The Challenge

The customer currently uses the New Generation Fuel System blow molding process to produce plastic fuel systems. Due to the complicated nature of this process, machines are required to run 24/7 as a high level of heat is required before production can start. As with all manufacturing processes, parts are inspected regularly to ensure they adhere to stringent quality standards. With around 49 points of data to inspect, this process can take around 40-90 minutes. To complicate this further, a number of components are enclosed within the tank. If the production line stops due to a fault, a substantial amount of scrap can occur.

A fuel tank is one of the most safety-critical components of a car. The production process produces roughly 1 plastic fuel system every 38 seconds, quality inspections can take up to 90 minutes per system. If defects are found, production would stop, but worse than this, up to 42 fuel systems have potentially become waste.