Automated production line: Reconstructing the sheet metal processing value chain
1. The shackles and breakthroughs of traditional processes
In the field of energy storage cabinet sheet metal processing, the traditional production process needs to go through 5 independent processes such as shearing → punching → bending → welding → spraying, and each link requires manual intervention. Experimental data show that this discrete processing causes the product flow time to account for as much as 65%, and the material utilization rate is less than 70%.
By integrating laser cutting machines, CNC bending centers, welding robots and other equipment, and cooperating with AGV material transportation systems, the new automated production line compresses the process connection time by 80%. In the field of customized processing of new energy cabinets, the production line integrated with the MES system shortens the order delivery cycle from 15 days to 7 days, and the sheet utilization rate is increased to 92%.
2. The cognitive revolution of intelligent equipment
The new generation of bending machines equipped with AI vision systems are changing the processing logic. In the production of inkjet printer chassis, the traditional method requires operators to judge the bending angle with the naked eye, and the error is often between ±0.5°. The bending machine introduced with deep learning automatically compensates for the springback amount by real-time scanning of the workpiece deformation data, and controls the angle error within ±0.1°.

Intelligent transformation: from drawing processing to solution output
1. Implementation of digital twin technology
The digital design platform built by leading enterprises already includes 200 standard modules. After the customer inputs the equipment parameters, the system automatically generates a three-dimensional model and simultaneously outputs data such as process route, cost accounting, and delivery date forecast. This transformation has enabled the company to upgrade from a sheet metal foundry to a solution provider, with a profit margin increase of 8 percentage points.
2. The commercial value of flexible manufacturing
After adopting the modular fixture system, the product changeover time of energy storage cabinet sheet metal processing companies has been shortened from 4 hours to 15 minutes. The smart warehouse equipped with an RFID identification system can automatically distribute the corresponding specification plates according to the production plan, increasing the inventory turnover rate by 3 times.
Key challenges in technological evolution

Key challenges in technological evolution
1. Difficulties in digital modeling of material properties
In the stainless steel processing of inkjet printer chassis, the yield strength fluctuation of different batches of materials may reach 10%. The material database developed on the surface of experimental data collects historical processing data and establishes a material performance prediction model to make cutting parameters adaptively adjusted, and the laser power fluctuation range is compressed from ±15% to ±5%.
2. Systematic inheritance of process knowledge
Master Zhang's experience is being transformed into data assets. The master's machine adjustment techniques are broken down into 128 decision nodes, and an intelligent process decision system is developed. In the customized processing of new energy cabinets, new employees can use this system to reduce the error rate of machine adjustment from 35% to 8%.

When cold-rolled steel plates meet intelligent algorithms, sheet metal processing is no longer a simple shape shaping, but has evolved into precise control of material properties. From the protective shell of energy storage cabinets to the intelligent structural parts of new energy cabinets, intelligent transformation is reshaping the industry value chain. Those companies that take the lead in transforming process knowledge into digital assets will eventually occupy the commanding heights in the new round of industrial transformation. As shown in the story of Master Zhang’s eventual transformation into an equipment data analyst - in this industry, the only constant is the courage to keep evolving.