Improving the Quality and Speed of Alloy Die Casting Products in the Auto Sector

Established in August 2003, Shanghai Meridian Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. is a joint venture jointly established by Meridian Lightweight Co., Ltd. of Canada and Huayu Automobile Co., LTD., a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Co., LTD.

The company employs 290 people and owns a large facility that caters to a wide range of sectors, especially in the automotive sector.

Shanghai Meridian is committed to providing better magnesium alloy die-casting products for domestic and foreign customers.

Its OEM customers are situated all over the world and include Ford, Chrysler, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, NIO, SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC Automobile, SAIC General Motors, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Bentley, Porsche, Volvo and Chery.

Traditional 3D Measurement Methods Compromise Efficiency and Reliability

Shanghai Meridian Magnesium Products faced major challenges in their die casting manufacturing workflows. With an escalating demand for 3D measurements of large-sized casting surfaces, the company’s traditional CMM equipment and measurement techniques were no longer sustainable.

These conventional methods were  time-consuming and labour-intensive, ramping up production costs and compromising customer timelines. In addition, the team struggled with ever-increasing component complexity and the high accuracy requirements that constantly evolve in modern casting processes.

MetraSCAN 3D: Maximum Productivity and Quality

The turning point came when the inefficiency of Shanghai Meridian’s CMMs could no longer meet customer demand. The team needed a solution that could rapidly measure surface profiles, line profiles, flatness, and generate deviation colour maps.

After careful consideration of various 3D measurement technologies, Shanghai Meridian opted for Creaform’s portable and optical CMM, the MetraSCAN 3D.

MetraSCAN 3D’s advanced 3D scanning technology excelled for its speed and repeatability. The team was impressed with its ability to withstand any manufacturing environment, including vibrations, part movements, and environmental instability.

Thanks to the MetraSCAN 3D’s scanning performance levels, Shanghai Meridian knew that it could significantly reducing measurement time compared to the previous armed scanners.

The Results: Accelerated Die Casting Production to Meet Demand

The implementation of Creaform’s technology into Shanghai Meridian’s production processes was remarkably smooth. The shift from a legacy system to the MetraSCAN 3D’s intuitive interface and ergonomic handling allowed for quick onboarding and simplified, hassle-free remote collaboration across different teams and regions.

With the enhanced capability of real-time display during the 3D scanning process, the team could control and adjust tooling instantly, leading to substantial savings in time and labor, which enabled Shanghai Meridian to remain competitive on a global scale.

The tangible outcomes were evident. The 3D scanning process was not only faster but also provided accurate real-time data that enabled quality control managers to proactively detect and analyze component issues. Particularly in the automotive sector, the MetraSCAN 3D was instrumental in increasing the company’s production capacity.

“The MetraSCAN 3D has revolutionized our approach to quality control,” explained Zhao Ge, Quality Control Manager. “We can detect product dimensions and geometry in real-time, which helps our engineers and QC teams. We are extremely satisfied with Creaform’s high-tech 3D scanners and are eager to explore their new products.”

Looking to the future, Meridian plans to apply 3D scanning for the measurement of die-cast parts, hoping to leverage the benefits of the MetraSCAN 3D’s advanced capabilities for even more complex tasks.

“Throughout our collaboration, the support and expertise of Creaform’s application engineers were indispensable. Their professionalism and profound knowledge of 3D scanning. It definitely helped for a seamless transition to advanced 3D measurement technologies.”