Where Innovation Meets Imagination
The Mercedes-Benz plant at Wörth has shipped its 750,000th truck assembly kit.
Called the CKD Centre, for “Completely Knocked Down”, the Wörth facility in Germany sent the 750,000th truck kit to South Africa.
The item was packed in a 40-foot sea container for its journey overseas. It will be shipped to Rotterdam before it embarks to Port Elizabeth, in South Africa, its destination country. [Read more…] about Mercedes-Benz plant ships 750,000th truck assembly kit
ThyssenKrupp is investing €80 million into building what the company describes as “the world’s most advanced forging line” in Homburg, in Germany.
The investment is to expand a front axle production facility for trucks, for which long-term customer contracts have been signed, says the industrial giant.
ThyssenKrupp says its decision to build the new forging line represents “the biggest single investment ever made at its Homburg site. [Read more…] about ThyssenKrupp invests €80 million in ‘world’s most advanced forging line’
SEAT has invested €57 million in a new metal press and two new hot stamping lines for its factory in Barcelona.
The new PXL press installed in SEAT Barcelona involved an investment of just over €31 million and it will boost the productivity of this metal press compared to the previous ones thanks to greater automation and manufacturing speed, as well as an advanced robot system.
A little over €25 million was also invested in two new hot stamping lines that will also help increase efficiency, speed and precision in the production process. [Read more…] about SEAT invests €57 million in its factory in Barcelona
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in the US state of South Carolina has doubled its capacity for production of high-voltage batteries.
The plant’s own battery facility now produces the new fourth-generation batteries.
These are intended for the plug-in hybrid models of the new BMW X5 and the future BMW X3, also produced in Spartanburg. [Read more…] about BMW’s Spartanburg plant doubles battery production capacity
General Motors is investing an additional $20 million at Arlington Assembly to upgrade plant conveyors in preparation for the launch of GM’s new SUVs.
GM has invested more than $1.4 billion in Arlington Assembly since 2015 to build a new paint shop and for body shop and general assembly area upgrades.
The new upgrades at Arlington are scheduled to be completed next year.
[Read more…] about GM to invest additional $20 million in Texas plant
Continental’s technology for driverless vehicles will be in production for the first time in French company EasyMile’s EZ10 autonomous shuttle. Continental has held a stake in this driverless vehicle manufacturer since 2017.
Driverless robo-taxis will become an important part of mobility in urban centers, helping to reduce traffic congestion and increase efficiency, says the company.
Driverless transport systems of this kind are still rare. Small autonomous shuttle buses with room for several passengers – which also qualify as robo-taxis – have driven on short, straightforward public routes during pilot projects and in designated areas at airports, hospitals, universities, and exhibition grounds.
[Read more…] about Continental launches series production of technologies for robo-taxis
Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise in automotive production. Since 2018, the BMW Group has been using various AI applications in series production.
One focus is automated image recognition: In these processes, artificial intelligence evaluates component images in ongoing production and compares them in milliseconds to hundreds of other images of the same sequence.
This way, the AI application determines deviations from the standard in real time and checks, for instance, whether all required parts have been mounted and whether they are mounted in the right place.
[Read more…] about BMW provides insight into how it uses artificial intelligence in production
Denso Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation have agreed to establish a joint venture for research and advanced development of next-generation, in-vehicle semiconductors. The two companies will study the details and aim to establish the new company in April 2020.
Recently, electronic controls have been increasingly introduced in vehicles, the number of in-vehicle semiconductors has also grown, and the performance of these semiconductors has continuously improved.
To create a future of mobility that is safe and sustainable, it is necessary to develop next-generation semiconductors that are integral to technology innovations, such as connected cars, automated driving, sharing mobility and electrification.
[Read more…] about Denso and Toyota to set up R&D joint venture for in-vehicle semiconductors
The Seat factory in Martorell is the first Spanish plant to receive components via drone delivery. In collaboration with Grupo Sesé, the Spanish carmaker has a pioneering service connecting Sesé’s logistics centre in Abrera with the Seat factory using drones.
The first parts delivery service between two production plants in Spain by drone will deliver steering wheels and airbags to the Seat assembly lines.
The pilot project is being carried out under the supervision of the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA) and will go forward in an experimental phase with several flights per day.
[Read more…] about Seat and Grupo Sesé launch a parts delivery service using drones
Ultimation is targeting the new and growing market of vertical farming sector with its conveyor systems, technology it has been supplying for more than 30 years.
The company says that sustainable agricultural operations such as vertical and indoor farms are becoming more prevalent, and “conveyor technology systems can be part of the solution”.
Ultimation says vertical farms can potentially achieve higher yields for the surface area dedicated to production by controlling the light, temperature, humidity, water and nutrients the plants receive. [Read more…] about Ultimation reaches out to vertical farming sector with its conveyor systems
