You will find the figures mentioned in this article in the German issue of ATZ 02/2006 beginning on page 86.
Der neue VW Constellation
The New Volkswagen Constellation In September 2005, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles presented its new Constellation heavy truck line in Rio de Janeiro to the public. The new line is formed by the three models VW 17.250, VW 24.250 and VW 19.320 being the finishing touch in the world of heavy vehicles in the entire southern hemisphere.
1 Introduction
Authors: Erwin Pape, Willi Netuschil and Jörg T. Schmidtchen
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Since 1981, Volkswagen produces heavy vehicles for the Brazilian market – a “modular consortium” manufactures these vehicles in the new factory of Resende / Brazil inaugurated in 1996. In the year 2000, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took responsibility in Resende within the Volkswagen Group for the heavy vehicles market. Since then, the market share was continuously augmented to a present share of 33 %, and in 2003, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took market leadership for the first time. The product advantages of the 2000 Series have been consistently improved for the completely new developed Constellation line. And in the product development phase specific demands of the customers and the emerging countries were determinedly realised by innovative plans. For the first start of production, the new Constellation line is formed by the three models VW 17.250 (4x2), VW 24.250 (6x2) und VW 19.320 Titan Tractor (4x2), Figure 1, all of them with a long cab with high roof and sleeper cab. In addition to a short cab and a right hand driven version other chassis and power trains as well as stronger engines will follow in the next few years. In
the course of the new development of the Constellation line, the entire product range has been restructured into the new light vehicles of the Delivery line (5.140 and 8.150), into the already known medium-duty and heavy vehicles of the Worker line (8.120 to 31.260) and into the new heavy Constellation line (start-up models VW 17.250, VW 24.250 and VW 19.320). The restructured product range now enables Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to respond to the transport demands of its customers in a comprehensive and individual way. The new Constellation line is aiming to consistently increase the market share in the emerging segment of heavy vehicles in the markets of the southern hemisphere. Due to the modular construction method a spectrum of 12 to 63 tons (gross vehicle weight) is covered, which means that it is also possible to answer to the increasing demand for Road Trains (Bitrems) in Brazil. Apart from modularity the increase of the total effectiveness of the vehicles has been an important objective in the development. This was achieved by high repair and service friendliness, longer service intervals, less net weight, modern electronically controlled engines as well as a fleet man-
agement system and the improvement of the safety equipment of the Constellation line. Furthermore, central demands of customers and importers were of crucial importance in the product development process – they focussed on the robustness, the comfort and the profitability of the new line. Already from the beginning, these demands were taken into account by interdisciplinary and international project work in a project team in Wolfsburg established specifically for this purpose. This team merged all relevant business units from Resende, Wolfsburg and Hanover which led to a work highly on time, a strong cost discipline and a high maturity of development. This unique success later made it possible to transfer the project to Brazil for serial production without problems.
2 The Plants The plant in Resende / Brazil represents the nucleus of the Volkswagen truck and bus business. Planned by Jose Ignacio Lopez as a modular consortium (“consorcio modular”) in 1995, fabrication started in Resende in 1996, Figure 2. A crucial part of this innovative manufacturing philosophy is the integration of the main parts suppliers into the production process. The main parts suppliers are situated on the plant in a way that they are able to complete the required modules in parallel to the mounting line and mount them with their own staff directly at the line. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles concentrates on the development, the conception, the quality assurance and the sales activities for the products. The fixed costs in Resende are relatively low for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and the profitability can be guaranteed even if the plant is run to low capacity. The production unit reacts fast to market fluctuations and the local production share of more than 90 % keeps the plant independent from currency fluctuations which are the order of the day in Brazil. Another production site working to this principle already exists in Mexico and is being set up in South Africa. Furthermore, the expansion of the production is planned in the Middle East and Asia within the context of a strategy to internationalisation.
