Trailer production modularization, just put, is to divide a car into several large modules, their independent design and production, and then assemble together.
Modular design is not a new idea. Scania, known as the "king of roads", benefits from its modular design and production to a certain extent, in addition to its large-displacement engines.
In China, as early as 1998, the industry put forward this concept, and also for the traction pin, frame, suspension, wheels, braking system and fence and additional major modules given the main parameters and production process. But until now, most trailer factories have not been able to apply the modular approach.
Semi Trailer Manufacturer says The reason for this is that, on the one hand, the technical level of most trailer factories is not uniform, and the lack of guarantee in the production accuracy and product consistency. If we want to solve this problem, we need to invest a lot of money, and the production cost will rise significantly compared with the present, which is the trailer factory does not want to see;
​secondly, the use conditions of domestic trailers are more complex and difficult to be unified, therefore the demand for customization is strong, and the configuration is also diverse. As a result, it is difficult to achieve mass production of single parts, which is also one of the reasons why modular production cannot be implemented.
However, some professionals point out that, with the gradual standardization of the trailer market, production technology is also widely improved. Some head car enterprises have already had the conditions for modular production. I believe in the near future, the domestic can also achieve modular design and production of trailer.
What are the advantages of modular design and production?
1. Higher production efficiency and lower production cost
Under the traditional production mode, the quality of products mainly depends on the technical level of workers. With the adoption of modular production, additional production processes will be carried out by robots, and product quality will be more dependent on design and management, which can reduce labor costs to some extent. At the same time, increased automation has led to increased production, and the cost shared by each component will be lower, which is more conducive to cost reduction and efficiency.
2. Cross-regional distribution of current cars is more efficient
Traditionally, trailer companies have had modest profits and steep transportation costs for long-distance sales, making it difficult for even large companies to sell cars to distant regions. Modular production is different, because each module is separate production, can directly transport the module to the point of sale and then assembly, compared with the traditional "back" transport or to the factory to pick up the car, efficiency is considerably higher, and the cost is lower.
3, higher after-sales efficiency, more convenient replacement parts
Modular design is extremely conducive to after-sales maintenance, especially when there are problems in the trailer module parts. The traditional repair can not help, you can directly replace the module, so as to improve the maintenance efficiency, but also to a greater extent to ensure the performance of the vehicle.
According to the reason, modular design and production can shorten the product delivery cycle, improve the normative trailer market, product quality can also be improved to a certain extent, which is a good thing for the owners. But owners of modular production have always been skeptical, even think modular production is a joke.
In fact, it is not difficult to see that the owners question the modular trend, but the actual use of the performance of the product under the modular trend, after all, the vehicle is to be put into the market after production, performance is the most critical factor.
Modular design and production of trailers may be a general trend, but at present, there are still numerous problems to be solved. As the owners mentioned the modular connection problem, whether it can guarantee strong not loose? Do you need frequent daily check-ups? Are problems that need to be solved. Only when these doubts are eliminated, can modularity be popularized on a large scale, otherwise, I'm afraid, it can only be on paper.