One of the most important factories of the Geely group is located near the city of Huzhou and Taihu Lake. The Chinese brand produces its Emgrand sedan there, now in its fourth generation. However, that is not the only point of view of a plant that has evolved very rapidly in technological terms, to the point of being defined as a hyper-connected factory.
The factory’s official production capacity is 30 vehicles off the production line per hour, which is one car every two minutes. These types of production numbers are essential to keep up with the massive demand for a car like the Emgrand. A total of 14 molds currently model the bodywork, with an error threshold of less than half a millimeter, or less than the thickness of a lock of hair! The welding sector is 100% automated.
You can’t walk ten meters in this factory without bumping into one of the many AGVs (self-driving vehicles) that constantly move around the workstations. These ‘robots’ are hyper-connected to the plant thanks to the network 5G + super fast, enabling seamless communication between devices and cloud services. The data is updated with real-time information such as inventory levels, production status and AGV locations. With this information at their fingertips, these robots make no mistakes in deliveries; and in a single day, each of these robots can carry up to 7,000 parts to those who need it.
With such a high production capacity it is important that the quality control is flawless. Each car undergoes a 2.4km “assault course”, with a total of 80 separate tests that check performance, handling, mechanics and electronics. A rain tightness test, for example, it shows how cars withstand different levels of water: first, a classic test; then, a 3 minute storm; finally, a 3 hour long typhoon simulator to make sure not a single drop enters the cockpit.
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