In the Blue Valley Magna base, from the stamping workshop to the body workshop, from the painting workshop to the final assembly workshop to the battery PACK workshop, the busy figure of the automated production line and the mechanical arm can be seen almost everywhere.
With Magna's excellent manufacturing standards and advanced technology, Jihu Motors received the first batch of CA-CAP corrosion resistance assessment platinum grades in 2021.
For many people, "Graz, Austria" may be a relatively unfamiliar name. However, in the automotive industry, Graz has become a "punch card mecca" almost everyone knows with its Magna vehicle factory.
As a world-renowned and diversified auto parts supplier, Magna has more than 100 years of experience and history in high-end automobile manufacturing, and has produced more than 3.7 million vehicles so far, including mercedes-Benz G-Class, Aston Martin Rapide and other top luxury cars. Therefore, in the minds of many consumers, "Made in Magna" has been firmly tied to the "high quality" label.
There is also such a city in Jiangsu nicknamed "Oriental Graz", that is, Zhenjiang. In December 2019, THE BAIC Blue Valley Magna High-end Intelligent Manufacturing Base (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Valley Magna Base") was completed in Zhenjiang, which is worth mentioning that this is the first time that Magna has set up a vehicle manufacturing plant outside Europe. Recently, the reporter walked into the Blue Valley Magna base to feel the manufacturing charm of the integration of technology and digitalization.
"The Blue Valley Magna base has fully introduced the Magna MAFACT production and operation management system, and brought models such as the Polar Fox Alpha T and Alpha S to the world-class manufacturing standards of the same level of first-line luxury vehicles." Ji Guowei, secretary of the party committee and general manager of Beiqi Blue Valley Magna, introduced it.
In Ji Guowei's view, in the digital era, automated production has become a major trend. Therefore, in the Blue Valley Magna base, whether it is a stamping workshop, a body workshop, a painting workshop, a final assembly workshop or a battery PACK workshop, there are automated production lines and robotic arms everywhere.
Among them, the fully enclosed, high-speed automated production line of the stamping workshop is mainly responsible for the production of large and medium-sized stamping parts such as side walls, fenders, door covers and so on.
"In order to better ensure quality, a total of 40 self-made parts (including 15 aluminum parts) in the stamping workshop are subject to all-round in-depth control from the material to the final finished product, from appliances to equipment, according to the MAFACT system standard." Stamping process engineer Zhou Fang introduced that the current stamping workshop of a report pass rate of 97%, while most of the main engine factory of the indicator is only about 90%.
And this quality spirit of "uncompromising at the production end" is also reflected in the body workshop. The reporter learned that the Blue Valley Magna base has the first 30JPH steel and aluminum mixing production line in China, which is a fully automated production line composed of 290 German KUKA robots and 206 sets of connecting equipment.
"Germany's KUKA robot is known as the first of the four major families of robots in the world, which can achieve high-precision positioning at the millimeter level, the highest control accuracy in its peers, and can achieve a double 'harvest' of high efficiency and high quality." Ji Guowei introduced.
In addition, in the painting workshop, 52 ABB high-performance robots form a fully automatic conveying system, and after multiple coating processes, the LASD water-based damping coating prepared by adding the appropriate amount of polymer resin to the appropriate amount of filler and auxiliary materials will be automatically sprayed to the body. In the battery PACK workshop, including the automatic on-line of modules, automatic detection, gluing, cleaning, and module installation and fixing, FDS riveting process, etc., the automatic rate of the whole line has reached 53%.
Zhu Juncheng, battery PACK process engineer, said: "Through high automation, the precision, consistency and higher production efficiency of the overall process are guaranteed, and the battery safety is more secure. It is understood that after the precision production, the power battery used by Jihu Automobile will be verified by more than 200 tests, and the coverage and strength are much higher than the national standard requirements.
Zhu Juncheng introduced that usually the national standard humidity and heat cycle test cycle cycle is only 3 days, and Jihu Automobile must complete the high temperature and high humidity cycle test equivalent to more than 10 years and more than 3 months, and the alternating test under the full use temperature working conditions of more than 8 months, so as to ensure that the power battery system adapts to the use scenarios in the environment across the country.
In fact, strict material standards and the popularity of a large number of automated equipment are just the tip of the iceberg behind the high-quality products of Jihu Automobile.
In order to achieve better body lightweighting, Jihu Automobile uses a hybrid body of upper steel and lower aluminum, and the manufacturing process of this hybrid body is more complex than that of all-aluminum body and requires more advanced technology.
The reporter learned that the mixed body of aluminum under the upper steel used by Jihu Automobile is composed of a cage frame structure surrounded by high-strength steel, and in the most critical A-pillar, B-pillar and other parts of the cage structure, Jihu Automobile uses thermoformed steel of more than 1500MPa.
"This thermoformed steel is mostly used in tanks, submarines and space shuttles, and can withstand more than 10 tons of pressure per square centimeter, equivalent to the weight of two adult elephants." Ji Guowei shared such a set of data with reporters, the torsional stiffness of the new generation of intelligent luxury pure electric sedan Alpha S vehicle reached 63,000Nm/deg, reaching the industry ceiling level, and the all-terrain performance pure electric SUV Alpha T vehicle torsional stiffness reached 50,000Nm/deg, and the stiffness was even higher than that of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
At the same time, in terms of wading depth, the industry standard of the sedan is 300mm, while the Jihu car can still reach the excellent level of wading test at 800mm, which not only ensures the safety of the cockpit occupants, but also effectively avoids the risk of accidents caused by battery water ingress.
In addition, in the fully transparent shower room in the workshop, Jihu Automobile can easily pass the simulated mid-rain, heavy rain and even heavy rain and other vehicle all-round no dead angle flushing test, and the airtightness of the whole vehicle reaches 58SCFM, far exceeding the industry standard.
Thanks to Magna's excellent manufacturing standards and advanced technology, Jihu Automobile received the first batch of CA-CAP corrosion resistance evaluation platinum grades in 2021.
The performance in the market can better reflect the quality of Jihu Automobile, and the data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2021, the delivery volume of Jihu Automobile increased by 41% month-on-month and 569% year-on-year. In 2021, 4,993 vehicles were delivered.
At the same time as the "Magna + Digitalization" leans forward, Jihu Automobile has also accelerated the construction and layout of the channel and technology fields. According to Wang Qiufeng, deputy general manager of BAIC BJEV and vice president of Jihu Automobile, at present, the vehicle OTA has been upgraded 7 times, with 92 new functions and optimizations; 120 channel construction has been authorized, 86 have been completed and operated, and 100% coverage has been achieved in key cities; energy services have built 16 supercharging stations, and 1114 development certification stations have 16,900, covering 22 cities.
"With the blessing of Magna's leading production system, the help of automated production lines, and production standards that far exceed the industry level, we have developed excellent quality and strength." Wang Qiufeng concluded that Jihu Automobile will further ensure product reliability and continue to improve the user experience.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Zhang Zhenqi Source: China Youth Daily