Volkswagen is using testing, not only to ensure high-quality power train components, but also to increase production line yield and reduce cost.
Customer quality expectations are ever increasing, so manufacturers must find a way to continuously improve quality while ensuring solutions that are cost effective for the company and the customer.
Continuously tightening the noise, vibration and customer acceptance requirements for their transmissions helps Volkswagen grow their market share. But in order to maintain profitability, the percentage of completed transmissions passing end-of-line testing must also continuously increase.
Brüel & Kjær’s DISCOM systems address both challenges. The specialized software and data acquisition hardware detect and pinpoint any issues and the analysis capabilities are well suited for establishing a control loop so that root causes and potential problems are identified earlier or even predicted and avoided entirely.
The use of DISCOM Analysis systems and consultation with the Brüel & Kjær DISCOM production testing team has enabled Volkswagen to eliminate root causes and catch other potential problems early in the process, minimizing cost, improving final assembly passing percentages and leading to higher quality
Volkswagen AG (VW), Major German automobile manufacturer. It was founded in 1937 to mass-produce a low-priced “people’s car” (Volkswagen). After World War II the company was rebuilt with Allied help, and within a decade it was producing half of West Germany’s motor vehicles. U.S. sales of the small, rounded car were initially low, but a humorous advertising campaign promoting the car as “the Beetle” lifted sales in the 1960s, making it the leading auto import in the U.S. Competition from other foreign compact cars brought VW near bankruptcy by 1974, but the firm rebounded by introducing sportier models such as the Rabbit. In 1998 it launched a fully redesigned version of the Beetle. With its affiliates, VW operates plants worldwide; it also owns other auto brands, including Audi and Bentley.