Production Systems

 
VDL Steelweld is known as an innovative system integrator in industrial automation for more than 50 years. The core team at VDL Pinnacle, has had the opportunity of working for VDL Steelweld’s global projects, be it in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America or Slovakia, thereby learning a lot in the process. We, at VDL Pinnacle, develop and deliver turn-key production lines to the automotive industry, Tier-1 manufacturers, as well as to other sectors of industrial production lines.

Our customers benefit from the knowledge and skills we employ when devising and building automated and robotic production processes for them. Our strength lies in delivering total turn-key projects, from simultaneous engineering, process definition, design, production, assembly, installation and commissioning, right through to optimisation and training. Our fully integrated project organisation has the professional staff required to ensure the right quality.
Our ‘get it done’ mentality has enabled us to build stable relationships with valued customers in a short span, often resulting in multiple repeat orders.

Product Design

A division of VDL Bus & Coach, the product design vertical at VDL Pinnacle provides solutions for the bus industry. Mainly involved in creating new variants from the existing bus designs, we also provide engineering solutions to improve the working ergonomics.

FEA is one of the core features out of the many solutions we provide for the bus industry. Various types of analysis are done & corresponding changes can be made in the affected area through the generated reports.

Any model change arising due to change in emission norms, conversion from BS-VI to hybrid or hybrid to fully electric, our team has done it all.

A few highlights are as follows:

Create new bus variant from existing bus
Modify front & rear facia for new styling
Update side frame, chassis & floor & carry out strength analysis of chassis structure
Re-design fuel & adblue systems
Linear static analysis & durability analysis
Measuring lateral & vertical fatigue
Calculating maximum braking & torsion
Testing with additional luggage compartments
Create concepts for air extraction
Provide inputs for cost reduction

Project Management

A good project management experience is what the customer remembers long after the project has ended. Good project management is the cornerstone for any project, be it small, medium or large in scale. We, at VDL Pinnacle understand this & hence lay a lot of emphasis on efficient project management techniques.

The project management processes we follow, is largely based on the project management tools from VDL Steelweld, The Netherlands. This includes, but not limited to, the following:

• Having dedicated project managers for every project
• Weekly project updates as a single-pager for the management (techno-commercial)
• Detailed weekly project updates (technical)
• Regular customer meetings in person or through video-messaging platforms online
• Updation of main project milestones
• Project tracking through MS-Projects for each phase of the project
• Clear communication of actual status & transparency throughout the project life cycle

Design & Engineering (BIW)

The main cog in  any project is design & engineering. This is one of VDL Pinnacle’s strongest suite. Having spent 3+ years purely in design services before starting full-fledged operations, our engineers have been diligently trained on global design standards of all major OEM’s. Our team has successfully delivered designs of close to 100,000 hours since inception in April 2016.

With reference to automation processes for all body shop applications, our mechanical design team has the experience in the following:

• Plant layout, line concept layout & process study (including cycle time)
• Structure, frame & utility designs
• Manual fixtures, for proto & production tooling
• Robotic fixtures for spot welding, hemming, arc welding, riveting, etc.
• Robotic grippers, conveyor tooling, handling systems

Our team includes specialists for simulation, 3D designing, 2D detailing, BOM sheets & process documentation, with overall experience of >185,000 hours

Manufacturing

The first thing that meets the eye in a shop floor is the quality of manufacturing. With a dedicated supplier base of over 100 suppliers including manufacturing & bought-out parts, VDL Pinnacle offers export quality manufacturing services to our customers.

A few highlights are as follows:

• Vendors with advanced CNC, VMC & machining centers
• Higher accuracies
• Export quality manufacturing
• Direct sourcing of BO’s from European, American & East Asian countries
• Production planning & DRR, effective tracking of material
• On-time deliveries
• Cost-effective manufacturing

Assembly, Installation & Quality

In-house facilities for assembly, installation & quality are essential to ensure that site commissioning happens smoothly, effectively & rapidly. With highly trained & dedicated team leaders for every project, we can execute even complicated projects with ease.

The main distinguishing factor between a great project & a good project is the level of quality. With a team having core experience in quality & certification, we know that your project is in safe hands.

A few highlights are as follows:

• 13,500 sq. ft. of space on shop floor with air, water & energy facilities
• Assembly scope broken down into units & modules
• In- house painting facility
• Trained, experienced & highly skilled work-force
• Assigned team leaders for every project
• Tools for quality measurement (CMM, surface beds, calipers, gauges, etc.)
• In-house panel fitment, commissioning, testing, trials & buy-off

Electrical, Controls & Automation

The importance of electrical design, electrical installation, pneumatic circuit design, pneumatic installation, design & building of control panels & power panels, PLC programming & robot programming is highlighted only when the automation system works uninterrupted & in full flow. We understand the value of effective automation & hence have a strong team of individuals having hands-on experience with various industrial robots & PLC’s. The competence of VDL Pinnacle engineers in this field is as follows:

• Electrical design in e-plan & AutoCAD
• Pneumatic design & installation
• Offline PLC programming
• Online PLC programming
• Robot programming (all major industrial robots)
• Electrical, Switchgear & Power panels
• Building PLC cabinets / Control panels
• Network configuration & commissioning
• Experienced in global standards