Automation – Page 120
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ArticleMercedes invests in battery production
Mercedes-Benz Citaro batteryThailand - The German OEM has announced that it will spend €100m (US$123.74m) with its partner Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant (TAAP) to expand its existing car plant in Bangkok and to construct a new battery assembly facility at the same site. The latter will start operating at ...
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ArticleVW Group to spread BEV production
Germany - The Volkswagen Group has revealed that it will build battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in 16 different locations around the world by the end of 2022. The company currently makes BEVs at just three of its plants - in Wolfsburg, Dresden and Bratislava - but wishes to expand this ...
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ArticleBack to the future
Designed in 1967, the K67 showcased how plastics could be used to create a stylish performance carThe automotive related headlines are full of forward looking statements; OEMs describing their brand’s vision of future mobility, new concepts of how they envision we will be moved around appearing at motor shows, ...
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ArticleSpotting an opportunity
Steed Webzell talks to major players in joining, automation and materials technologies to get their take on the future of spot welding ABB spot welding technology at Scania's plant in OskarshamnAccording to a Technavio 2017 report, spot welding is the most popular type of robotic welding, generating more than 48% ...
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ArticleVW Poznań plant hits Caddy milestone
Poland - The two millionth Caddy recently rolled off a production line at Volkswagen's plant in Antoninek, Poznań. This marks an important milestone for the facility, which has been making the model since 2003.Around 720 Caddys are produced at the plant every day, and 165,000 units were built in 2017 ...
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ArticleArconic-Köfém to build new wheel plant
Hungary - Arconic-Köfém has broken ground at a site where its new truck wheel factory is being built. Costing €105m (US$130m), the plant is located in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. Operations are scheduled to begin at the end of 2019 and the new factory should create around 200 jobs.“Our truck wheels help ...
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ArticleGroupe PSA to open Namibia plant
Namibia - The Grandland X and 3008 will be the first Opel and Peugeot models to be assembled at a new plant in Walvis Bay, Namibia. It will start operating during the second quarter of 2018 as part of a joint venture between the OEM and the Namibia Development Cooperation ...
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ArticleCo-bots to help produce electric Golf
Germany - Volkswagen has recently established a new joint venture (JV) with a start-up called Wandelbots in a bid to establish test stations for collaborative robots at its Transparent Factory in Dresden. The idea is to use the co-bots during the final stages of electric Golf assembly, the production of ...
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ArticleEV trend boosts aluminium demand
Constellium has opened a new facility in Mexico to serve the automotive industry, and predicts strong growth on the horizon. Michael Nash reports Aluminium supplier Constellium has opened up a new plant in San Luis Potosi, MexicoThe rise of electrification is having a huge impact on vehicle manufacturers and their ...
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ArticleMazda Toyota establish production JV
US - The two companies have announced that they are establishing a new joint venture (JV) company called Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, USA (MTMUS). The news comes less than a year after they signed an agreement to enter a business and capital alliance, and follows on from a decision to build ...
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ArticleBorgWarner opens turbocharger facility
Thailand - BorgWarner has inaugurated a new turbocharger production plant in Rayong, Thailand. Covering an area of 6,500 sq. m, the site has been established to meet growing demand for turbochargers in the Southeast Asian automotive market."Thailand is a very important production base for Asian automakers and offers an excellent ...
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ArticleTraining 5-axis machining centre
Heller Machine Tools says it has introduced a training machine designed to raise the skill level of horizontal machining centre operators away from the shop floor. The company clams the CNC ProfiTrainer builds on the capabilities of an existing 4-axis version with rotary table by offering the option of an ...
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ArticleIAC opens plant in Czech Republic
Czech Republic - International Automotive Components (IAC) has officially opened a new plant in Prestice, which will be used to house the production of door panels. Costing over US$40m and covering an area of 32,560 sq.m, the facility is the company's third in the region."Our new Prestice operation reflects our ...
