【SHACMAN GROUP】Exploring the "smart" manufacturing of heavy-duty trucks

An industrial robotic arm operates at the intelligent tire automated assembly station at the Shaanxi New Energy Smart Factory.

An industrial robotic arm operates at the intelligent tire automated assembly station at the Shaanxi New Energy Smart Factory.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Assembly Plant.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Frame Plant.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Frame Plant.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Frame Plant.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Frame Plant.

Workers are busy working on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Assembly Plant.

In the Shaanxi New Energy Smart Factory, “unmanned” AGV intelligent handling robots shuttle between workstations.

The heavy-duty truck assembly line at the Shaanxi New Energy Smart Factory is bustling with activity.

In the Shaanxi Automobile Frame Plant, “unmanned” AGV intelligent handling robots operate.

Assembled heavy-duty trucks wait to roll off the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile New Energy Smart Factory.

Industrial robotic arms swiftly maneuver with millimeter-level precision, driverless AGVs shuttle between workstations, and heavy-duty truck bodies and cabs are automatically transported to elevated EMS stations via the PBS dispatch system for installation. The charm of industrial “smart” manufacturing is evident everywhere at the Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group Co., Ltd. (“Shaanxi Automobile”) New Energy Heavy-Duty Truck Intelligent Production Base located in the Xi’an Economic Development Zone.

“This production base’s final assembly line can assemble multiple models simultaneously, with an annual capacity of 50,000 heavy-duty truck chassis and 100,000 cab assemblies,” said Ji Xiang, Senior Deputy Business Manager of the Shaanxi Automobile General Assembly Plant. This world-leading intelligent manufacturing technology comprehensively optimizes the heavy-duty truck production process and significantly improves efficiency.

A benchmark for Shaanxi’s automotive industry transformation, the Shaanxi Automobile New Energy Heavy-Duty Truck Intelligent Production Base rolled off its first complete vehicle in April 2022. After several years of development, the base is expected to produce 12,700 new energy heavy-duty trucks in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 305%. The base has become one of the largest and most technologically advanced heavy-duty truck production bases in Northwest my country.