With the boom of e-mobility over the last decade, as well as political uncertainties affecting supply chains and looming environmental risks, the ways in which we produce vehicles have a lot to adapt to. Understandably, this process has been rather slow, due to the sheer scale of the demand, but some companies are rethinking production from zero. 

One of these companies is Audi, who is completely redesigning their production process and setting an example for car factories of the future – and we had the chance to go see it with our own eyes in Ingolstadt for Audi Tech day. 

Meeting the requirements of the future

In order to address these numerous and challenging requirements, Audi is building a fully networked, highly efficient and sustainable production. The goal: to design a value chain that is resilient, agile and flexible. 

"We use synergies and look at production as a whole – from the employees to the fully automated cycle. We are digitising in a targeted manner as part of an open culture of innovation for the entire Audi production network. In this way, we ensure efficient value creation and enable flexible and efficient use of resources and capacities.”  – Gerd Walker, Board Member for Production and Logistics

Of course, one of the main paths towards production of the future is digitisation, and this is why Audi works closely with the Technical University of Munich and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) in the field of digitization. The “ Automotive Initiative 2025 ” (AI25) initiated by Audi aims to establish a leading global competence network for digital factory transformation and innovation, and sees itself as a source of ideas and an important building block for digital change. 

Digitisation 

One of the most significant steps in digitising production at Audi has been virtual assembly planning and smart production. Their primary goal is reportedly to transfer the design to production as much as possible, and to get it out on the road for the customers. For this purpose, experts evaluate the design drafts from an early development phase of a model until the tools are released to see whether they can actually be mass-produced. The final approval of the vehicle surfaces then takes place in the so-called data control milestone.

What does this mean, concretely? Well, the most important tools for this are large screens, so-called power walls, which allow the vehicle to be displayed in its original size. In combination with the visualisation cluster, the vehicles can be displayed realistically and using physically based light, shadow and reflection calculations. This process forms the basis of the design decision-making process, both for the interior and exterior. Since this special virtual reality system can be implemented with standard hardware and software, it can be used quickly and flexibly.

Virtual reality technology is also an important tool for tolerance management, in order to ensure that a specific model is built to specification, both from a design and quality perspective. With the help of a 3D simulation of the vehicle body, the effects of component and assembly tolerances on the appearance of the vehicle can be precisely predicted. The simulation results are then also realistically visualised using virtual reality. In this way, the experts in Audi production can influence the design and development process independently of physical models in terms of time and location, and for the first time also from the manufacturing plants. On a lighter note, VR even allows for two people to test the driver’s seat at once – no more waiting around the showroom to get into the prototype.

Virtual Assembly

Another aspect of Audi’s smart production effort is virtual assembly, which not only saves material resources, but also enables a new, flexible and cross-locational collaboration. This means that the construction of models used in the past is no longer necessary – with the use of a scanning process, three-dimensional point clouds are generated and can be used for the virtual reconstruction of machines and infrastructure. The software is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and enables Audi employees to navigate virtually through production lines. 

If this wasn’t futuristic enough, Audi is also currently testing a robot dog called Spot along with Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics and with the help of Munich software company NavVis, in order to be able to carry out these 3D scans as efficiently as possible. Since the start of site digitisation in 2017, around four million square metres and 13 plants have been recorded. 

In the factories of the future, it also seems that VR will play a crucial role both in the production line but also in terms of collaboration within the workplace, as Audi demonstrates with their new plant.

"Above all, we see and experience production as it will look later as a whole. The moment we put on the VR glasses and meet our colleagues in the form of avatars in the virtual world is always fascinating. We build our new Audi there for the first time or watch a computer-generated avatar and how it does this as a real-time simulation. And if necessary, we discuss and optimise the processes and the environment of the workplace together in the scene, such as the hiring of materials or the tools required. This enables Audi to ensure optimal production processes in its established structures.” – Andrés Kohler, Head of the virtual assembly planning team

Modular Assembly

One of the most promising innovations at the Audi smart production plant is modular assembly. Even though the assembly line has set the pace in automobile production for more than a century, it is now increasingly reaching its limits. The alternatives so far have significantly increased the differentiation of the products, and this complexity is becoming increasingly difficult to master in a rigid, sequential process. 

"Modular assembly is one of our answers to future requirements. We use digital technologies specifically for the benefit of the employees and at the same time get a more flexible and efficient assembly." – Gerd Walker.

For those who don’t know: using modular assembly means that rather than assembling parts from individual components received by suppliers, the production station receives pre-assembled parts, or modules, and just has to assemble those together, thereby significantly increasing speed and efficiency.

The Audi Production Lab is preparing the use of modular assembly by first implementing the concept in the pre-assembly of interior door panels at the Ingolstadt plant. Then, driverless transport systems transport the door panels to the exact station where the component has to be assembled. In addition, certain production steps can be bundled with modular assembly. For example, complete sun blinds can now be installed by just one employee. Another big advantage of the flexible system: Audi can employ employees who can no longer be used in the line due to physical disabilities. 

Sustainability

While all of the above are most definitely production methods of the future, sustainability is also key in producing better and smarter. Digitisation also plays a key role in energy efficiency at Audi, specifically data and its evaluation. The "Energy Analytics" tool developed by Audi contributes to sustainable and resource-saving production by making it possible to show noticeable energy consumption – both in production and in non-production times. Thanks to energy analytics and process improvements, the Ingolstadt site was able to save around 37.000 megawatt hours of energy in 2021, a promising step for the future. 

There are of course many ways to innovate and improve production within mobility, with different companies employing different methods – we have previously written about circularity within mobility and the companies that are using this model. It is however quite rare to see a company really uproot its entire production system, so this is really quite impressive, and though it is all very complex, we were delighted to be able to see it in person.

Audi’s new smart production plants gave us a great insight into what the car factories of the future could (and perhaps should?) look like, and we are excited to bring you more insights from various other companies on how they produce in the future. 

Pictures: Audi for ellectric
Text: Britta Reineke