Volkswagen 4.0 – The Production Systems Of Tomorrow Are Being Developed In The Gläserne Manufaktur In Dresden

March 14, 2019 by Volkswagen

•The guiding principle: systems are tried and tested in the Glaserne Manufaktur before being rolled out to mass production throughout the Group

•Tests and further development during operation

•World first – installation of the headliner in the e-Golf1 now automated

•Dr Andreas Tostmann, member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics for the Volkswagen brand: 'Innovative technologies make an important contribution to greater productivity.'

Dresden – The Glaserne Manufaktur in Dresden is continuing to develop into the Volkswagen Group's primary test location for trialling innovative technologies. In conjunction with the Wolfsburg and Emden factories, the Glaserne Manufaktur is part of a 'technical centre' project. The primary idea is to achieve automation of complex work steps within assembly. The special challenge is that the testing and development takes place on an ongoing basis during production of the e-Golf in the Glaserne Manufaktur. The first project at the Dresden site is a world first – the headliner for the e-Golf is now being fitted by a robot as standard. This manufacturing step will also be used in production of the ID.2 from the end of 2019 at Volkswagen's Zwickau plant.

Dr Andreas Tostmann, member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics of the Volkswagen brand: 'We want to achieve a 30% improvement in productivity in the Volkswagen brand factories by 2025 compared to 2018 to ensure our competitiveness in the long term and to make a decisive contribution to improving the profitability of the Volkswagen brand. To achieve this, the factories must become faster, leaner and more efficient. The various technical centre projects in Wolfsburg, Emden and Dresden make an important contribution to this by testing innovative technologies.'

Lars Dittert, site manager of the Glaserne Manufaktur in Dresden: 'The Glaserne Manufaktur is the showcase for electric mobility and now also a pilot factory for the Volkswagen Group. The extraordinary aspect is that we are pushing ahead with our automation projects during production. A technology that makes it to series readiness can be used in the automotive industry worldwide. This enables us to integrate our expertise into the Group and further consolidate the profile of our site.'

The Glaserne Manufaktur has special requirements for an automotive production facility due to its unique architecture. For example, testing for optical component detection is challenging due to the high light incidence and associated contrasts. The sensors have to work under much more difficult conditions.

The safety requirements are also above average due to the large number of visitors. An average of 400 guests visit the Glaserne Manufaktur daily. Furthermore, the small batch production of 72 e-Golfs per day is an advantage. The cycle time per workstation in Dresden is comparatively long compared to conventional production facilities. A lot of employees are therefore highly qualified to handle the larger workload at each workstation. Furthermore, the short distances between the workstations and the comparatively large work surface are an optimal environment for testing new technologies.

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The innovations in Dresden are supported by Volkswagen Brand Planning and Wolfsburg plant engineering. Other projects at the Dresden site include the automated assembly and removal of the car doors and the human/robot collaboration.

1) e-Golf: Power consumption, kWh/100 km: combined 14.1 (17 inch)–13.2 (16 inch); CO₂ emissions combined, g/km: 0; efficiency class: A+

2) near-production concept car