The automotive industry is one of the most dynamic industrial sectors worldwide. It manufactures more than 70 million vehicles of ever-increasing technical complexity each year. The sector develops and applies technologies that set the standard for other industries. The global contribution of this industry to the world economy is approximately $3.4 trillion (2021 – Mc Kinsey). Yet very little is communicated about the nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques used for industrial inspection to meet those often mutually opposed pressures of productivity and quality.
In recent years, the automotive industry has been faced with the challenge of accommodating radical and ever more rapid change on multiple levels. Global mobility trends and rigorous regulations of emissions and fuel consumption are forcing automotive manufacturers to heavily invest in new drive systems like full electrical and hydrogen drive trains or optimizing conventional engines. The preferences of drivers on the other hand dictate the fast-paced development of advanced features that enhance driving comfort, like connectivity and increasingly autonomous assistance systems. Shouldering these large investments inevitably increases the cost pressure for OEMs. Digitalizing the development and manufacturing processes can boost production efficiency and reduce costs but also entails more new technologies and methods. Throughout these rapid changes in the automotive manufacturing environment, OEMs and suppliers need to safeguard the quality of all parts.