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ArticleNew fibre laser models
With the addition of the FF500i-A and FF1000i-A models, Fanuc says it now offers a range of laser cutting solutions covering 500W through to 6000W. The company notes that specific Laser functions and interfaces allow for the integration of robot systems into the laser machine process for both material handling ...
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Article
- 学习中的教训
随着汽车业的不断变化，原始设备制造商和大型供应商需要不断培训，才能留住高技术人才 奥迪在德国因戈尔施塔特工厂和内卡苏尔姆工厂每年招收约800名学员优化生产工艺是汽车制造商永恒的任务，而自动化为人们提供了一些解决方案，但很多重大目标需要高技术人才才能达到。培训是其中的关键，而数字程序和系统在这个过程中发挥着前所有为的重要作用。奥迪汽车职业培训与专业能力开发部长Dieter Omert为我们展示了公司的培训文化，并探讨生产技术对公司招聘及培训新员工方面产生的重大推动作用。“对我们来说，科技领导创新的意思就是在未来工厂里创造人类与机器之间的良好结合，而且创新技术能够支持我们的员工完成越来越复杂的工作。人机合作在这里尤其突出。智能机器人能够完成单调、高重复生产。那些身负技术专长的员工要负责高价值作业。“举例来说，生产对IT的要求不断提高，因此在2015年，奥迪公司引进了职业培训信息系统，这成为了我们的特色。在完成培训之后，合格的员工就可以在机电一体化生产线附近工作。为了促进机械与信息专家之间的合作，信息培训课程给电工增加了一个资格。这就拓展了年轻信息专家们发挥的范围，并且反应了数字工作环境中双系统培训的要求。专家增加条件，有能力完成之前只有IT专家和电工们才能完成的领域。过去的分割已经不复存在，因为IT专家的工作已经不是在控制箱前完成的。他们现在能够更加高效地解决极其复杂的任务。“公司已经特地增加了电机一体化受训人员的数量。在奥迪公司，学徒们参与大部分操作。培训包括装卸、维护，以及现代生产设备及生产机器人编程。学徒们使用平板电脑等工具来控制设备，模拟错误并寻找解决方案。”向未来投资为了达到这个目标，奥迪公司向培训项目进行投资。Omert解释说：“所有的培训以及后期的深入培训都是在公司内部‘奥迪学院’完成。这能够拉近培训区域与证书之间的融合，同时可以与所有工厂的所有业务部门联网。但是我们还重点关注与外面培训专家和大学，以及大众集团培训机构之间的意见交流和经验探讨。“为了发展扩大未来所需人才技能，奥迪公司已经在公司各个部门成立了学院。学院里的特殊培训课程涵盖采购、物流到电气及电子开发等方面。很多课程都设置了紧凑而实用的知识。在这种情况下，来自奥迪各部门的专家都非常活跃地充当教员。”多技能训练途径多技能生产操作已经成为汽车部门一项重要的培训内容。Omert解释了奥迪公司这方面的情况。“敏捷的工作方式是奥迪生产世界的重要因素。因此，培训计划还包括创新方法，比如设计思考和敏捷开发。2015年，奥迪公司在职业培训项目中引进了移动理念和数字学习。这种方法综合应用了平板电脑，将其当做学习辅助。有了移动学习理念，我们不仅能激发年轻人个人的责任心和创造性，而且还能关注IT和媒体能力。有了平板电脑，受训人员能够随时获得所需知识 — 不用受到地点和时间的限制。他们的数字辅助可以轻松获得理论及实际学习材料，因为平板电脑随时在手。受训人员可以在德国货全球各个工厂独自学习或者小组学习。内部审查显示，这种新概念加强了受训人员的学习动力。”大型供应商AMS对供应商Pailton Engineering公司（在学徒培训中颇有成功）人力资源专员Mariyana Mihaylova说，大型供应商们面临类似的新任培训问题。“我们没有计划每年会吸纳多少学院，但是我们目前有两个人是第一年学徒期，在Midland Group Training Services（MGTS）。他们一旦完成第一年学习，他们就会开始在我们这里培训。他们在第二年和第三年里在每个生产部门积累经验，而且会在这些部门安排导师，这些导师会监管他们的学习进程。在第二年里，他们会在每个部门花费一个月的时间。“这个计划很灵活，因此如果学员对某个生产领域感兴趣或显示一定的才能，我们就会讨论他们的倾向，并且可能在第三年里分配在这个部门的时间会加长。我们公司有人员安排要求，但是我们会与学员一同讨论，帮助他们完成未来目标。” Pailton在培训学员的时候采用亲身经历教授模式在吸纳新员工补缺或提高员工水平的时候，找到适合的技术人员，尤其是车间里的领导人员是非常困难的。Mihaylova表示：“找到熟知某个机械的经验人员是非常困难的。我们有些设备非常复杂，找到能够达到技术要求的操作员相当困难。”Mihaylova解释说，除了强制性的健康、安全要求及公司入职培训之外，Pailton采取一个非常灵活的方法来培训新员工，依赖个人的技术和经验，以及工作部门。