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Body in White  

VDL Steelweld develops and supplies turnkey Production Systems for assembling body parts. The processes and production equipment are fully tailored to our customers' wishes and requirements.

These projects tend to be highly automated production lines on which a mixture of different models can generally be produced. The lines are designed with an eye to producing several hundred to over 2,000 cars a day. VDL Steelweld also delivers manual and semi-automatic production lines for assembling lower volumes.

What we deliver 

Our scope of delivery includes complete production lines for producing:

  • Floors: these lines rivet or weld pressed parts into complete car underbodies.
  • Bodysides: these lines rivet or weld pressed parts into car bodysides
  • Subassemblies: these lines rivet or weld various pressed parts into subassemblies such as the roof and internal reinforcements.
  • Body framing: these assembly lines assemble a complete underbody, left-hand bodyside, right-hand bodyside and a roof into a complete car body.
  • Closure parts: these lines assemble inner and outer parts into complete doors, engine bonnets, trunk lids, etc.
  • Closure part assembly: these lines are fully automated and mount doors, engine bonnets and trunk lids to a body.

Next to that we also deliver Quality Controls stations which verify dimensional quality and/or availablity of components and assemblies.

Technologies 

In the assembly process, we use various joining technologies, including: folding, clinching, hemming, riveting, gluing, spot welding, MIG welding, brazing, laser cutting and laser welding. Closure parts are usually screwed or welded.

We also increasingly use camera systems (vision systems) to position or handle parts. These vision systems are connected to robots and transmit the necessary process information, thus enabling the robot to determine its further processes.

The products are transported almost fully automatically; the same goes for the application of joining techniques.

In addition to building completely new lines, VDL Steelweld is also highly experienced in integrating new models into existing production facilities.

The engineering processes are characterized by a high level of digitalization up to building and commissioning complete factories in a digital world.