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lation line. The specifications focus on the modular construction of the vehicle and the fulfilling of safety standards which are not even legally required. In addition to that, market specific applications (30-pallets trailer) have been taken into account and the payload and ergonomics have been optimised with regard to customer demands. With its robust and impressive appearance, the design of the Constellation line also was of crucial importance, marking the beginning of a new face of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles division.
column and gear unit. For this, only the mounting positions of the central electrics and the pedal box are exchanged in the bulkhead. Early in the development wind channel tests for the optimisation of the vehicle air flow and vehicle air flow pattern were performed by models to a scale of 1:2.5 and in original size. By these tests dirt on the windows and in the door and door handle area could also be reduced. And separate air guiding elements in the front cab corners were not necessary due to the determined co-ordination of the A-pillar trims. In order to meet the requirements for the use in emerging countries it was necessary to focus on a repair-friendly body in white concept for the Constellation line. Therefore, intelligent constructions e.g. avoided closed cavities in the body in white structure. Parting points for repair work had already been considered in the conception phase and documented in a repair manual. By the use of zinc-plated sheets on exposed components a warranty of at least 6 years against corrosion can be assured after intensive durability corrosion tests, Figure 3.
4 Cab 4.1 Exterior The new Constellation line strikes by its marking masculine appearance and however can be classified clearly as belonging to the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand. The design is characterised by the vertical headlights, the beefy projected bumper ends and the large surface of the front hood with the contrastive cooler grid and the big chrome Volkswagen Logo. The exterior of the cab has been focused on a modular body in white concept considering different cabs (day and sleeper cab), different roof heights and suitability for left as well as for the right hand driven version with gross vehicle weights of 12 to 63 tons. A short cab as a basic body in white can be easily modified into a long cab by variation of the sides and the roof and supplementary parts in the floor. By using the same pedal box the right hand driven version can be constructed by simply changing the opening for steering
4.2 Interior The robustness – known for the heavy vehicles of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and required for the next vehicle generation – were also objective for the development of an interior which is oriented to practical applications. In analogy to the exterior the interior concept also should be suitable for the left as well as for the right hand driven version
3 Concept Requirements On the basis of extensive benchmark studies as well as market analyses and forecasts specifications have been drawn up for the concept development for the new Constel-
Figure 2: The “consorcio modular” in Resende, Brazil ATZ 02/2006 Volume 108
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which requires the modular dash board, Figure 4. The right hand driven version can be realised by simply changing modules like instrument cluster, glove box, steering column and shelves and slots from one vehicle side to the other. The Constellation dash board follows a two-colour concept continued for the door trims. In combination with the light trims in the roof area and the side and rear trims the interior has a spacious appearance. The high-quality impression and the finishing on the quality level of a car contribute to an atmosphere unknown for heavy vehicles up to now. The extensive serial equipment of the cab can be completed by customer specific equipment. The heating and air conditioning unit e.g. is available in three different versions – the ventilating unit is the basic version and can be completed by the heating and air conditioning unit. Apart from the special equipment to be ordered ex works, the customer can use the dense service network of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Brazil to order individual extras like aluminium wheels, CD/DVD player or a cooling box for the central storage compartment.
were in the areas of front axle and steering, cooling package and engine suspension, clean air intake and exhaust system as for the support of mounted parts as bumpers, steps and fender. In this context, the use of a standardised pedal box for the cab in the left hand driven as well as in the right hand driven version is a unique innovation. The new cab dimension and the resulting modified vehicle package required the adjustment of the wheel bases and therefore the new positioning of carry-over parts like tank, rear axles and chassis electronics. In combination with the long cab even the 30-pallets trailer (length of 15.4 m) can be driven in Brazil complying with the legally required gross vehicle length of 18.15 m. The Constellation line trucks use only engines of emission class Euro 3 developed for and adapted to the new line together with the companies Cummins and International / MWM. Further power train components like gearbox, propeller shaft and rear axles were also integrated into the complete vehicle concept together with renowned local suppliers to an optimum level. Import duties and currency fluctuations with negative effects are avoided by the supply of the power train components by local industry.
