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| Processes in the automotive industry |
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Home > Process > 1st Tier |
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Example Powertrain | Example Seats |
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ZF Saarbrücken: Productivity and flexibility more than doubled
For its new assembly line in its plant in Saarbrücken, Germany, ZF had the ambitious goal of achieving 100% more throughput using the same space and the same amount of personnel. The company needed to be ambitious in order to meet the demands of its customers. After all, this plant manufactures the 6-speed automatic transmissions for luxury-class automobiles made by BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce.
Since robots and expert technicians work closely together in this high-end quality segment, such a large increase in productivity was only possible with end-to-end control technology. This was the perfect situation for Totally Integrated Automation – for uniform standards in automation, communications and operations and monitoring. On this basis, and in collaboration with ZF, a SIMATIC control system was developed and implemented to make the overall flow of parts more transparent and as seamless as possible, and to cover the entire process from design to production and from the office to the field.
Thanks to this systematic networking of information, the primary goal was reached, and now 400,000 transmissions are being produced each year instead of 200,000. Moreover, flexibility was increased throughout the entire line, making it much easier to fulfill last-minute customer requests. |
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