WALLBOX
Wallbox, one of the world leaders in charging and energy management solutions, implements Upchain
DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
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Success based on intelligence
Electric mobility is in full swing, and Wallbox is one of the world’s leading providers of electric vehicle charging and energy management solutions. Moreover, its home and semi-public chargers allow vehicles to be charged with renewable and cost-effective energy. Thanks to a specific feature of the myWallbox app called EcoSmart, the chargers can be connected to the solar panels that are installed in a house. To meet their goals, they have implemented Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain, an Autodesk software that allows data, people and processes to be connected.
Office. Image courtesy of Wallbox.
A pioneering company in e-mobility
Wallbox is a technology company that was established in 2015 and has been able to position itself on a global level as one of the leaders in charging solutions for electric vehicles based on just eight years of experience. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and was recognised as one of the first Spanish unicorns, a category that is obtained when exceeding a valuation of one billion dollars.
To achieve these results, they have built a team that is currently made up of 1,300 workers. Enric Asunción and Eduard Castañeda are the founders of Wallbox, who have guided the company along the path of growth and internationalisation from the first charger model called Commander in 2015 through the subsequent models Pulsar, Copper, Quasar and the most recent Supernova.
Wallbox Commander. Image courtesy of Wallbox.
Changing the way the world uses energy
Wallbox's figures show its reach in the thriving electric mobility sector. An estimated 420,000 chargers have been sold so far in an industry that poses two major challenges: the need to mainstream electric cars and the spread of public charging infrastructures.
Wallbox chargers feature a minimalist, space- and user-friendly as well as user-focused design and intelligence. To support this innovation in the future, Wallbox has chosen Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain.
"Upchain has made engineering CAD management much easier for us; although we still have to define flows within Upchain with the operations teams (purchasing and industrialisation), we already boast substantial improvement when it comes to developing new products."
—Aleix Adriani, Technology Quality Manager, Wallbox
Image courtesy of Wallbox.
A vertical integration model
Wallbox has developed a portfolio of products and services for the home, business and public sector following a vertical integration model in which they develop the software and also manufacture the hardware. This allows technology teams to be directly in touch with the factory, hence creating a streamlined process for innovating, manufacturing and distributing chargers.
For companies that have achieved exponential growth, great challenges arise when managing information and communication between departments. Wallbox decided to establish a plan to digitally transform data management in the mechanical equipment. In partnership with NTI Spain – NKE, they defined the implementation of the Autodesk Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain platform as PDM and PLM tools.
The transformative nature of Wallbox made it easy to implement Upchain, even though it required significant efforts to redesign processes and adapt them to the platform’s architecture and its operation in the cloud. The first benefits can already be seen in projects with over 230 parts, where documentation has to be managed between the teams in the 21 offices and the production teams. Document management has been optimised to reduce more than three hours of work per week, hence facilitating approval processes, information traceability and the possibility of sharing the entire list of materials with its associated files in less than 12 hours.
“It has been a challenge to integrate and migrate all the information to the Upchain server, while continuing to develop Wallbox projects. We still need to finalise how some system elements are handled within the work and information flow, but after the initial adaptation stage, it should be smooth sailing. Direct and prompt communication with Autodesk and NKE has helped us to ease these issues.”
—Xavi Martínez, Mechanical Engineer, Wallbox
Pulsar. Image courtesy of Wallbox.
Sustainability as a driver for the future
Electric mobility, according to Wallbox, has great potential to transform energy interaction and management. Thus, Wallbox launched the first bidirectional home charger, the Quasar, three years ago. This technology not only makes it possible to charge an electric vehicle, but also to take the energy this vehicle has stored in its battery and supply it to a home or office. For Wallbox, an electric vehicle is much more than a mobility solution; it is a powerful battery on wheels.
In its commitment to a sustainable future, Wallbox also intends to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across its business by 2030.
“The fact that shared information is not generated manually ensures that everyone sees the same information at the same time. We achieve one main focus; reducing human error, improving quality and decreasing launch times. We will continue to work with NKE and the Autodesk team to finetune the system and solutions as challenges arise.”
—Tiago Araujo, Head of Mechanical Engineering, Wallbox
