AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing Goes Fourth at VW Dresden
Volkswagen is trialling new manufacturing technology on the latest electric Golf at its test location in Dresden.
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nown for its innovation in manufacturing as well as automotive technology, German car maker Volkswagen is forging ahead with its Industry 4.0 implementation plans
across its manufacturing locations. Before rolling out such technology throughout its business, VW makes use of its Gläserne Manufaktur facility in the city of Dresden, the place that the company has chosen to develop as the group’s primary test location for trialling innovative technology. In conjunction with the Wolfsburg and Emden
factories, the Gläserne Manufaktur is part of a “technical centre” project. The primary idea is to achieve automation of complex work steps within assembly. The special challenge is that the testing and development takes place on an ongoing basis during production of the e-Golf in the Gläserne Manufaktur. The first project at the Dresden site is a world first – the headlining for the e-Golf is now being fitted by a robot as standard. This manufacturing step will also be used in production of the ID.2 from the end of 2019 at Volkswagen’s Zwickau plant.
FASTER & LEANER
According to Dr Andreas Tostmann, member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics of the Volkswagen brand, the company wanted to achieve a 30% improvement in productivity in Volkswagen factories by 2025 compared to 2018 in order to make a decisive contribution to improving the profitability of the Volkswagen brand. “To achieve this, the factories must become faster, leaner and more efficient. The various technical centre projects in Wolfsburg, Emden and Dresden make an important contribution to this by testing innovative technology,” he says Lars Dittert, site manager of the Gläserne
Manufaktur in Dresden believes that the location is the showcase for electric mobility and now also a pilot factory for the Volkswagen Group.
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❱ ❱ Factory automation is part of the Industry 4.0 approach being pioneered at Volkswagen’s Gläserne Manufaktur test facility in Dresden
“The extraordinary aspect is that we are pushing ahead with our automation projects during production. A technology that makes it to series readiness can be used in the automotive industry worldwide. This enables us to integrate our expertise into the Group and further consolidate the profile of our site.”
OPTIMISED TESTING LOCATION The Gläserne Manufaktur has special requirements for an automotive production facility due to its unique architecture. For example, testing for optical component detection is challenging due to the high light incidence and associated contrasts. The sensors have to work under much more difficult conditions. The safety requirements are also above average due to the large number of visitors. An average of 400 guests visit the Gläserne Manufaktur daily. Furthermore, the small batch production of 72 e-Golfs per day is an advantage. The cycle time per workstation in Dresden is comparatively long compared to conventional production facilities. A lot of employees are therefore highly qualified to handle the larger workload at each workstation. Furthermore, the short distances between the workstations and the comparatively large work surface are an optimal environment for testing new technologies. The innovations in Dresden are supported by
Volkswagen Brand Planning and Wolfsburg plant engineering. Other projects at the Dresden site include the automated assembly and removal of the car doors and the human/robot collaboration. With its challenging environment and focus on
innovation, the Dresden facility is driving forward the strategy at VW to implement Industry 4.0 and associated technology throughout its operations.
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