“每个员工都会得到在职培训，包括辅导和指导。他们还有一个合作‘伙伴’，帮助他们跟上设备和流程速度。”当问到Pailton培训中心的规定时，Mihaylova说，对他们工厂来说，亲身实践，实地作业的方式比课堂教学更加有效，更加实际。她还说，“这不仅是设备问题，行业随着质量和生产力要求不断变化。因此，车间培训对我们来说是一个持续不断的过程，保证劳动力掌握一定的技术。我们相信，劳动力培训和技术水平的提高是我们最重要的投资之一。”为了跟上行业快速发展的步伐，Pailton已经引进了多技术渠道进行劳动力培训。这个理念就是让个人掌握技术，达到能够完成多种生产任务的目标，从而提高操作灵活性。Mihaylova解释说，“这对员工也同样适用，提高他们的价值，而公司也能高效利用他们的技术。”培训模型Pailton开了一种培训模型，确定技术漏洞。Mihaylova解释说：“我们去年开始启动这种员工发展战略，其目的就是识别所有培训漏洞和需求。我们一直提高并更新员工的技术，这种评定方式有助于我们识别技术头东，改进绩效，员工满意度，并且推行前瞻性培训方法。第一阶段就是更新所有工作规范。这有助于我们调整目前的技术资产，适应工作要求。不久之后，我们就开始非常具体的技术模式。下一阶段，我们就开始比较技术模型和工作规范，找出两者的差距。通过这种方法，我们可以通过行业需求评估目前的技术。最后阶段就是缩小这种技术差距，完善培训。总之，我们得到很多的建议，因此我们让一些员工接受培训课程。现在，我们保证让正确的人待在正确的地方。”
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ArticleLessons to learn
As the automotive industry changes, OEMs and Tier suppliers need to train and retain skilled work forces. Audi takes on approximately 800 apprentices at its two sites in Germany in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm each yearOptimising production processes is a never-ending task for vehicle makers and while automation offers some ...
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ArticleClamping force verification
To assist with verifying the holding force of a component during machining operations OK-VISE says it has integrated two clamping force measurement systems directly into its modular Multi-Rail RM fixturing system.The Digiforce device provide the operator with an on-screen readout of the clamping pressure. In addition the company says that ...
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ArticleMagna opens new composites facility
Germany - The new Composites Center of Excellence will act as a base for the development of various vehicle structural components such as subframes, as well as exterior body parts like door panels and hoods. The idea is to identify production-ready lightweight solutions that will help vehicle manufacturers meet increasingly ...
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ArticleGM to increase Bolt EV production
US - General Motors CEO Mary Barra has announced that the company will soon ramp up production of the Bolt EV at its Orion Assembly plant, which is located north of Detroit. She cited "increasing global demand" as the reason behind the decision."In December 2012, the Chevrolet Volt was GM’s ...