Audi AG, the luxury division of German carmaker Volkswagen, has selected Delmia's Process Engineer solution for the planning of digital vehicle assemblies at its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants in Germany.

Delmia Process Engineer enables manufacturers to identify process risks at the conceptual product design phase. By relating product to process and manufacturing resource data, including the plant layout, Process Engineer helps users avoid planning mistakes and obtain a precise overview of the required investment costs, production space, and manpower at an early stage. This translates into design for manufacture, quality improvements, production flexibility, and reduced time to market.

Since the purchase of the Delmia software, Audi vehicle assembly project teams in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm have been introduced to a new planning methodology, followed by implementation of Process Engineer. The first phase of the methodology focused on the new approach to design, organisation and content with a specific focus on adapting the software to the Audi environment. During the second phase, Audi personnel rolled out major changes to organisational procedures that the teams considered necessary in order to realise the effectiveness and productivity associated with the software's use.

The broad Delmia base at Audi includes more than 100 Process Engineer seats across multiple departments. As part of its ongoing strategy to further link product development with process planning, and its objective of No More Physical Cars without Digital Validation, Audi intends to purchase and implement additional Delmia products to ultimately reach complete virtual validation of all manufacturing processes, from initial concept through production. Audi is currently discussing extending the software to additional manufacturing areas, including the paint shop and Delmia DPM Assembly for process detailing and simulation.

For more information contact Igal Filipovski, CNC Design Consultants, 011 786 3516.