MTU opens electronics center

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Feb, 2005 by Jonathan Walker

Reflecting its recognition of the continuing importance of electronics and control technology, MTU Friedrichshafen, a lead segment of the DaimlerChrysler OFF-Highway organization that includes Detroit Diesel Corp., has opened a new electronics center on the site of its main works in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The 78,576 sq.ft, electronics facility replaces the company's original electronics works in nearby Fischbach and now houses 260 employees working in development, production and sales of electronics products.

In contrast to the Fischbach facility, the new center is purpose-built and features a large, single-level production and laboratory area with a four-floor office complex. Built over a 12-month period, the center represents an investment of more than $9.1 million which MTU expects to rapidly amortize as a result of the increased efficiency inherent in the new facilities.

Roll Hanssen, chairman of MTU's Management Board and CEO of the DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway Business Unit, emphasized the electronics center as a key element of corporate strategy, centering on components for controlling and monitoring engines and complete drive systems.

MTU began equipping its engines with its own electronic control systems as early as the 1970s and views its competence in this field on par with its in-house production of turbochargers and fuel injection equipment at its subsidiary L'Orange.

"We have always developed and produced our own electronics, as this is the only way to ensure that the interfaces between engine and electronic control systems function optimally," Hanssen said. "We can only be certain that we are making 100% use of the potential of our electronics and that hardware and software match 100% with the complete integration of electronics in our engines."

Electronics is, however, of overriding, coordinating importance as both an enabling and a managing technology. It is also seen at MTU as a basic technology of environmentally friendly engines. "It is no longer possible to imagine engines with low exhaust gas emissions and low fuel consumption without electronics," Hanssen stated. "Electronics control all the processes in and around the engine, particularly injection technology.

"In common rail injection, which is particularly economical and environmentally friendly and which we have been adopting on our engines since 1996, everything is controlled by electronics. To this extent, electronics are a central technology in our engines. With increasingly stringent emissions guidelines the trend toward electronically controlled engines has become irreversible. We are not worried by this trend because we started using electronics early and now have years of experience in this area."

The opening of the new electronics center is also ideally timed to coincide with the expansion of the DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway engine offering into smaller applications following the conclusion of a master distributor agreement with VM Motori (see October 2004, Diesel Progress). MTU estimated it is one of the few heavy-duty engine manufacturers that can provide electronics to control and monitor complete drive systems from a single source.

With the establishment of the new Electronic Center, MTU Friedrichshafen has now integrated all development, production and sales functions into its main works. "The new electronics center is larger than its predecessor and integration into our main works and restructuring of workflows have optimized development and production processes," said Dr. Gerd-Michael Wolters, head of technology at MTU.

The focus is on efficiency, he added. "In the electronics center we use 15 million individual parts to manufacture 25,000 electronic components every year," Wolters stated. "That is why the efficiency of the production processes plays such an important role. With the new electronics center, we are in a position to reduce the cost of electronics production significantly. "Moving electronics to the main works also means that we can handle a lot of tasks considerably more efficiently without staff having to switch between two locations. In addition, several existing production and service areas can also be used at the main works, such as dispatch, goods inwards and the parts store. Training is also easier because our training center is near the new building."

Highlights of the new electronics center include automatic printed circuit board production in a separate, fully air-conditioned room--up to 6000 printed circuit boards, each with up to 1600 components can be assembled and checked per hour. The entire production area is equipped with electrostatic discharge flooring. Advanced, computer-controlled, high rack storage technology enables a tenfold reduction in stocking space compared to the previous site, MTU reported. The development area also includes a modern laboratory and a new test bench.

Overall, available space in the entire building is greater, and designed to provide enough room for further expansion of the machine tool inventory or conversions. Generous open-plan offices in the four-floor administration building also provide for flexible changes to office sizes and layouts.