This is the new mega construction that makes it possible

The Seat and Cupra plant in Martorell has launched a new PXL hydraulic press which will manufacture up to 4 million pieces per year mainly intended for the bodywork of the Cupra Raval and the Volkswagen ID. Polethe two electric vehicles that the factory will begin producing in 2026. As the group has shared, the installation is now operational and is stamping parts for the company’s current models.

A record installation. The PXL press, which according to Seat is among the most modern in the world, has six pressing machines with a combined force of 81,000 kN (kilo-Newton). It has a capacity of up to 15 strokes per minute, allowing it to stamp more parts in less time than the plant’s previous installations.

According to account Seat, the process is completely automated, allowing you to change between dies of different production series in just five minutes. The installation supports up to 15 changes per day, according to the company.

Technical challenge. The installation has become a technical challenge that has required 40 months between development and construction. To support its enormous weight and force, the press sits on a 9-meter-deep pit, which in turn rests on concrete piles that penetrate 20 meters underground, the equivalent of a seven-story building. “Communication and transversal work between the process, maintenance, manufacturing, logistics, IT, prevention and finance teams has been the catalyst for the success of this mega-construction,” explains Alicia Molina, director of Production Process Engineering at Seat and Cupra.

Information to continue optimizing. According to they explain From the automotive group, one of the main novelties of this press is its ability to generate information. With each stamping, approximately 3,000 data are extracted that the company intends to use to improve production and maintenance control. Seat assures that it is developing two systems to interpret this flow of information and apply it to the prediction and optimization of processes.

Preparing electrification. The idea with this mega construction is that it helps to shape the new wave of electric vehicles that Volkswagen intends to promote, thus adapting to an increasingly competitive field that has given rise to the European regulations regarding emissions and the growing appearance of Chinese firms that are becoming more and more established.

“We have changed the chip, literally, and we are ready for the electric present,” affirms Jose Arreche, director of the Martorell factory. The facility will prepare the plant for the production of the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID. Polo, the two economical electric models that the automobile group intends to produce in 2026. They will certainly be the models that test the firm in terms of offering economical electric vehicles to the market.

Images | SEAT

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