VMT

In the body shop, hundreds of single parts become a complete vehicle structure. Up to 95 % of that work is done by robots. What nobody sees: vision systems tell those robots where to go, and check every weld, every position, every adhesive bead once they got there.

Robots do not see. They repeat. That works until a fixture shifts, a part arrives crooked, or a new batch of sheet metal springs back differently.

Vision closes that gap in both directions. It guides the robot before the joining process and measures the result afterwards, from the same sensor family and the same software platform.

One Process. Every Step Covered.

The right technology at every stage.

01

Bin picking and part feeding

Small parts arrive in bins, unsorted and overlapping. A gripper needs one specific part in one specific orientation.
The system locates individual parts in the bin, calculates a collision-free grip and hands the pose to the robot.
No mechanical sorting, no dedicated feeder per part number.
Technology: VMT PickFinder

02

Racking and deracking

Parts and subassemblies are loaded and unloaded at transfer points all over the body shop. Rack tolerances are wider than part tolerances.
Rack and part position are measured, the robot is guided into the correct nest.
Handling without teach-in per rack type, no contact damage on visible surfaces.
Technology: VMT OSC | VMT FrameSense

03

Position correction for joining

Before welding, clinching or riveting, both the part and the body have to be where the program expects them.
Position and orientation are measured in 3D against defined features, holes, edges, surfaces, and the correction goes to the robot inline.
Fixture tolerances are compensated instead of tightened, variants run on the same line.
Technology: VMT 3DLE | VMT OSC

04

Adhesive application and bead inspection

Structural adhesive carries crash loads. It is applied by a robot at speed, on a surface that moves.
The sensor guides the nozzle along the seam and measures position, width, height and continuity of the bead in the same pass.
Interruptions are corrected while the robot is still there, not discovered at end of line.
Technology: VMT SpinTop | VMT BeadMap

05

Stud and element inspection

Welded studs, nuts and inserts are the mounting points for everything that comes later. A missing one is found in final assembly.
Presence, position and orientation of every element are checked against the type data.
The error is caught in the body shop, where rework still costs minutes instead of hours.
Technology: VMT Inspection

06

Precise cut-out punching

Cut-outs punched into the assembled body have to sit relative to the body, not relative to the fixture.
The actual body position is measured and the punching unit is guided to the target coordinates.
Tight cut-out tolerances without a rigid clamping concept.
Technology: VMT 3DLE

07

Inline measurement

Dimensional accuracy of the body-in-white drifts slowly. By the time a gauge station catches it, the drift is already in a hundred bodies.
Key dimensions, feature positions and assembly tolerances are measured contactless against CAD, at defined stations along the build sequence.
Trend data instead of single results, so a drift is visible before a tolerance is exceeded.
Technology: VMT Inspection

08

Mounting line

Doors, hoods and flaps are hung onto a body that is never twice the same. A fixed robot position produces a different gap on every vehicle.
Body geometry is measured, the optimal part position is calculated from it, and the robot places the part accordingly.
The gap is achieved during mounting instead of corrected afterwards. No manual adjustment, no hinge rework loop.
Technology: VMT BestFit

09

Gap and flush measurement

Gap and flush are the first thing a customer touches, and the last thing the plant can still influence.
Gap width and flush are measured at hundreds of points per vehicle, on the moving body.
100 % measurement instead of sampling, with the result documented per vehicle and fed back to the joining robots.
Technology: VMT Gap & Flush

10

VIN embossing and inspection

The Vehicle Identification Number is applied to the body by punching or scribing. From that point on it is the vehicle's identity for the rest of its life.
Punched and scribed characters are read and validated against the production order, on raw and coated metal.
Beyond the characters, marking quality itself is measured: stroke depth and legibility, so a shallow or drifting marking tool is caught before the VIN becomes unreadable.
Technology: VMT Inspection

11

Surface inspection before paint

Weld spatter, sealant residue, dents and burrs are invisible under primer and unmistakable under topcoat.
Body surfaces are inspected for defects before the body enters the paint shop.
A defect found here costs a wipe. Found after paint it costs a repaint.
Technology: VMT ClearSpace | VMT Inspection

‍