Lin Juguang: Solving the Problems Concerning the Assembly, Measurement, and Control of Automotive Drivetrain Systems Interview with Lin Juguang, Director, Institute of Automotive Equipment, Hefei University of Technology

Lin Juguang, Director of Automotive Equipment Research Institute, Hefei University of Technology. In recent years, he led members of the research team to find out the bottleneck that restricts the quality of key products such as automotive engines, transmissions, and drive axles through the detailed investigation and analysis and comparative analysis. The backward assembly measurement and control methods prevalent in the automotive industry have been successfully completed. Steyr series of Austria, United States Chi Chi series, Germany Man series, Japan Isuzu, Nissan series, South Korea's modern, unified heavy industry series axle and transmission assembly monitoring problems.
With the assistance of Ms. Xie Lihua, MC reporter learned from Director Lin about the project and hoped that more “production, research, and research” could really promote the greater development of the Chinese automobile industry.

MC Reporter: What is the status of assembly and inspection technology in the automotive industry at home and abroad?

Lin Juguang (hereinafter referred to as “Lin”): At present, due to the traditional assembly process and measurement and control methods, the production of automobile powertrains in China cannot meet the requirements for high-quality automobiles because of the lack of advanced manufacturing. Technology, measurement and control technology and experimental technology support. The use of on-line measurement and control equipment, test benches, and robots is much lower than in developed countries, and there is less application of complete sets of equipment. The foreign advanced automobile manufacturing enterprises mostly own automated production lines and assembly lines for automotive transmission systems, and the assembly process standards are significantly higher than domestic ones. This is because they have widely used measurement and control technology and equipment for on-line measurement; on-site measurement and debugging of gasket thickness, bearing pre-tightening force, nut pre-tightening force, flank clearance, etc.; and a large number of controllable torque screw tightening The machine has a high degree of automation, high assembly accuracy, low noise, and long life.

With the development of China's automobile industry, the requirements for the quality and quantity of automotive powertrains will continue to increase. At the same time, with the further opening up of the domestic auto market, foreign auto and auto parts manufacturers will inevitably enter China in large numbers. China's auto parts manufacturers will face unprecedented challenges if they do not upgrade and upgrade their existing manufacturing technologies to ensure stability. With high product quality, companies will face the reality of being eliminated in the market competition. At present, most domestic companies have realized that it is imperative to develop and develop automotive powertrain manufacturing and assembly technologies and equipment.

MC reporter: The backward technology leads to backward equipment, and the backwardness of equipment inevitably results in low production levels and product quality. So, in order to overcome this difficult problem that has plagued the development of our country's manufacturing industry, what focus do you and its research groups focus on?

Lin: We have mainly focused on the automotive industry as a breakthrough point, and we have carried out technological research and equipment development around the manufacturing components of the key components of the automobile, the powertrain.

MC Reporter: Then, what are the major aspects of the principle of technology and equipment development?

Lin: One is highly flexible. With the development of society and the market, the demand for cars tends to be diversified, and the production of enterprises must also meet the demands of various types of small and medium-sized batches. Automotive powertrain manufacturing technology and equipment must be highly flexible to meet the needs of a wide range of products.

The second is high precision and high reliability. Manufacturing and assembly processes are key factors affecting the quality of automotive power train assembly. The manufacture and measurement and control equipment of the vehicle driveline must have high precision and high reliability to ensure the quality of the automotive powertrain.

The third is adaptability. Automotive powertrain manufacturing technology is at a rapid development stage. The research of the project is to adapt to China's national conditions and the actual conditions of the enterprise as the basic starting point, in order to obtain the best application effect, and seek the unification of the economic and social benefits of the enterprise.

The fourth aspect is the friendly man-machine. The expansion of the market and the integration of the enterprises have led to an increase in the scale of production of companies and the improvement of assembly efficiency is a key issue for companies. It is an effective measure to increase the efficiency of the assembly line by improving the man-machine friendliness of the measurement and control equipment and improving the operating efficiency of the workers.

MC Reporter: What are the main contents of the project?

Lin: Although this project belongs to the field of machinery manufacturing, it needs the integration of computer, automation, inspection and control knowledge. The main contents include: First, a highly integrated flexible automated assembly line. The company mainly analyzes a variety of imported axle and transmission products, formulates optimized assembly processes, and streamlines assembly logistics; develops multiple flexible and automated assembly lines for on-line monitoring and control equipment, improves assembly efficiency and quality, and enables production cycles to be controlled within 1.2 minutes. . The second is to have international advanced level of measurement and control, test technology and equipment. It mainly studies the measurement, analysis, calculation, control theory and method of bearing pretightening force in the automotive powertrain, bolt (mother) tightening technology, gearbox, reducer and bridge assembly test technology and coating technology, etc., and develops key equipment. Improve online monitoring and control capabilities, so that product reloading rework rate dropped to less than 5%. The third is to establish a series of industrial robot workstations. It mainly studies the integrated application technology of industrial robots, independently develops positioner, rotary table and other equipment, realizes coordinated control of multiple complex systems, and develops arc welding robot workstations, spot welding robot workstations, and cutting robot workstations, so that the processing quality is stable and reliable, and remarkable. Improve processing efficiency.

MC reporter: What are the characteristics? How is the current application?

