Since 1991, researchers at the U-M College of Engineering’s S.M. Wu Manufacturing Research Center have been helping the American auto industry build quality into domestically produced cars, vans and trucks—one millimeter at a time.
Seventy U-M scientists and students are currently working in 15 Chrysler and General Motors auto plants nationwide. U-M researchers analyze thousands of measurements recorded by laser sensing devices as auto bodies move through the assembly line and then use the data to help plant production workers identify and correct the source of manufacturing defects.
The goal is passing the 2-millimeter test—a stringent world-class auto body quality standard used by Japanese and European manufacturers. To meet the standard, auto body dimensions cannot vary more than 2 millimeters from design specifications. (One millimeter is about the width of a line drawn by a freshly sharpened #2 lead pencil.)
The more closely body parts fit together, the easier they are to assemble and the less wind noise and fewer water leaks they generate—both high on the list of consumer complaints and warranty repairs.
The 2-millimeter project is funded by the Auto Body Consortium—a coalition of domestic automotive manufacturers and suppliers. Initial funding was provided by the Advanced Technology Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
. . . October 1995