Toshiba Digital & Consulting Corporation and Spain’s Gestamp, the global leader in metal components for automobiles, have announced that they are cooperating in a project to bring advanced monitoring and analysis to the welding of vehicle chassis parts. By drawing on know-how from the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), and utilising data from camera images and acoustic emission (AE) sensors, the companies aim to secure very high precision detection of weld seam quality, which will contribute to improved vehicle safety.
Gestamp is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of metal components for automobiles, with more than 100 factories in 22 countries. Gestamp is promoting a number of projects under the Industry 4.0 initiative, applying digital technology and data analysis to the realisation of more efficient manufacturing plants and more consistent and reliable production processes.
TDX has been working with Gestamp since April 2018 on a proof of concept initiative that has monitored the quality of the welds in chassis parts produced at a Gestamp plant in the United Kingdom. This initiative brings AE sensors typically used to test for damage in bridges and large buildings to the manufacturing process. The sensors detect the characteristics of acoustic waves in the high frequency band, and Toshiba’s AI analysis technology uses the data to identify welding failures. Over the last 17 months, Gestamp has validated the initiative and its ability to ensure the quality of welds in chassis parts.