Boosting Competitiveness in Small Batch Production

Scalable and flexible body-in-white production line with collaborative mobile robots

JournalIndustry 4.0 Science
Issue Volume 41, Edition 2, Pages 60-67
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Abstract

Due to the higher customization of products to customer groups and needs, body-in-white manufacturing industries are facing higher variant assembly at the later stages of the production line, thus increasing production costs per unit. Flexible production processes that involve flexible material flows, non-rigid manufacturing sequences, and the automatic reconfiguration of tools are regarded as the pillars of a resilient production system. This article presents a conceptual solution for flexible Body-in-White sheet metal production with autonomous collaborative robotic systems to make product costs affordable for a higher competitive advantage.

Keywords

Article

Challenges in the scalable and flexible (body-in-white) production line With shorter life cycles and greater product variety, the automotive industry needs higher flexibility and reconfigurability of its production systems to evolve at market speed. The production of sheet metal in body-in-white, which is used in car manufacturing, precedes painting and integrating elements like motor and chassis into the structure [1]. The latter differs by the manufacturing steps but has fixed sequences. In each body-in-white production step, the manufacturing processes will define the geometry and …

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Potentials: Innovation Profitability
Solutions: Assembly Logistics Logistics Technology Process Management Production Control Production Planning Risk Management

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