Into the SAIC-Volkswagen Quality Assurance Laboratory: Soul-torture of Volkswagen’s quality

In China, which car brand has the deepest roots and the greatest influence? There is no doubt that it is Volkswagen.

Speaking of the fate between Volkswagen and China, there is another story. In the late 1970s, China, which was ushering in the reform and opening up, wanted to vigorously develop the automobile industry, so it extended an olive branch to overseas bosses. To put it bluntly, It just wanted to use the market for technology, but the first round of investment was not very effective. Among European car companies, only Volkswagen was the most active.

However, the Germans, who were rigorous by nature, still had some reservations when entering China. They set a testing period: in April 1983, the first Santana rolled off the assembly line, and two years later, that is, In March 1985, Shanghai Volkswagen (the predecessor of SAIC Volkswagen) was officially established, becoming China's first joint venture car company with qualifications to produce sedans.

(*Pictures come from the Internet)

You will definitely ask, does this have anything to do with the public quality that this article is about? Zhao Shi’s answer was very positive, of course! In that era of poverty and poverty, the establishment of SAIC-Volkswagen activated the dead game of China's automobile industry. Zhao Shi even believed that SAIC-Volkswagen's first Sonata and first assembly line were as significant as the Ford Model T at the time. car, and more importantly, it introduced and created a series of VW standards, bringing Chinese cars out of the quagmire of manual workshop-style production.

No matter how glorious history is, it is still history! Today, the Chinese market has become the most fragrant market in the world. It determines the success or failure of major brands, and even life and death. Against this background, joint venture brands are desperately trying to stay in the relegation, and independent leaders are catching up crazily. New technologies, new products, and new standards are flooding in. With the advent of the epidemic, consumers have become more rational and public opinion has become more complex. Such profound changes have posed a new test to SAIC-Volkswagen, which has always been conservative, forcing it to take the initiative to open the door and show its trump cards.

On July 3, Zhao Shi was invited to visit the quality assurance laboratory of SAIC Volkswagen’s Anting Automobile Plant No. 1. He was allowed to take photos freely throughout the process. With such an open arrangement, Zhao Shi believed that this would become a traditional program of SAIC Volkswagen. .

What you see and hear in the quality assurance laboratory

SAIC Volkswagen’s quality assurance laboratory is affiliated to the quality assurance center and has a vehicle color difference laboratory, a vehicle odor control laboratory, and an industrial CT The management of the five core sections of laboratory, tightening laboratory and internal stress laboratory meets the "one Germany, one China" joint venture standard, but from the perspective of ranking, the German side is the dominant party.

The first thing Zhao Shi visited was the vehicle color difference laboratory. According to reports, the SAIC Volkswagen color difference team was established in 2003 and was one of the earliest professional groups in China to carry out automotive interior evaluation. Its main responsibility is to ensure that Volkswagen The interior parts of each product match the appearance.

▲Munsell Color Chess

“Volkswagen’s requirements for the appearance of parts include color, gloss, and surface quality. In the Volkswagen VW50190 color difference standard, different colors, materials, and leather Detailed and strict regulations have been made on the color difference requirements of parts in terms of grain and assembly position,” said a color difference expert.

According to her, the evaluation method of the color difference team is visual inspection combined with measurement data. Color difference evaluation engineers must pass the Munsell Color Chess test, be sensitive to color, and be proficient in the requirements of the Volkswagen VW50190 color difference standard; and in terms of hardware In terms of color difference, the color difference team assisted in the appearance evaluation with the help of a variety of professional equipment including vehicle light source rooms, small light source rooms, skin texture testers, small light source rooms, standard light source boxes, all imported from Germany. It is worth mentioning that Uwe Braun's vehicle light source room is leading in the country. It can switch multiple light sources at any time to ensure consistent visual matching of the vehicle under F11, D65 and other light sources.

▲Uwe Braun vehicle light source room

Through the corridor with the blue slogan "Quality is SAIC Volkswagen's life", we entered the SAIC Volkswagen vehicle odor laboratory.

