Tesla and Automation Robot Line

Tesla and Automation

Key words: Tesla; Automation; Robot Line；Cold metal Transfer; DeltaSpot;

关键词：特斯拉；自动化； 机器人生产；冷金属过渡技术；电阻点焊技术

From Roadster introduced in 2008, to the world's first pure electric luxury model S, and 2015 Tesla Model X, and to more affordable mass production of pure electric vehicle Model 3, Tesla electric energy vehicles has continued to bring surprises to people.

Tesla's factory, known as the world's most intelligent automated production workshop, has a total of four manufacturing processes: Stamping Production Line, Car Body Producing Center, Painting Center and Assembly Center. From the processing of raw materials to the assembly of finishing products, all production processes are completed by 150 robots and rarely seen in the workshop.

The robots are all controlled by computers and operated in accordance with the set procedures. The seamless operation between robots and robots enables seamless connection. In the assembly center, all are robots; each robot can perform a variety of actions, including painting the car in the paint-spraying workshop; in the assembly shop, installing the windshield and installing the seat, they complete a stamping of the engine cover in 6 seconds.

According to foreign media reports, Tesla revealed to Bloomberg that the degree of automation of the Model 3 bodywork line has reached 95%, covering the components' transfer, loading and welding processes.There are some amazing features of producing Tesla Products.

Automation

Computers, and the robots they control, operate off of static or dynamic logic and can react in a standard, predictable way to a static input.

Automation of a manufacturing line is how programmers and software nuts translate their logic gates and syntax into the physical world. Elon didn’t want to buy and build a production line that could only do one thing. He wanted and built the physical manifestation of a manufacturing programming language that he could then take and, as the conductor, make it sing a song that best suited the needs of the company.

Vehicles change over time, especially at Tesla, where the Model S has famously received as many as 20 changes per week in its production vehicles. A constantly changing product requires a production line that can adapt and be reprogrammed to suit the ever changing needs of the business.

Continuous Improvement 

Software evolves. Tesla’s products evolve. If it is anything else, the bumpy startup of Tesla’s Model 3 production lines represent the violent collision of the virtual world of software with the physical world. It’s Tron all over again.

Continuous improvement isn’t new to the manufacturing world, but robots have changed the impact it can have. If we only read the cover of the book, robots represent the future that childhood cartoons promised — flexible, delivering the goods and services we need when we need them, and doing it all with a smile.

In the real world, robots may smile but they aren’t perfect. It takes a vast army of programmers, automotive experts, and unbridled willpower to push through the inevitable programming bugs that manifest themselves as squeaks in the finished product, body panel gaps, and uneven paint.

Doing this on a vast scale with dozens of robots in each production line while facing a daily assault by the mainstream media about every.single.flaw that crops up is not a task for the faint of heart.

 Production

Tesla's welding process differentiates Tesla products from other cars because they use CMT (Cold Metal Transition Technology) and DeltaSpot Technology.

In 2005, Volkswagen Welding Technology International Co., Ltd. introduced

The Fumon DeltaSpot is a new technology developed for aluminum welding. Its innovation lies in its unique electrode belt. The invention of the electrode strip brings unprecedented advantages.

With electrode strips, the heat input can be precisely controlled: Three-plate connections (two thick plates, one thin plate) are a difficult problem for traditional spot welding. Solder joints are formed within the slab and are not sufficient to hold the sheet. The DeltaSpot's electrode strip specifically controls the depth of the solder joints with its additional heat input. Therefore, the low heat in the thin plate range can be compensated by the electrode tape using high resistance. Solder joints penetrate the thin plate in this way. At the same time, the shape of the solder joint is more symmetrical, and the volume of the weld in the thin plate is larger.

DeltaSpot not only excels in aluminum welding, but also has unparalleled advantages in welding of different thicknesses/different materials, such as: the appearance of high standard solder joints, and the welding of high-strength steel materials with surface coatings. DeltaSpot weldable base metals include: high strength steel, surface coating materials, aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, magnesium, composites, etc.

 Quality Control

Tesla uses a large number of factory robots and is committed to upgrading the highest quality vehicles. It has the highest degree of stringent quality control in the world. According to Bloomberg, Tesla has deployed a large number of scanning stations throughout its Model 3 bodywork line and deployed 47 robots for it.

This type of robot can measure 1,900 scanning points on each Model 3, confirming that its actual parameters are consistent with the design specifications, and its accuracy is as high as 0.15 mm. At the same time, the torque measurement of each bolt will also be automatically recorded. During the final race track test, the sound recorder will test squeaks, rattles, wind noise, and road noise. All data will be stored in one place with the vehicle's unique vehicle identification number (VIN). The service center can trace all vehicle problems and can eventually be traced back to the factory's raw data. This philosophy helps Tesla to achieve continuous innovation in its vehicle performance. Even if it has been delivered to users, the company can still trace and record relevant data.

This kind of robot can also provide data, real data, not red/green, pass/fail triggers, and finally help the vehicle achieve its quality goals.

The robot will continue to collect large amounts of data and interact with the Tesla software root directory data. Big data technology drives the development of various companies. Tesla believes that if it grabs as much data as possible during the process of building a car, it will help it determine the root cause of future failures.

The trend analysis and root cause analysis used in traditional manufacturing will inevitably give way to machine learning and artificial intelligence. The latter can analyze the trend and determine the root cause based on the actual data in the field.

Tesla uses quality control robots and data to implement artificial intelligence design and eventually builds a new generation of Tesla vehicles.

The future begins here. Tesla not only subverted the automotive and energy industries, but also changed the entire manufacturing model. It is the founder of history.