SCAR PARTS
In early December, Toyota issued a call for all-hands-on-deck to fight against the ongoing automotive materials shortage, announcing the OEM will permit the use of scratched, blemished, and otherwise “imperfect” parts from suppliers while global supply chains level out. “We are careful about the outside of our vehicles, the parts you can easily see. But there are plenty of places that people don’t notice unless they really take a good look,” said Takefumi Shiga, Toyota’s chief project leader for vehicle development during a press briefing. According to a report from Reuters, the OE’s engineers are expanding a programme begun in 2019 to meet component suppliers, even third-tier ones, to assure them that scratches or blemishes are acceptable as long as they do not affect vehicles safety and performance, and are unlikely to be noticed by car buyers.
In an out-of-character decision for the quality-focussed automaker, Toyota said in early December it would allow the use of so-called “imperfect” parts during the vehicle assembly process—but only until supply chain challenges flatten out.
Junk Trunk
A gentler touch may be in order as a recent recall issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) alleges that wear on Tesla Model 3’s trunk harness can lead the rearview camera to fail. The NHTSA estimates 356,309 vehicles to be affected by an issue where the coaxial cable housed in the Model 3’s trunk can become worn and disconnect from the rearview camera, causing the camera display to fail. The report announcing the recall described the issue as such: “The coaxial cable is affixed to a harness on the trunk lid and extends or folds as the trunk opens and closes. When the trunk is in a closed state, the harness folds and may experience a tight bend radius, stressing the core of the cable.” The issue has currently only been identified on Model 3s of the years 2017-2020.
Audi said it expects to begin using AI to detect quality defects, such as small cracks in the car body, in volume production at the Ingolstadt press plant in early 2022. The company says that they do not expect this announcement to have any effect on pre-existing repair procedures.
AUTOMATED INTEGRITY
Audi is taking new steps to further streamline its production process, announcing that artificial intelligence will be used to guarantee weld quality for high-volume production at its Neckarsulm, Germany facility. According to the OEM, about 5,300 spot welds are used to join the parts that comprise the body of an Audi A6. In the past, the factory has used ultrasound to manually monitor the quality of the welding through random spot checks. Audi says the use of AI will allow the detection of flaws automatically and in real-time. The automaker developed the technology in cooperation with Siemens and Amazon Web Services as part of the Volkswagen Group’s Industrial Cloud, and plans for it to be rolled out in other locations. The aim of the project is for the algorithm to evaluate close to 100 percent of the set welding points during body manufacturing in the future. Audi said the long-term vision is that in the future, the quality of welding processes can be controlled automatically and continuously optimized.
A HERO IN HONDA
Honda believes it has cracked the code to zero collision fatalities in their vehicles with the announcement of two new pieces of technology that the automaker promises will be a game-changer for road safety. In the ongoing effort of reaching its goal of “zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”, the Japanese automaker has announced its AI-powered “Intelligent Driver-Assistive Technology.” The OE says that this “intelligent” technology makes use of neurological data that tracks driver habits and human error and in turn, is able to predict driver errors and avoid collisions. The second prong of Honda’s attack on accidents is “Safe and Sound Network Technology,” which deals with how the driver’s vehicle interacts with other vehicles on the road and is capable of accurately predicting traffic patterns and potential risks on the highway.
“Applying our future safety technologies which will embody such new value, Honda will work toward the realization of ‘zero traffic collision fatalities’ involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050,” said the company.
SIGNED WITH SUBARU
Subaru of America has granted approval for the DriveSafe and ScanSafe calibration tools from Opus IVS to be used within the Subaru Certified Collision Network. The DriveSafe and ScanSafe devices both use OEM Subaru SSM3 and SSM4 software and the OEM Denso DST-vehicle communication interface. The Opus IVS tool suite also is integrated with CCC One Estimating software, providing a streamlined and consistent workflow solution. Opus IVS says that its products are specifically designed to fulfil all of the pre and post scanning requirements of a modern body shop.
