BMW

BRAND INTRODUCES COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY IN PRODUCTION LINE
The BMW Group has just introduced, in a pioneering way in the automotive industry, the computerized tomography for the development, production and analysis of prototypes. With this technology, the Group's complete line of vehicles from MINI to Rolls-Royce can be qualitatively controlled from the earliest stages of development.The scanned images are obtained by four robots that move around the prototype producing thousands of transverse photos. These are used for detailed examination of innovations, new materials and technologies.


Until now, the vehicles had to be disassembled for analysis. With computed tomography, they remain intact. The new X-ray system is installed at the BMW Group's Research and Innovation Center in Munich, Germany, at the intersection between Development and Production.Analysis of internal structuresThe company has been using CAT and X-ray captures to check the vehicle parts for many years, but this latest system takes quality assurance to an entirely new level. Now you can analyze vehicles up to the level of micrometers.


This level of detail is required for a number of reasons, such as for checking the welds and connections of the drilled bolts, and for assessing the condition of the body before and after painting, where extreme temperatures can affect the adhesive bonds. Scan results are used as the basis for making changes directed to serial production.
The images are digitalized by four robots that act in a coordinated way. When the vehicle is in position in the system, the robots move around it. Working in pairs, they send X-rays through it. The collected data is then placed in a computer program that calculates a three-dimensional multi-layer image. This forms the basis for a detailed analysis of the vehicle's inner workings, providing information on objects as small as 100 micrometers - approximately the width of a human hair.Engineers are currently conducting research to determine the extent to which Artificial Intelligence can be used to evaluate the findings. When processing large amounts of data, the software can learn the various patterns that occur, link individual items of data, and gradually evaluate the findings automatically.



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