BMW is pioneering a significant advancement in automotive manufacturing by implementing 3D scanning technology across its global plant network. By early 2023, every BMW Group vehicle plant will possess a comprehensive digital scan, marking a crucial step in merging the physical and virtual realms. This initiative unlocks substantial potential for optimizing plant structures and production processes with unparalleled efficiency. Michele Melchiorre, Head of Production System, Planning, Tool Shop, Plant Construction at the BMW Group, emphasizes the transformative impact: “This opens up entirely new possibilities for us to implement both extensive new planning and smaller-scale remodelling of existing structures in a highly efficient, precise and flexible manner.”
The Vision of BMW iFACTORY and Virtual Planning
Virtual planning, alongside data science and artificial intelligence, forms a cornerstone of digitalization within BMW’s strategic production vision: the BMW iFACTORY. The overarching objective is to achieve 100 percent virtual planning and simulation across all processes and the entire production ecosystem. This virtualization elevates production planning to unprecedented levels, facilitating real-time collaboration across geographically diverse locations and time zones. “Production planning can integrate the virtual product into the virtual factory at an early stage. This reduces planning effort and capital expenditure and, at the same time, ensures processes are more efficient and more stable during ramp-up,” Melchiorre explains, highlighting the tangible benefits of this digital transformation.
Partnership with NVIDIA and Omniverse for Future Car Plant Design
For the blueprinting of entirely new production facilities, BMW Group is leveraging a strategic collaboration with NVIDIA and their Omniverse software platform. “We are entering a new dimension of factory planning,” Melchiorre asserts, underscoring the magnitude of this technological leap. This partnership empowers planners to virtually explore BMW Group plants from any location at any time. They can collaboratively develop production systems within this simulated environment, exchange best practices, and disseminate information rapidly throughout the network. “This forms the basis for planning and developing our new vehicle plant in Debrecen in Hungary,” Melchiorre elaborates, illustrating the practical application of this technology: “Today, around three years before the series launch, we are already able to simulate core processes at our future plant virtually.”
Digitalizing Existing Plants with NavVis Technology
To digitalize its existing global network of plants, the BMW Group is collaborating with NavVis, a Munich-based startup recognized as a leader in reality capture and digital twin technology. Mobile 3D laser scanners are deployed to generate photorealistic panoramic imagery, detailed floor plans, and precise scatter plots for every BMW Group vehicle plant. By early 2023, this effort will culminate in highly accurate digital representations, down to the finest detail, encompassing all building structures, equipment, and outdoor areas. This meticulous Bmw Car 3d Scan process ensures a comprehensive digital twin for each facility.
Since November 2020, extensive scanning operations have covered approximately four million square meters of indoor space and nine million square meters of outdoor space across BMW Group plants, utilizing portable mobile scanning systems and drone technology. Digital twins are already operational for the US plant in Spartanburg, the main plant in Munich, and Plant Regensburg. Plants Dingolfing, Leipzig, and Tiexi in China are slated for completion by September of this year. By spring 2023, digital data will extend to BMW Group plants in Mexico, South Africa, the UK, and Dadong, China. The NavVis IVION Enterprise platform processes these massive datasets to construct a true-to-reality digital representation – the Digital Twin – providing an invaluable resource for BMW’s operations.
BMW Factory Viewer and Enhanced Employee Collaboration
Currently, around 15,000 BMW employees are actively utilizing this digital data through the BMW Factory Viewer, a cloud-based, web-browser-accessible software. This tool empowers users to virtually inspect existing plants, pinpoint specific production locations via Points of Interest (POIs), and conduct highly precise measurements with just a few clicks. The bmw car 3d scan data facilitates streamlined workflows and informed decision-making across various departments.
Moreover, the system enables the extraction of specific sections from the 3D scans for external suppliers. This capability significantly reduces time and effort during production planning, fosters improved collaboration with both internal and external partners, and minimizes planning discrepancies. The enhanced communication and data sharing capabilities derived from the bmw car 3d scan data contribute to a more agile and responsive production ecosystem.
Future Developments: Autonomous Scanning Robots for Continuous Updates
The 3D scanning technology also streamlines the integration of both minor and major remodeling projects within BMW plants into the digital environment through a re-scan process. Looking ahead, BMW is developing autonomous scanning robots to ensure the long-term currency of the digital master data, minimizing the need for additional personnel resources. BMW Group subsidiary IDEALWORKS is contributing in-house solutions, such as the Smart Transport Robot (STR), to this endeavor. Michele Melchiorre concludes, “Partnerships like those with NVidia and NavVis allow us to combine our pioneering spirit and process know-how with cutting-edge technologies,” emphasizing the synergy driving BMW’s digital manufacturing transformation and the central role of bmw car 3d scan technology within this strategy.