“The odor and emission team is responsible for strictly controlling the odor and emission of SAIC Volkswagen vehicles and parts according to VW50180 and other standards to ensure that the vehicle meets the limits of the eight toxic and hazardous substances in the national standard 'pentenyltrialdehyde' "Value requirements", said the laboratory staff.

In fact, the Volkswagen VW50180 standard that meets the EU CLP regulations is more stringent than the national standard GB/T?27630. The EU CLP regulations have strict regulations on the limits of 1,400 toxic and hazardous substances, including 1,000 There are about 200 carcinogenic chemicals, more than 200 germ cell mutagenic substances and more than 100 reproductive toxic substances.

▲SAIC Volkswagen Vehicle Odor Laboratory

In-car air quality is a complex project, involving seat covers, roofs, steering wheels and other parts, as well as leather, sponge, Various auxiliary materials such as foam and glue. Starting from 2018, SAIC Volkswagen will no longer use solvent-based glue for interior parts when developing new projects. Snap-on or welding methods will be used as much as possible. When glue must be used, , water-based glue and hot melt glue have also been developed as alternatives. It is worth mentioning that SAIC Volkswagen has developed an "interior sauna". Key interior parts and components must be baked, detoxified and deodorized in the "sauna" before they can be put online.

▲SAIC-Volkswagen’s “Interior Sauna”

“TVOC research is one of the representative achievements achieved by the team,” the staff member said. What is TVOC? It refers to the total concentration of volatile organic compounds between C6-C16 in the car, including most toxic and harmful substances and odor substances. The TVOC concentration of a complete vehicle is the most comprehensive indicator to evaluate whether a complete vehicle is green and environmentally friendly. To this end, SAIC Volkswagen has launched TVOC research and formulated TVOC limit standards for interior parts: "Requirements for Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds from Parts and Materials", which is the first standard for vehicle materials in Volkswagen China. The VOC limit requirements for some parts have exceeded Volkswagen's global standard VW50180.

▲SAIC-Volkswagen vehicle odor evaluation form

SAIC-Volkswagen's "Golden Nose" team has always been responsible for vehicle odor evaluation. The name sounds noble, but they live as ascetics. In life, they cannot smoke, drink, or wear perfume... The reason is very simple. They must maintain a sensitive sense of smell to be able to skillfully distinguish 105 types of smells. At present, SAIC Volkswagen and Japan's Shimadzu have jointly established the "Odor Traceability and VOC Frontier Development Laboratory". The experienced "Golden Nose" will use the odor traceability (GC-O) equipment and combine it with neuron network algorithms to eventually develop a An "electronic nose" whose sensitivity matches that of a human nose.

▲Odor traceability (GC-O) equipment provided by Shimadzu, Japan

As we all know, there are many castings, injection molded parts and welded parts on a car. How to ensure that These complex structural parts must not only rely on an experienced team of experts, but also rely on sophisticated testing equipment such as industrial CT. SAIC Volkswagen was the first automobile manufacturer in China to use industrial CT equipment for quality control in 2008.

▲Industrial CT equipment purchased by SAIC Volkswagen at a cost of 10 million

“Cutting and polishing the parts and then conducting optical observation of the cutting section. The traditional control method itself has randomness, destruction, and low cost. In order to overcome the three inherent defects, through industrial CT, quality control can be comprehensive and non-destructive, and the accuracy and efficiency are non-traditional," the laboratory staff said to Zhao Shi.

▲Castings and injection molded parts displayed in categories in the laboratory

To give a simple example, due to process problems, parts are prone to pore defects, causing stress concentration effects. If left unchecked, defects will It will cause seal leakage, breakage, and even functional failure, affecting driving safety. How to avoid it? Of course it is not OK to rely on human eyes and experience. It must be completed with the help of industrial CT with a high degree of equipment integration.

