Although the rapidly changing market is bringing many challenges to automakers, Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (BAIC BJEV) has its own winning strategy. As a leader of China\u2019s electric vehicle industry, BAIC BJEV sold 158,000 vehicles in 2018 and has been the sales champion of China\u2019s electric vehicle market for six consecutive years. However, there are still hurdles to tackle, including decreasing subsidies and growing competition. How can the company develop the middle and high-end market? How can it maintain its leading position in the market?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe hope to strengthen the brand effect, improve product quality, and produce vehicles that can better meet market needs. And all of these goals can only be achieved by continuously improving our capabilities of digital R&D, manufacturing, and management,\u201d says Wang Qingzhou, General Manager Qingdao Industrial Base of BAIC BJEV. \u201cSiemens\u2019 integrated hardware and software solutions and its SICAR standard specifically designed for the automotive industry<\/a> have helped us build the group\u2019s first mass production base for new-energy vehicles in Qingdao. This has also laid a solid foundation for building our digital factory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Siemens’ integrated hardware and software solutions and its SICAR standard have helped us build the group’s first mass production base for new-energy vehicles. <\/p>Wang Qingzhou, General Manager Qingdao Industrial Base of BAIC BJEV <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Qingdao Industrial Base covers an area of more than 1,600 acres and has maintained its rapid development since the start of production at the end of 2015. The EC and EX series models are produced here, where the complete production process takes place, from iron sheets to the finished product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How to assemble tens of thousands of precision parts into a car? The unified data platform is critical for the production process and guarantees that all links are integrated correctly. Using Teamcenter<\/a> and Polarion, an application lifecycle management solution<\/a>, BAIC BJEV is able to build complete base and data archives for the entire product lifecycle \u2013 including design, process, and manufacturing \u2013 and synchronize the information across all departments involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, R&D experts were \u201cburied under their desks\u201d because information couldn\u2019t be shared in real time, and it was also easily distorted during the process of transmission. If one department changed the drawings and other participants didn\u2019t update simultaneously, the risk of error increased enormously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now everyone puts their work on the same \u201cdesktop,\u201d which realizes the \u201cunification\u201d of the data file. All R&D experts involved can refer to each other\u2019s design systems and process plans, and the agreed-upon solutions can be directly migrated to new models. The reuse of knowledge saves time and costs, which in turn speeds time-to-market for new models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bie Yonghui, Section Manager of VSS Auto of Digital Industries, Siemens Ltd., China, explains, \u201cIn the past, when a new model was applied on the production line, there might be thousands of problems. Now, using the Siemens software and hardware solutions, these problems can be reduced exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the official start of production, Tecnomatix, the Siemens process simulation software<\/a>, can perform production feasibility analyses in a virtual environment in order to troubleshoot potential problems in advance. In addition, production process simulations ensure that the best manufacturing process is selected from all possible alternatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How can a manufacturer guarantee the performance of new research and development models? Virtual simulation testing is essential. BAIC BJEV has adopted the simulation and test platform Simcenter<\/a> to make performance optimizations to vehicle mileage, NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), heat, fluid, intelligent driving, and other parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Li Zhiming, Senior Presales Director for Automotive and Transportation Industry of Siemens Industry Software: \u201cIn the future, BAIC BJEV\u2019s data on product development, simulation engineering and manufacturing engineering is expected to be managed integrally on the Teamcenter platform<\/a>. This will provide a solid foundation to support the customer\u2019s digital development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the execution of manufacturing, Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) solutions<\/a> are like a flexible limb, providing efficient and accurate execution of production planning orders transmitted from the \u2018brain\u2019,\u201d said Luo Dengyuan, Manufacturing Engineering Department Director of BAIC BJEV<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the design and development of vehicle models to the actual manufacturing and then inspections, testing, and service, the automobile manufacturing process is extremely complex. Without standards, the links may not be interoperable, which can lead to unnecessary problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, there are four suppliers in the welding line at Qingdao Industrial Base. If each supplier provides products based on their own standards, the first-line workers may face different types of machines, different types of interfaces, and different methods of operation, which is bound to waste time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Siemens has solved the problem with the SICAR, a standard for the automotive industry. It\u2019s been fully applied in the second phase of the Qingdao Industrial Base, and it fundamentally guarantees system consistency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For line integrators, the use of standard HMI, variable generation tools, and function blocks can greatly simplify programming and enable high-quality design and commissioning in a short period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At BAIC BJEV, this set of standards doesn\u2019t just ensure project consistency and the quality of the follow-up products, it also helps improve the operational standardization of front-line workers, reduce equipment maintenance costs, and make production and maintenance more efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BAIC BJEV is currently building a high-end intelligent factory in Beijing. The new factory is expected to be an exclusive factory for ARCFOX, a high-end BAIC BJEV brand. In addition to the company\u2019s existing high-end cars, LITE and ARCFOX-7 are also going to be produced at the factory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liu Weixia, Digitalization, Process, and IT Director at BAIC BJEV affirms: \u201cIn partnership with Siemens, we benefit not only from its solutions but also from the added value, including standardized and agile development and a digital mindset<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the construction phase of the production line, Siemens helped BAIC BJEV build a digital twin of the devices and equipment<\/a>. Virtual commissioning technology was used to create a virtual simulation of the entire production line, allowing the necessary debugging and corrections to take place before the actual project was established.<\/p>\n\n\n\nComplete base and data archives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Knowledge sharing among R&D experts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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New models easily applied to the production line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Performance optimization through simulation <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMessenger from the \u201cbrain: of the production<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Standardization with SICAR<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Construction of the next digital car factory <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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