Driven by Industry 4.0 and the "dual carbon" goals, intelligent manufacturing factories for new energy vehicles are facing severe challenges in lubrication management of industrial robot equipment. This article takes AC Automobile, a globally leading new energy intelligent vehicle manufacturing factory, as the application scenario, and analyzes the new requirements for equipment maintenance put forward by its large-scale and flexible production. Combining MerRIND ®  The advocated concept of "data-driven+lean management" and its practice in the industry explore how to build a robot lean lubrication management system suitable for intelligent manufacturing enterprises through unit based grease management, oil monitoring technology, and full value chain cost optimization, to help achieve equipment operation safety, cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and green sustainable development.

1、 New Proposition of Lubrication Management under the Wave of Intelligent Manufacturing
In the context of Industry 4.0, new energy vehicle manufacturing enterprises are accelerating their transformation towards intelligence, flexibility, and greenness. Intelligent manufacturing factories represented by AC automobiles integrate stamping, welding, painting, testing, and final assembly, deploying a large number of industrial robots from brands such as ABB and KUKA, with an automation rate of up to 100%. These robots serve as core production assets, and their operational status directly affects the overall efficiency of the production line and the competitiveness of the enterprise. However, due to the large scale of robots, numerous brands, and scattered lubrication points (a single robot usually contains 4 to 8 gearbox lubrication units), coupled with the hidden waste and downtime risks of traditional "oil change on time" and "repair after failure" modes, equipment lubrication management has become a complex and critical system engineering.

MerRIND ® The brand was founded in 2008 by alumni of East China University of Science and Technology. For 18 years, we have been focusing on the high-end segmented lubricant oil market and have become a trusted professional lubricant brand in the industry. MerRIND ® The brand has long focused on the high-end segmented lubrication market and proposed an industrial robot lubrication management concept based on "data as the foundation and lean as the way", providing a feasible path for large-scale manufacturing enterprises to transform from experience operation and maintenance to data-driven.

2、 Lubrication Management Challenges in AC Automotive Scenarios and Merida Lean Solutions
1. Management complexity brought by scale and flexible production
The AC automobile factory is able to produce six vehicle models in parallel and meet the stringent global quality system, which places extremely high demands on equipment response speed and stability. In this scenario, traditional decentralized and experiential lubrication management is difficult to cope with:
Multi brand and multi axis differences: Different brands of robots and different joints of the same robot (RV reducer and harmonic reducer) have different requirements for grease performance, and there is a high risk of misuse and mixing.
Unbalanced cost structure: Lubrication management costs not only include the purchase of imported oils and fats, but also involve spare parts replacement, human maintenance, and downtime losses caused by lubrication failure. Hidden costs are often underestimated.

2. MerRIND ® Practice of Lean Lubrication Solution
● Unitized grease package management to prevent misuse and waste
In response to the pain points of AC automotive production line robots with multiple brands and a variety of oils and fats, MerRIND ® Advocate for a specialized grease spare parts package management model based on robots. This solution accurately matches specialized oils and fats for each robot, eliminates misuse and mixing from the source through humanized quantitative packaging, and simplifies spare parts inventory, in line with the core idea of lean production to eliminate all waste. This approach has been validated in welding and assembly production lines of companies such as Great Wall Motors and Huayu Car Body, effectively improving maintenance efficiency.
● Data driven state monitoring and predictive maintenance
The core of lean lubrication lies in transforming "passive maintenance" into "active prevention". MerRIND ® Based on oil monitoring technology, data analysis is conducted on the wear trend and oil degradation status of the lubrication system of robot reducers. In high load, continuous operation factories such as AC cars, by establishing lubrication health records for each robot, companies can develop oil change and maintenance plans based on data rather than fixed cycles. This strategy not only avoids resource waste caused by excessive oil changes, but also prevents unplanned downtime due to lubrication failure, ensuring the agile response capability of flexible production lines.
● Support ESG and green manufacturing
As a green factory with national first level emission standards, AC cars have strict requirements for waste reduction and efficient resource utilization. MerRIND ® High performance fully synthetic industrial gear oil has excellent oxidation stability and anti-wear properties, which can effectively extend the oil change cycle and reduce waste oil emissions. At the same time, reducing friction power consumption through precise lubrication meets the strategic needs of low-carbon and sustainable development for enterprises, and transforms environmental benefits into new growth opportunities.

3、 Implementation benefits and industry insights
By implementing the Merida Lean Lubrication Management System in the new energy vehicle factory, the company has achieved triple benefits improvement:
Economic benefits: By localizing oil products to replace data tracking and precise oil changes, procurement and operation costs are significantly reduced; By reducing equipment wear and extending component life, the frequency of spare parts replacement can be reduced.
● Operational benefits: Standardized lubrication operation rules and waste oil recovery processes have been established to improve overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and ensure timely delivery of large-scale customized production orders.
Management benefits: Upgrade lubrication management from simple technical operations to data-driven system operations. Managers have gained insights into equipment status through oil data, cultivating data-driven scientific decision-making abilities and breaking free from path dependence on foreign manufacturer experience.

Today, as the intelligent manufacturing of new energy vehicles moves towards deeper waters, equipment lubrication management is no longer simply about "adding oil", but a strategic link that concerns the safety of core assets, production efficiency, and green development. MerRIND ® Through the lean lubrication model of "precise customization, data-driven, and unit management", a solution has been provided for AC automobiles and other fully automated factories to transform from a cost center to a value center. In the future, with the deep integration of Industry 4.0 and big data technology, state based lubrication management will become a key cornerstone for intelligent manufacturing enterprises to build long-term competitiveness.

Author Bio: Cao Longjin (ESG and Sustainable Development Researcher at Huayan Qingchuang Research Institute, PhD in Business Administration from Politecnico di Milano, Italy); PhD in Artificial Intelligence at the School of Data Science, Lingnan University; Mainly engaged in research on sustainable development, value chain management, entrepreneurship, and innovation

Extended reading: MerRIND ® The industrial robot grease pack series products have been selected and recognized by many leading companies in the industry, including Nongfu Spring, Oak Chemical, Great Wall Motors, Huayu Body, AVIC, Ordnance Group, AVIC, AVIC, LongGong, Kyocera Liyoubi, Continental Automotive Electronics, etc. They are widely used in multiple intelligent manufacturing fields such as manufacturing, automotive, aviation, electronics, and food.