Similarly, each car is composed of tens of thousands of parts, which are mainly connected by welding and bolting. Among them, there are about 2,000 fasteners such as bolts and nuts, and 80 workstations in the assembly workshop are It is tightening "screws", so to speak. The quality of fasteners and the level of tightening technology play a vital role in the strength of the vehicle and the solidity of the chassis.

▲SAIC Volkswagen Tightening Laboratory

“The fastener team has two important responsibilities, one is fastener quality, and the other is tightening process and technology, from process design and verification , development approval, batch verification to analysis and improvement, participating in all fastener work throughout the entire process." When he heard this, Zhao Shi thought of a friend who had been tightening aircraft screws all his life and had become a technical expert.

▲Important tightening points must undergo more than 15 sets of tests, and the most reasonable tightening process can be calculated based on curves and data

In the field of fastener quality and tightening process, Volkswagen can Known as a top expert, the chassis bolt tightening standard (VW01110) it developed is regarded as the "Sunflower Manual" by major OEMs. For this reason, Volkswagen's halo is not whitewashed.

Internal stress is a blank point in Zhao Shi’s knowledge, because it cannot be seen or touched, but it actually exists inside the parts and is an important indicator of automotive metal parts. According to reports, internal stress is divided into two categories: compressive stress and tensile stress. The former helps to improve the wear resistance and fatigue strength of parts, while the latter will reduce the strength of parts and cause early failure of parts. The staff of this laboratory have only one important task, which is to avoid excessive tensile stress on parts from the perspective of design and production, and at the same time reduce tension and increase pressure on key parts to improve the service life and safety factor of parts.

▲Laboratory staff are observing changes in internal stress values ??of parts

In the internal stress laboratory, there is an internal stress meter (XRD3003) produced by GE Company. The color is very old. Well, SAIC Volkswagen introduced this equipment 7 years ago. It mainly detects the internal stress of metal parts such as engines, gearboxes, and chassis. At that time, domestic OEMs did not have relevant requirements in this regard. The internal stress meter used X-rays. The principle of diffraction is used to measure internal stress. Compared with other measurement methods, the X-ray method has faster measurement speed and more accurate values. At the same time, this set of values ??also provides strict quality standards for mass suppliers.

▲Internal stress meter XRD3003 produced by GE Company

As the saying goes, you can see the leopard when you see the spots! After visiting the SAIC-Volkswagen Quality Assurance Laboratory, what really impressed Zhao Shi was Volkswagen's full-process standards. The rigor of manufacturing in Germany is conveyed through standardized data that is "armed to the teeth."

Talk about your views

Frankly speaking, SAIC Volkswagen has always been an arrogant existence in the industry. Volkswagen quality is like a legend in the world. It is difficult to form a systematic understanding of it. As for the common belief, the public only studies Chinese people.

In fact, for Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen, we should look at it dialectically. On the one hand, Volkswagen understands the needs of Chinese consumers and is well versed in adapting measures to local conditions and catering to their preferences. Lavida and Grand Tourer , and even the popular Weiran have proven this; on the other hand, Volkswagen does have strong localization capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, and sales. This capability is inseparable from Volkswagen's platform-based production and full-process quality standards. . Of course, highly standardized products are like two sides of a coin. Just like the evaluation of consumers, Volkswagen cars are very popular, without much personality, and there is no sense of high-end atmosphere. The Internet of Vehicles ecosystem and autonomous driving performance are not outstanding. In the final analysis The reason is that Volkswagen's standard is to be regular and stable, and its enthusiasm for mechanical quality is higher than that of other fields.

Of course, Volkswagen is also facing industry problems such as price drops, cost control, and the rise of diversified young consumption. Can the "Volkswagen Tips" we saw in the SAIC Volkswagen Quality Assurance Laboratory be 100% applicable to every car? The execution on the commercial vehicle was in place, and Zhao Shi did not care.

But one thing is certain, China is Volkswagen's most important strategic market, and its sales have accounted for 40% of its global sales. If it wants to maintain its ambitious hegemony in the long term, it must maintain "Volkswagen quality" ” position in the hearts of Chinese consumers.

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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.