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46 MoldMaking Technology —— SEPTEMBER 2017 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Driving a New Generation of Toolmaking By Barbara Schulz Germany is an industrial titan and the eurozone's economic powerhouse. Its products, especially its cars, stand for quality and high performance. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz account for 80 percent of the global luxury car mar- ket. Will Germany still lead the automo- tive industry when the world shifts to self-driving, electric cars, and software overtakes engines as a vehicle's most important component? As cars and machines are increasingly mediated by software and digital technologies, will the German automotive industry be left with nothing but panels, windows, seats and wheels? Probably not. German manufactur- ers work not only on electric mobility and new drive concepts, but on a future of networked factories and connected robots that are deployed in fully auto- mated production as well. Audi's Smart Factory Audi is one car manufacturer making its production—including its toolmaking—fit for the future. At Audi Techday Smart Factory in Ingolstadt, Germany, in November 2016, Audi said that in its so-called "smart factory," big data (the creation and intelligent connection of large vol- umes of data) will facilitate data-driven and thus highly flex- ible and highly efficient manufacturing. In a smart factory, machinery and equipment can improve processes through automation and self-optimization. The structure of the smart factory includes a combination of production, information and communication technologies with the potential for integration across the entire manufacturing supply chain. For example, Audi no longer builds its cars on an assembly line. Audi implemented this change in response to a growing model of diversity, which makes it increasingly complicated to master the complexity in a rigid sequential process. Instead, Audi uses a method called modular assembly. The idea behind modular assembly is production without assembly lines, broken down into individual work stages. One or two workers occupy the new assembly stations. They work steadily and at a contin- uous pace, because they no longer need to adapt their activities to the speed of the line. And, workers do not have to move with the car on a conveyor; they can work in one place. In addition to this major venture, Audi is pursuing many other exciting production projects, from virtual reality glasses to metal 3D printing. These projects take place at the Audi Toolmaking division in Ingolstadt, Germany. Audi Toolmaking covers the entire process chain of sheet metal production. The division supplies Audi as well as other brands of the Volkswagen Group with dies, molds and manu- facturing equipment. Audi Toolmaking currently employs more than 2,000 people at its current five locations in Ingolstadt (Germany), Neckarsulm (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Győr (Hungary) and Beijing (China). Apart from Beijing, each loca- tion produces its own tools, bodyshells and fixtures. Nearly every Volkswagen Group brand uses Audi's dies. Audi's unique design, including its sharp edges and tight tolerances, differentiates its cars and production process from many other car manufacturers around the globe. Jörg Spindler, head of Audi Toolmaking, says that "the only way to achieve those complex geometries is through a close cooperation between our toolmaking, design and production departments. Images courtesy of Audi Toolmaking. Audi engineers are applying new lightweight-construction methods for their tools and dies. The new tools are, on average, about 10 percent stiffer and, in some cases, 40 percent lighter than conventional tools.