In June, the ID machine vision department received a short-notice request from automotive customer Evertec to visit their plant in China. Three years ago, ID employee Tobias Großdonk developed and built a sensor system for automatic weld spot inspection—at that time completely remotely. Now the system was to be equipped with an additional autonomous sensor. Project engineer Tilman Scheele took on this job—and experienced a completely different world.

For the demanding quality inspection project for automated detection and measurement of weld spots in complex vehicle geometries, the customer wanted an expert on-site this time. For Tilman Scheele, who has been part of the machine vision team at ID Engineering since 2022, this was a special assignment that he gladly accepted. For specific questions, he received online support from his colleague remotely.

After a journey lasting over 24 hours, Scheele arrived on July 3 at the plant location in Hefei, approximately 400 kilometers from Shanghai (see photos). A translator was at his side throughout to translate between Mandarin and English. After all, the majority of the workforce does not speak English. In addition to the language barrier, the ID specialist also became more familiar with the Chinese way of working. Daily from 9 AM to 8 PM for a week, the focus was on advancing the project as much as possible. To allow the ID expert to concentrate fully on his work, the hosts provided perfect all-around service, from airport pickup to hotel accommodation and meals to daily transportation to the plant.

The on-site deployment demonstrated that machine vision expertise from Germany is highly valued by the Chinese. The development of a customized solution for weld spot inspection and the expansion with a second sensor are just the beginning. Additionally, the engineers were asked to support the customer with their know-how in adhesive technology for a taping application for two-tone vehicle painting. Department head Michael Sartor is currently working on an initial integration for this. Furthermore, additional machine vision applications for quality control of pistons have already been requested.

Impressions from the China Trip in Hefei and Shanghai (©Tilman Scheele / ID Engineering)