In AGV/AMR projects, Not every problem requires replacing parts, but every abnormality requires fast response. Not every support case can be resolved on site, but every remote assistance can move issues forward—through professional judgment, clear communication, and timely action.
Recently, a long-term European AGV manufacturer partnered with HKT Robot encountered an unexpected steering wheel noise during field operations. As a trusted partner for over three years, this customer specializes in automotive line-side delivery, warehousing, and logistics automation. To date, they have deployed over 260 HKT drive wheels, including a landmark project featuring more than 200 units running seamlessly on a single site.
Years of cooperation have built deep confidence in the reliability of our drive solutions. Naturally, when the field issue arose, the customer reached out immediately, counting on our joint expertise to pinpoint the root cause and minimize operational downtime.
Customer Issue: Noise During Start-up and Braking
The customer noticed an unusual noise from the AGV steering wheel during initial acceleration and braking cycles. Initially, they suspected either the motor or the reduction gearbox was at fault.
To isolate the issue, they conducted a bench test on the disassembled motor. When the motor performed normally on its own, confirming the issue was more complex, they immediately engaged us for deep-dive support.
Rather than simply passing the ticket along or jumping to a hasty hardware diagnosis, our sales focused on the customer’s true operational urgency. They were not simply complaining about “loud noise.” They wanted to identify the noise source, narrow down the troubleshooting scope, and bring the equipment back to stable operation as soon as possible.
Fast Coordination From Sales, Remote Support From Engineering
In overseas AGV projects, service response speed is very important. Once an abnormal issue occurs on site, relying only on repeated email communication or waiting for on-site service can significantly extend the problem-solving cycle.
At HKT Robot, after confirming the customer’s issue, our sales team quickly coordinated software and engineering support, and guided the customer to establish a remote connection through AnyDesk. This allowed our engineer to check the actual equipment status and perform parameter troubleshooting based on real-time feedback, instead of relying only on written descriptions.
For us, sales is not just about passing messages. It is about understanding the customer’s concern, identifying the right troubleshooting direction, coordinating internal resources, and helping the engineering team get involved as quickly as possible.
Engineering Judgment: Resolving the Issue Within 1h
Noise of agv steering wheels during start and braking is not always caused by mechanical structure alone. In many cases, it may also be related to servo parameters, gain response, integral parameters, and control matching. If the parameter response is too aggressive or not properly matched, the steering wheel may experience sudden torque changes during start-up and braking, which can lead to vibration and abnormal noise.
After connecting remotely, our engineer first worked with the customer to disconnect the steering wheel controller, reducing the influence of external control signals on the troubleshooting process. Then, the engineer began adjusting the motor and drive parameters step by step.
During the tuning process, the engineer started with a lower gain parameter and gradually increased it while observing the sound changes under different parameter settings. When the parameter increased to a certain level and obvious abnormal noise appeared, the engineer then reduced the value in the opposite direction to find a more stable operating range.
After that, the engineer continued to adjust the integral parameter and integral time parameter using the same logic. Once the tuning was completed, an unloaded trial run was performed to confirm whether the steering wheel noise during start and braking had been clearly improved.
After connecting remotely, our engineer first worked with the customer to disconnect the steering wheel controller, reducing the influence of external control signals on the troubleshooting process. Then, the engineer began adjusting the motor and drive parameters step by step.
During the tuning process, the engineer started with a lower gain parameter and gradually increased it while observing the sound changes under different parameter settings. When the parameter increased to a certain level and obvious abnormal noise appeared, the engineer then reduced the value in the opposite direction to find a more stable operating range.
After that, the engineer continued to adjust the integral parameter and integral time parameter using the same logic. Once the tuning was completed, an unloaded trial run was performed to confirm whether the steering wheel noise during start and braking had been clearly improved.
With the cooperation of the customer’s on-site staff, the noise was significantly reduced within less than one hour.
Conclusion: More Than Product Delivery, Continuous Support
For AGV/AMR customers, supplier value should not stop at product delivery. Core motion components such as steering wheels, drive wheels, motors, drives, and controllers must work together with the vehicle structure, control logic, parameter settings, and on-site tuning.
When problems occur in real projects, what matters is fast response, accurate understanding, professional judgment, and a practical solution.
At HKT Robot, we provide more than individual hardware components. Our sales team helps understand the real customer concern, while our engineering team supports remote diagnosis and parameter tuning based on actual operating conditions.
Moving forward, HKT Robot will continue to focus on AGV/AMR drive systems, providing customers with reliable steering wheels, drive wheels, motors, drives, and related motion control components. At the same time, we will keep improving the collaboration between our sales and engineering teams, helping customers complete product selection, tuning, operation, and after-sales support more efficiently in real projects.
This is the long-term value HKT Robot aims to provide: not just delivering products, but working with customers to make their AGV/AMR projects run more stably, reliably, and maintainably.
Share:
Case Study : How AGV Drive Solutions Support Logistics Automation Upgrades