Acclaimed GM researchers share their insights on quality control in manufacturing.
Go back far enough in the history of automotive manufacturing and you’ll hear stories of cars coming off the line with loose screws rattling around the floorboards and cigarette butts stuck in the topcoat.
Quality standards have improved massively since then, from the introduction of advanced statistical methods to the development of rapid and accurate tools for in-process measurement.
A manufacturing engineer from a century ago would be amazed at what the industry looks like today.
Whether the same will be true a century from now is anyone’s guess, but for a look into the less-distant future Engineering.com consulted two bright young researchers with decades of automotive quality control ahead of them.
Sean Wagner and Shaomao Xu have a least two things in common: they both work at General Motors’ Manufacturing Research Systems Lab and they’re among the 18 winners of a 2023 award for outstanding young manufacturing engineers. The award, which is presented annually by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, recognizes engineers 35 or under who for their contributions to manufacturing.
We asked Wagner and Shaomao about their research, how the industry is changing and what advice they have for the next generation of manufacturing engineers.
ENGINEERING.COM: How did you come to work at GM’s Manufacturing Systems Research Lab?
SHAOMAO: I got my PhD in chemical engineering from Cornell University. My graduate research was on the material development and architecture design of future battery systems, including lithium-air batteries and sodium-metal batteries.
After grad school, I worked as a postdoc in materials science and engineering at University of Maryland to broaden my research area. I worked on projects about design and fabrication of solid-state batteries, nanomaterial development and manufacturing, as well as electrocatalysis.
While I enjoy academic research, I also wanted to explore opportunities to work in the industry. I started my career as a researcher on battery-cell manufacturing in the Manufacturing Systems Research Lab of General Motors’ R&D function in 2020.
WAGNER: I received my bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Michigan State University. During my time at the university my research focused on engineering surfaces and interfaces to create functional nanomaterials and hybrid organic/inorganic solar-cell devices. The skillset I was able to acquire throughout the duration of my graduate studies, particularly in the areas of image processing, data analytics and electromagnetic testing strategies, allowed me to transition to a research role within GM Research & Development in 2016.
I initially began investigating aspects of electric-motor manufacturing and electromagnetic sensors utilized in transmissions. Since joining GM R&D, the scope of my work has expanded to include both in-line and post-line manufacturing inspection solutions related to battery modules and cells.
What aspects of quality control are you most interested in, and how do they relate to your research?
SHAOMAO: I’m most interested in design for quality, especially design for safety. GM envisions a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. In order to bring that to life, it is critical to ensure the batteries in EVs are safe while maintaining high performance. As researchers working on battery-cell manufacturing, it is our priority to develop battery-manufacturing technology that can achieve the critical safety of EV batteries.
WAGNER: Ensuring first-time quality of our products is of paramount importance, especially in the case of low-volume production, highly customized products and even cases where the product launch is on an accelerated timeline.
A significant body of my research in quality control focuses on developing robust solutions, often non-destructive in nature, that are based in fundamental scientific practices and provide early defect detection/root cause. As we transition to an all-electric future and ramp up our EV production, these types of solutions will be increasingly needed to continue delivering on product quality.
How do you see the role of quality control evolving as the auto industry shifts towards electrification and advanced driving-assistance systems (ADAS)?
SHAOMAO: With the increasing use of software in modern vehicles, ensuring the quality of the software is critical. Additionally, the introduction of new components and materials in electric and autonomous vehicles will lead to the development of new testing and inspection methods.
However, the role of quality control will remain unchanged: it will remain critical in ensuring that the final product meets the required safety and performance standards.
WAGNER: Whether it is a component within a vehicle drive unit, a particular manufacturing process associated with producing a battery cell or introducing new software in the vehicle to improve customer experience, quality control will always be a central focus. So, I don’t see the general role of quality control in the industry changing for the time being.
However, quality control is now extending into new areas, especially with the increased connectivity available in vehicles today and the emergence of advanced driver assistance systems. Data has become more valuable than ever in decision-making technology and having high-quality data as well as quality controls surrounding this data is of utmost importance for development of these analytical techniques.
What do you see as the biggest challenges for quality-control engineers in manufacturing today?
SHAOMAO: In my opinion, one of the most significant challenges for the field of engineering as a whole—including quality-control engineers—is that we need to work hard to keep up with the evolution of technology. As we progress through Industry 4.0, various new technologies are being incorporated into the modern manufacturing processes.
As new technologies are introduced, quality-control engineers need to adapt our processes and tools to incorporate them without compromising quality. New technologies will also lead to the increasing complexity of manufacturing processes. This further requires quality-control engineers to be able to use sophisticated tools and techniques for data analysis and visualization, as well as strong problem-solving skills.
WAGNER: The toolkit that manufacturing engineers can leverage today is considerable. As a result, it is essential for quality-control engineers to adapt to increased utilization of the latest technology and tools in the manufacturing environment. This requires a deeper understanding of the latest hardware as well as the analytical processes surrounding it so that it can be integrated appropriately.
As these tools and the technology behind them continue to become more sophisticated, quality-control engineers are faced with the challenge of keeping up with the latest trends and disruptive technologies.
Are there any recent developments in quality control that you’re particularly excited about?
SHAOMAO: The new technology I’m most excited about is the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. While the industry is still exploring the applications of these types of technologies, they could potentially be used to improve the accuracy and efficiency of quality-control processes.
WAGNER: Right now, the most interesting quality-control topic that seems to be prevalent in manufacturing industries involves leveraging machine learning and advanced data analytics to improve quality assessment. There are many new developments occurring in terms of the models being utilized, management and labelling of datasets, the quality of the datasets used for specific analytical models and what role can synthetic data play in accelerating model development, among other use cases.
What advice do you have for aspiring engineers who may be considering careers in the auto industry or quality control more broadly?
SHAOMAO: Two important things I’ve learned early in my career so far that helped me significantly are to stay up to date on industry trends and technology and to develop strong communication and teamwork skills.
One of the largest differences between academic and industrial research is the need to work in cross-functional teams with members with different backgrounds. It is critical to have good communication skills to ensure everyone on the team understands your ideas quickly and thoroughly.
WAGNER: The two things that always served me best throughout my career are the willingness to admit when I don’t know something and the desire to learn something new. From my perspective, both go hand-in-hand.
As an engineer, it is likely you will be faced with a multifaceted assignment, perhaps even your first, that has aspects extending beyond the base knowledge that you have obtained up to that point in a particular area. It is important not only to recognize this, but also act on it by actively seeking out the knowledge that is needed to be successful.