Automotive manufacturers are also under increasing pressure to develop manufacturing processes that have the flexibility to run a variety of different body styles on a single manufacturing line in a effort to meet the varying demands of the car buying public. Sensors of all types play an increasing role to enable these flexible manufacturing tools to adapt to product variations while guaranteeing the high level of quality required in today's automotive market. A flexible welding machine may have double the number of sensors compared to a dedicated machine of a few years past. Sensors play a very keen role in the further development of these flexible manufacturing processes in their ability to verify style-dependent tooling position for the proper fit of a wide variety of sheet metal components. Body shops generally go through retooling cycles of 2 to 4 years, with a complete overhaul requiring up to 10,000 proximity sensors and 1,000 photoelectrics.
Limit switches and safety products can account for another several thousand sensors.
The sheer volume of sensors required is astounding, as is the variety of functions they must perform. Typical applications for this tooling include the welding and assembly of front floor pans, underbody, wheelhouses, bodysides and door apertures, just to name a few. With so many variables in the body shop, it is imperative that sensors are ideally suited for each application. Standard inductive sensors are most common on the manufacturing floor, but specialized inductives are used for the toughest applications. Stainless steel sensors are found where abrasion and fluid resistance is paramount, and generally where all metal sensing is required, i.e. detecting shot pins and ejectors.