Hirschvogel Group: Inspection of Solid Forged Parts
A product from the Hirschvogel Group is installed in almost every vehicle. The globally active family-owned company is a leader in the production and further processing of solid forged steel and aluminum parts for the automotive industry and its suppliers. The focus is on the production of hot- and cold-formed parts that are becoming increasingly lighter and can withstand high loads. The portfolio includes differential bevel gears for electric motors, wheel hubs and transmission shafts. Several tens of thousands of forged parts leave the Denklingen plant every day. The products are first randomly subjected to a standardized quality assurance process. Four mobile 3D measuring machines from ZEISS have been integrated into production for the full-field inspection of the parts and the assessment of form and position tolerances. The fast and precise measurements enable the Hirschvogel Group to consistently achieve the targeted zero-defect quality and to operate at a consistently high level.
High quantities require fast 3D measurement technology
A wheel hub of a motor vehicle forms the center of the wheel as a mounting point. It represents the reliable connection between a rigid axle and the rotating rim. With the production of around 57 million passenger cars worldwide (as of 2021), demand is correspondingly high. As one of the most important partners of the automotive industry, the Hirschvogel Group in Denklingen produces several thousand wheel hubs every day, which in a further step are machined and finished ready for installation in the other plants. Before delivery, the forged parts are fully automatically digitized and inspected with the ATOS ScanBox 4105 system, and then evaluated in the GOM Inspect Pro software. To accelerate the process, the Hirschvogel Group has developed its own fixture concept that enables the rapid measurement of up to four parts with just one fixture. “The asynchronous mode makes it possible to already evaluate the first sample while the other parts are still being scanned,” explains Markus Sporer, quality manager at the Hirschvogel Group. The use of this multi-part fixture increases the throughput in series production many times over.
The Hirschvogel Group, a leading manufacturing specialist for automotive parts, produces several tens of thousands of wheel hubs daily.
Highest precision for satisfied customers
In everyday production, the employees of the Hirschvogel Group benefit from the simple control, automated digitization and inspection of the ATOS ScanBox 4105 system. After selecting their measurement plan via the intuitive Kiosk Interface, the plant employee places the samples on the associated fixture and starts the measurement process after entering the production data. Form and position tolerances can then be visualized in color using a deviation representation between the CAD and actual data in GOM Inspect Pro. If the deviations are within the tolerance specified by the customer, the surface comparisons can be approved. If a part is classified as “failed” (F), production immediately initiates appropriate corrective actions. Markus Sporer is also enthusiastic about other software features: “In addition to the graphic display of flatness tolerances, we can use GOM Inspect Pro to calculate the volume of a steel piston. This simulates the virtual, machining process.”
It is impossible to imagine everyday production without the systems from ZEISS: Automated component testing not only enables the Hirschvogel Group to perform process-reliable measurements but also meets additional flatness requirements in the hundredths range. The result is high-quality parts and satisfied customers – worldwide.
