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Automotive giant BMW is providing an insight into its application of virtual and augmented reality in the corporate’s production system.
The company says the “fast and versatile” planning of latest workstations in production is made possible by virtual reality and digitized 3D factory data.
It’s still a learning process but augmented reality technologies is making it possible to design training courses with none coding knowledge.
It also enables comparison between the camera image and CAD models for fast, straightforward quality checks of parts and vehicles.
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The BMW Group Production says it’s increasingly serious about “trendsetting, easy-to-use and effective virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality applications”.
VR images, or artificially created images, are ever more realistic and hard to tell apart from real pictures. In AR applications, illustrations complement real images.
AR and VR images could be viewed in special headsets or on normal tablet computers. In production, these images are powerful tools in quite a few use cases in training and qualification, planning of workstations on the assembly line, or quality control.
In all applications, the technology keeps modestly within the background. No extensive IT expertise is required to make use of these applications efficiently.
Workstation planning
Thanks to VR, planners in construction, plant engineering, logistics and assembly can now assess latest production areas completely virtually along with production staff and test latest processes in 3D.
This sort of planning is predicated on digitized factory data available in 3D. For several years now, the BMW Group has been digitally capturing its actual plant structures with special 3D scanners and high-resolution cameras to an accuracy of just just a few millimeters.
This provides a three-dimensional image, or scatter plot, of production areas and does away with the complex, digital reconstruction of structures and manual on-site recording.
When planning future workstations or entire assembly halls, the BMW Group’s business units now mix existing data with a virtual library of shelves, mesh boxes, small load carriers and around 50 other particularly common operating resources.
Training and qualification
At its Production Academy, the BMW Group trains managers, production planners, process leaders and quality specialists on the principles of lean production. As key communicators, training participants then pass on this data on the shop floor.
For about 18 months now, AR goggles have been utilized in training sessions for engine assembly units. Visualizations guide participants through all process steps and provides specific information.
Participants can work at their very own pace, determining the speed of the training via voice control. Three people can undergo the AR training at the identical time, after receiving quick guidelines from a trainer who supervises their progress.
Previously, a trainer needed to work with one person at a time, while with the brand new system this number has increased to 3. Surveys amongst participants and evaluations of their learning success have shown that there aren’t any differences in quality compared to standard training courses.
The engine assembly training will also be easily adapted to other screw joint processes – because of an authoring tool developed by the BMW Group for designing training programs.
Setting up a brand new training program with this software is quick and simple: To complement real images, the relevant points of interest are determined at an everyday PC after which set with the help of AR goggles, and that’s all. In the course of 2019, this software can be made available to all interested staff via the self-service portal.
Target / actual comparisons in operations
Checking a fancy part weighing as much as 25 tons, reminiscent of a press tool for the production of body parts, can take quite a lot of time. But speed is a problem: If the inspection takes place at Goods Receipt, an incompletely delivered tool could be returned even before being transferred to an interim storage site.
The process is straightforward: Staff on the Munich location of the BMW Group Toolmaking and Plant Engineering unit mount an ordinary tablet on a tripod.
The built-in camera of the tablet produces a picture of the tool. Then, an AR application superimposes this image with the CAD construction data of the tool ordered.
Based on a median of fifty criteria, reminiscent of drill holes and other clear surface features, the staff can see whether all production specifications have been implemented.
In the event of minor deviations, it might make sense to transform the tool on site – since the early detection of the problem leaves sufficient time before the tool must be sent to the assembly area for completion with further components.
Later this yr, the toolmaking unit in Munich will completely convert the incoming goods inspection of delivered tools to the AR application. The tedious comparison between CAD data on the screen and the actual tool will then be a thing of the past.
The BMW Group also applies goal/actual comparisons at its Munich plant. Using an AR application, specialists use pre-series vehicles to examine the maturity of construction concepts and the right installation position of components in these vehicles.
The system makes it possible, for example, to find out whether a side wall (fender) has the proper dimensions, an exhaust system is installed in the right position, or all of the essential parts have been mounted.
Visualisation of relevant CAD data only takes just a few seconds. Data from several parts could be combined as desired and superimposed on the camera image of the tablet PC.
An algorithm calculates the most effective fit, that’s the perfect position of individual components in relation to one another, and highlights vital design features.
The application developed jointly with the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research provides vital information as as to whether any adjustments, be it in vehicle design or manufacturing processes, are essential before a model can go into series production.
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