Rockwell Issues “State of Smart Manufacturing Report: Automotive”

June 21, 2023

June 21, 2023

Welcome to MetalForming Automotive, the latest enewsletter from MetalForming magazine and the Precision Metalforming Association. In each monthly MetalForming Automotive you’ll find a variety of news and information from this quickly evolving industry, including links to the latest information from our industry partners: AISI, Automation Alley, CAR and MEMA (formerly OESA).

Please share any questions or comments by emailing editorial director Brad Kuvin.

Rockwell Automation’s 8th annual “State of Smart Manufacturing Report: Automotive Edition” reveals that leaders from automotive OEMs and their suppliers remain keenly focused on the pursuit of quality, the impact of process automation, the adoption of smart manufacturing and the essential role of technology when mitigating risks, navigating workforce challenges, minimizing costs and boosting production. Among the report’s key findings:

85 percent of automotive manufacturers expect to maintain or increase their workforce due to technology adoption; 64 percent use software to automate processes; and 54 percent will increase their use of automation to address labor shortages.
“Minimizing costs” and “improving quality” are the most-cited drivers for accelerating the digital transformation.

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Watch: The Impressive Manufacturing Process Behind the New 2024 Mercedes Coupe

From the pressroom and body shop to the assembly line and on to battery production, this video provides an all-encompassing tour of the Mercedes-Benz production facility in Bremen, Germany, tasked with gearing up production of the electrified 2024 Mercedes CLE. That platform, set to replace the C- and E-Class coupes, will be revealed in July 2023, prior to the planned start of North American sales in 2024.

The 17-min. 28-sec. video provides a pass through the press shop in the Bremen facility, home to (reportedly) one of the most modern servo-press lines in the world, which also features inline robotic inspection. Also on display: Body-shop innovations developed to optimize flexibility, using production cells (or cubes) that can be flexibly combined with each other based on production schedules.

Shape Corp. Debuts ‘Virtually’ Fossil-Fuel-Free Rollformed Bumper

Shape Corp., Grand Haven, MI, has developed a virtually fossil-fuel-free rollformed bumper fabricated from steel supplied by SSAB AB. The Swedish steelmaker employs its Hybrit technology to manufacture the steel, which, compared to the historically carbon-intensive process of steelmaking, bonds the oxygen from iron ore with hydrogen and results in water as a byproduct instead of carbon dioxide. The resulting product is virtually fossil-fuel-free, company officials say, and Shape executives note that the new bumper is the world’s first of this type of automotive component.

PMA to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Premier Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference in Greenville, SC

Leaders in the automotive-supply industry will gather in Greenville, SC, October 26-27, 2023, for the 30th annual Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference (APSC), produced by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) and MetalForming magazine. Among agenda items: venture startups in the automotive industry; the impact of EVs on metal formers; opportunities for metal forming in the energy transition from renewable energy and batteries to electrolyzers and fuel cells; and legal and regulatory issues.

Also featured: a roundtable discussion moderated by Steve Horaney (MEMA) and featuring Michael Haughey (North American Stamping Group) and Donna Kuhr (PTM Corp.).