Lin: This project is characterized by systematicness, advanced nature, adaptability, and mature technology. The project results have been widely used by FAW Group, Dongfeng Group, Shaanxi Automobile Group, CNHTC Group, Jinnan Machinery Factory, and JAC Group. It has been applied to Steyr Bridge in Austria, Korea's modern axles and transmissions (H1, SUV504 ) More than 10 series products. The accumulative technology transfer fee exceeds 100 million yuan, and the new production value brought by the company exceeds 70 million yuan, which has promoted the improvement of the manufacturing technology and equipment level of China's automobile manufacturing enterprises.

MC reporter: We are very concerned about whether the project has innovation?

Lin: This project is an integrated and innovative application of theoretical methods in the areas of machinery, computers, automation, etc., which are mainly reflected in:

The first is principle innovation. We propose a measurement and selection principle and method for assembly clearance of automotive powertrain based on load model, motion measurement and error compensation system; principle and method for inspection of bearing pretightening force; test principle and method of automotive driveline products.

The second is process innovation. We have proposed assembly processes and processes for assembly, measurement and testing, and in particular for the process and layout of parallel double-ring plus-loops for the assembly of bridge reducers. This project was first proposed.

The third is technology and structural inventions. We have invented and designed a gasket pre-selector measuring mechanism, an efficient tightening mechanism, a tightening shaft distribution circle diameter adjusting mechanism, a multi-functional positioner and a duplex workbench, etc., and have applied for four invention patents. And four utility model patents.

The fourth is integrated application innovation. We have solved the problems of integration and coordination of multi-complex systems through system integration and control technology, developed series of automated flexible assembly lines including on-line measurement and control equipment for multiple film picking machines, measuring machines, and tightening machines, and developed complex parts for automotive powertrains. Spot welding, arc welding and cutting robot workstations; developed advanced glue supply system and self-developed numerical control system integrated digital coating machine.

In addition, in the automobile main reducer assembly gasket preselection method, preselection machine measuring mechanism and control method, gasket thickness gauge, servo system-based thread tightening machine, multi-axis tightener tightening shaft distribution circle diameter adjustment mechanism also has invention patent .

MC Reporter: If we compare the "key technology and equipment for vehicle drivetrain manufacturing technology" with the application of similar technology at home and abroad, what are its characteristics?

Lin: First, compared with similar technologies in China, the content of independent intellectual property rights is high. The technical research and equipment development of the project is based on independent research and development, which is mainly reflected in the assembly process and assembly line layout scheme suitable for automotive powertrain assembly, measurement analysis and selection technology based on modeling analysis, motion measurement and error compensation, and bearing pre-engineering. Tightness inspection machine design, design and development based on independently designed high-efficiency deceleration mechanism and tightening machine for tightening shaft distribution circle diameter adjustment mechanism, application scheme of CNC system in coating machine and advanced graphics processing technology, integrated control of industrial robots With regard to the application technology and the development of high-precision tooling, the project results have applied for four national invention patents, so this project has outstanding advancement and independent intellectual property rights.

Second, compared with similar technologies at home and abroad, it has strong adaptability. The technical research and equipment development of the project is based on the technology and equipment level of China's auto manufacturing enterprises. It aims at the urgent need for improvement and improvement of the assembly, measurement, testing and other technical links of the enterprise, and the development of related equipment to promote the application of technology in the enterprise, effectively integrating The company has resources to improve production efficiency and product quality, so this project has been widely used in the enterprise and has achieved good application results.

Third, compared with similar domestic technologies, it has a higher level of automation. This project has integrated a large number of self-developed automation equipment and has carried out efficient integration, which has greatly improved the automation level and production efficiency of manufacturing and assembly processes. This technological achievement, especially the automation level of the assembly line, is at the leading position in the country.

Another point is that compared with similar technologies at home and abroad, system integration, industrial technology reliability, and technology maturity are high. The system and equipment developed by the project are organic integrated applications of mechanical, electrical, liquid and gas integration with high integration. The application practice shows that the technical reliability and technology maturity of the project results are welcomed by users.

MC Reporter: What is the role of the project in promoting industry scientific and technological progress?

Lin: We summed up three aspects:

First, the research results of this project are mainly applied to the manufacturing, assembly and testing of auto parts, and the solution of a series of key technologies and the development of equipment have broken through the restrictions on the low manufacturing capacity of China's auto manufacturers and the low product quality level. The status quo allows the product's accuracy and reliability to approach or exceed those of similar foreign products, which can replace imports and increase the market competitiveness of related enterprise products.

The second is the research and development of this project. From the perspective of the system, we study the development and manufacturing capabilities of automotive powertrain products. The technology covers various areas such as processing, assembly, and testing, and can serve parts and components manufacturing companies, parts and assembly companies, and entire industries. Vehicle manufacturer. The application of this project's results has systematically improved the industry's technology and equipment levels, increased the competitiveness of the industry, and promoted the industry's industrial structure adjustment, optimization, upgrades and product replacement.

Thirdly, due to the technological advancement of the research results of this project, the project results have been widely applied in China's automobile industry backbone enterprises such as China FAW, Dongfeng Automobile Group, CNHTC Group, Shaanxi Automobile Group, and Jianghuai Group, and have achieved good results. Social and economic benefits, the project has a high degree of transformation, has a strong ability to demonstrate, promote and diffuse, and has promoted the technological upgrading and development of the entire industry.