Hexagon and SEAT S.A. partner to transform manufacturing efficiency and accelerate the industrialisation of new cars

• SEAT S.A. chooses Hexagon's advanced digital twin manufacturing technology to optimise processes for greater efficiency and reduced waste
• Strategic collaboration encompasses the digitization of manufactured vehicle components, advanced process simulation, data management, and reporting for the entire organization
• Manufacturing optimisation applies high-quality data and quality inspection systems implemented in SEAT S.A. throughout its 25 years of collaboration with Hexagon

Hexagon, a world leader in digital reality solutions that combine sensors, software and autonomous technologies, has expanded its collaboration with the automotive manufacturer SEAT S.A., building upon a 25-year partnership working with its Manufacturing Intelligence division. The companies have signed a strategic agreement that aims to deepen the digital transformation of SEAT S.A., focusing on the digitalisation of vehicle components, the management of digitised information and advanced process simulation. 

This agreement will enable SEAT S.A. to optimise its production, making decisions on adjustments to its processes in real time. Hexagon has been instrumental in SEAT S.A’s production for many years, having implemented its measurement and quality control systems. Now through the extended collaboration, the joint project team will integrate a digital twin that applies metrology data with process simulations to predict outcomes and improve manufacturing efficiency. The solution will make use of innovative systems to digitize the car body and its components, manage their data, and provide reports and analytics that help production personnel drive efficiency, and reduce costs.

Key aspects of the agreement

The collaboration is based on three fundamental pillars: the digitalisation of the manufactured parts of the vehicle, the management of digitized information and the simulation of processes. 

SEAT S.A. relies on Hexagon's quality inspection and 3D digitization solutions, which it has implemented in its inspection and manufacturing processes for body components. Under the new agreement, Hexagon's PRESTO system will fully automate the high-precision 3D laser scanning of the entire body with high-speed robotic inspection, allowing every detail of the car to be measured and evaluated in real-time. 

The second pillar of the agreement is the management of digitized information, which uses Hexagon's eMMA data management, quality planning and analytics platform. This solution automatically captures metrology data from Hexagon and other third-party measurement systems and manages it in a standardized way. The centralisation of all 3D measurement data captured during the digitalisation process facilitates informed and efficient decision-making, allowing SEAT S.A.'s production and quality managers to monitor the condition of the parts and optimise quality in all phases of assembly.

The third key aspect is process simulation, which allows SEAT S.A.'s quality analysts to accurately predict problems and optimize critical vehicle manufacturing processes such as part alignment, assembly and subsequent welding operations. Thanks to Hexagon's simulation solutions, SEAT S.A. can optimise production and adjust the production settings using a virtual prototype of the product, speeding up the process of fine-tuning the production methods that will be used in the series manufacturing phase. This capability translates into a significant reduction in costs, a reduction in material waste, and an improvement in the time-to-market for the new vehicle models.

Josh Weiss, president of Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division, explains: "We are committed to helping SEAT S.A. stay at the forefront of the automotive industry by implementing innovative digital processes that transform agility in manufacturing and take control of quality from the start. By combining technologies such as automated quality inspection, connected quality workflows and virtual manufacturing, SEAT S.A. can supervise each stage of production with significant savings in time, material waste and costs".

Daniel Cortina, Director of Quality at SEAT S.A., says: "At SEAT S.A. we are at a time of unprecedented transformation for our company towards smarter, more connected and efficient production, which involves the digital transformation of our production processes. Now we will not only acquire data about the quality of our parts faster and more accurately, but we will also be able to improve manufacturing performance with them. This predictive approach to quality allows us to improve our customer satisfaction as well as significantly reduce the materials used in the manufacturing process, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability."