 protection rating. The product range covers digital and analog, offers good compatibility and supports Cascading. It features LED status Indication and provides channel-level protection and Diagnostic functions.