5 Electrics, Electronics The electronic architecture of the new Constellation line is based on the CAN Bus Protocol J1939 which can be easily extended for further applications with commercial components. Just one single central onboard supply unit controls functions, which before were decentralised, making them also capable of self-diagnosis. This way, the driver can read errors without aid on the instrument cluster and can react to them. The integrated onboard computer with a central display in the instrument cluster delivers further information, such as the average and present fuel consumption and the service interval display. Apart from standard features like windscreen wipers, horn and turn signal, even comfort features like electric window regulators, central locking and automatic distance control system are controlled by the central onboard supply unit.
6 Rolling Chassis The chassis concept of the Series 2000 known for its robustness has been consistently developed for the use in the Constellation line. Central comfort features are the new cab suspension and the easy-to-operate hydraulic cab tilting system. The fundamental new developments in the chassis 4
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7 Safety The Series 2000 has already been known by the customer for its high safety standard. The cab structure of the Constellation line and the survival space in the cab has been continuously optimised by fulfilling the ECE R 29 Crash Requirements which are not legally required in South America, Figure 5. Furthermore, the under-run protection according to ECE R 93 has been kept to. Great store has been set on a large field of vision when designing the dash board, A-pillars and their trims and the door trims in order to assure an optimum sight from the cab. The position of the rear mirrors with wide angle inserts in connection with a ramp mirror guarantee the optimum sight backwards. The rounded corners and the hard components of the dash board which are mounted as low as possible answer the extreme demands to passive safety in the truck. The driver’s work-place with its wide seat adjustment range offers a simple, comfortable and safe operation for drivers of all heights by the ergonomically arranged switches and levers, the adjustable steering wheel and the instrument cluster.
Figure 6: Virtual exterior data control model
8 Virtual Processes Virtual technology has been applied to the assurance of construction and minimisation of resources in the entire product development process of the Constellation line Figure 6 and Figure 7. In the styling phase already virtual technology has been applied as far as possible to save cost and time intensive hardware models. Only for the first
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ATZ styling presentation an interior mock-up and clay models to a scale of 1:2.5 were used. Up to the final design presentations, further details of exterior and interior have been designed virtually resulting in a clay reference model of the exterior to a scale of 1:1. The surface contour of exterior and interior were also approved by means of digital data control models in the Volkswagen Visualisation Centre. Supplementary to the usual development work as FEM calculations, complete DMU representation, tolerance, modal and mould flow analyses as well as deep-drawing simulations other characteristics were validated virtually before prototype construction. The methods used were, among others, fatigue tests by durability load design spectra, thermal endurance stress simulations of plastic components, Figure 8, as well as air conditioning simulations for the functions (heating, defrost, air conditioning) and the component dimensions (vents and air pipes). The ergonomic concept had been assured early in the development by means of an interior mock-up, Figure 9. Access areas and sight conditions or reflections in the windscreen and side windows were optimised without spending time or money for hardware models.
9 Conclusion and Outlook With the new Constellation truck line Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has established the basis for further growth in the South American market. The market leadership in Brazil of 33 % at present shall be continued to achieve a market share of 35 % in 2007. Other derivates like short cab, right hand driven version and other engines and chassis versions will be launched in the next years and will help to achieve the increased market share. Additionally, a trend towards gross vehicle weights of 57 tons (Bitrems) and 63 tons has begun to emerge in the last few years for the heavy vehicle and long distance haulage in Brazil, Figure 10. The new Constellation line is the first product of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to succeed even in these market segments. To achieve this, at present, the chassis is being adapted and the engine programme is being extended. Another significant potential for growth is given by the strategy to internationalisation, which is to open up markets in the emerging countries. From the beginning of 2007, the right hand driven version will be produced in South Africa in order to also serve such markets in the future. ■
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