ABB signed a formal agreement with SAIC Volkswagen to provide robotics
painting solutions for the first New Energy Vehicle (NEV) factory of the
Volkswagen Group based on the Modular Electric Driver Kit (MEB), an
automotive platform specifically designed for the mass production of
electric vehicles. Financial details were not disclosed.
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ABB Robotics painting solutions (Photo: Business Wire)
The new 610,000 square meter NEV factory will be in Shanghai, opening in
2020 with an annual capacity of 300,000 pure electric vehicles from the
Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda brands.
This is the first large automated painting project provided by ABB for
SAIC Volkswagen. ABB will install approximately 300 robots to provide
painting and sealing solutions on three automated painting production
lines. These solutions involve automobile exterior and interior
painting, underbody painting, interior cosmetic seam sealing and
interior plate wax-spraying.
“We are delighted to support China’s rapidly growing electric vehicle
industry and to extend our partnership with Volkswagen as the company
expands its electric vehicle manufacturing capabilities. This award
recognizes ABB’s deep expertise in the electric vehicle segment overall
and, in particular, our Robotics automotive expertise supported by
global applications centers in China, Europe and the United States,”
said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation
business.
Chen Hong, President of SAIC Group said: “Unprecedented changes are
taking place in the automobile industry, and electrification and
digitalization are inevitable trends. SAIC Volkswagen is actively
participating in this change. The NEV plant is an important part of
completing SAIC Volkswagen’s strategic layout for the future. The NEV
plant will become an intelligent, flexible and agile electric vehicle
production base of SAIC Volkswagen, helping the company to become the
leader in the electric vehicle market in terms of technology and sales
volume. It will bring diversified choices with advanced technology and
reliable performance to Chinese consumers.”
The RMB 17 billion factory is a modern green benchmark factory combining
intelligent manufacturing and environmentally-friendly technologies with
a special focus on water preservation, energy savings and the reduction
of carbon dioxide.
Environmentally-friendly solutions are at the heart of the ABB
installation. The painting solutions ABB provides will meet Volkswagen’s
2010v environmental standards, the world’s leading waterborne painting
process. The primerless painting technology employed in the process can
improve paint utilization rates and reduce waste.
Compared with the traditional painting process, it adopts a dry spray
absorption system instead of a water circulation system, which can
circulate air and use limestone to absorb the spray, so the use of water
is no longer necessary. Some 95 percent of the air can be reused and the
limestone can be recycled resulting in energy savings of up to 60
percent. The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) can also be
reduced by 63 percent.
At the same time, through the rapid acceleration of ABB robots, large
flow and fine control of ABB atomizers and the deep application
experience of ABB’s engineering team, the total cycle time of the three
painting production lines will reach 120 Jobs Per Hour (JPH), the
fastest in a single paint shop. In addition, all ABB robots will be able
to be connected to ABB AbilityTM digital solutions to prepare
for the future digital deployment of the factory.
As the world leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, ABB has sold
10,500 DC chargers, including high power chargers up to 350 kW, across
73 countries – more than any other manufacturer. ABB entered the
EV-charging market in 2010 and offers the full range of charging
solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses as well as
electrification solutions for ships and railways.
ABB Robotics is a pioneer in industrial and collaborative robots
and advanced digital services. As one of the world’s leading robotics
suppliers, ABB is active in 53 countries and over 100 locations and has
shipped over 400,000 robot solutions for a diverse range of industries
and applications. ABB helps its customers to improve flexibility,
efficiency, safety and reliability, while moving towards the connected
and collaborative factory of the future. www.abb.com/robotics
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader
with a comprehensive offering for digital industries. With a history of
innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB is today a leader in
digital industries with four customer-focused, globally leading
businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics
& Discrete Automation, supported by its common ABB Ability™ digital
platform. ABB’s market-leading Power Grids business will be divested to
Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about
147,000 employees. www.abb.com
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