BMW Group Werk Regensburg: Autonomes Transportfahrzeug navigiert präzise und fahrerlos durch das Presswerk. Foto: BMW GROUP

LiDAR: Digitization and automation of manufacturing processes

With the commissioning of an autonomous transport vehicle in the press shop, the BMW Group plant in Regensburg is driving forward the digitization and automation of its production processes: The company is thus taking a further step towards the digital and intelligently networked factory, the BMW iFACTORY. The driverless platform truck with electric drive will now take over the internal transport of press tools and steel plates for the press lines – completely autonomously. It has a payload of up to 55 tons. Thanks to the latest sensor technology, the transport system navigates through the production facilities of the Regensburg press shop at a speed of four kilometers per hour with complete precision and fully automatically – even without a driver. The solution is unique and currently only exists once in the world.

“We see great potential in the introduction of autonomous logistics solutions. With the emission-free electric vehicle, we can make the production processes in our press shop even more efficient and flexible, reduce transport routes and throughput times and thus not only increase productivity but also save energy. At the same time, we are increasing occupational safety for our employees,” says Tobias Müller, Head of Press Shop Maintenance at the BMW Group Regensburg plant.

Use of innovative LiDAR sensor technology

Innovative LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology is used for the new driverless transport vehicle from the manufacturer Pefra. “LiDAR sensors are a key technology for autonomous driving and automated processes,” explains Müller. In conjunction with cameras and radar sensors, they perceive the environment, help with orientation, detect obstacles, measure distances and thus ensure greater safety and efficiency in complex environments – be it on busy streets or in automated industrial environments such as the BMW Group’s Regensburg press shop. The 3D LiDAR process is based on scanning the environment using many individual optical distance measurements, which are combined to form a 3D image (“point cloud”) of the environment captured by the LiDAR sensor.

1100 tons of steel every day, 131,000 pressed parts, 113 body components

Around 1100 tons of steel are processed every working day in the press shop at the BMW Group plant in Regensburg. This corresponds to 131,000 pressed parts produced per day. The production volume includes 113 different body components. In addition to structural and reinforcement parts, large outer skin parts such as side frames, outer door skins or front flaps are also formed there. Steel sheets with a length of up to 4.5 meters are used for these components. The weight of the processed steel rolls is up to 33 tons per roll. The most powerful of a total of four press lines in the Regensburg press shop is based on high-speed servo technology. It is one of the fastest presses in the world and has a pressing force of 9,000 tons, which is almost the weight of the Eiffel Tower. The press can make up to 23 strokes per minute. The body components manufactured in the press shop are then completed into vehicle bodies in the neighboring body shop at the BMW Group plant in Regensburg.

Closed recycling cycle: Using secondary steel saves around 160,000 tons of CO2 annually

Due to the process, around 80,000 tons of offcuts are produced in the Regensburg press shop each year. They are recycled in a closed cycle. The offcuts are first processed by a recycling press into steel cubes measuring 40 x 40 centimeters – and weighing 220 kilograms. These are then returned to the steel supplier, who in turn processes them into so-called secondary steel. The use of secondary steel in the BMW Group’s Regensburg press shop results in 2 tons less CO2 per ton of steel compared to primary steel production. The plant thus reduces its carbon footprint by around 160,000 tons per year. In order to protect employees, residents and the environment from noise emissions and vibrations, the production and recycling systems in the Regensburg press shop are soundproofed. In addition, all production systems operate almost vibration-free.

High-voltage batteries from the neighborhood

The BMW Group vehicle plant in Regensburg has existed since 1986 and is one of over 30 BMW Group production sites worldwide. Every working day, a total of up to 1,400 BMW X1 and BMW X2 vehicles roll off the production line at the Regensburg plant. They go to customers all over the world. Various types of drive are manufactured flexibly on a single production line – from vehicles with combustion engines to vehicles with plug-in hybrids to fully electric models.

The high-voltage batteries for the electric models manufactured in Regensburg are also produced on site, in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle plant. They are assembled in the e-component production facility at the Leibnizstrasse site that opened in 2021.

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