At the Press Shop, large rolls of steel and aluminum are turned into car body parts like roofs, doors, and side panels.
First, the giant steel coils (up to 33 tons!) are unrolled and cut into flat metal sheets, called “blanks.” This is done fully automatically at very high speed – up to 70 cuts per minute. The blanks are then stacked and moved to the next step.
Next, the press line takes over. Using massive machines with powerful dies, the flat metal sheets are shaped into car parts through five precise steps. The press system is one of the fastest in the world – it can make up to 4 parts every second and change tools in under 4 minutes to switch between different parts.
To make sure everything meets BMW’s high-quality standards, the parts are constantly checked by both people and smart machines, including cameras and optical measuring systems.
This highly automated and flexible process allows BMW to produce a wide variety of parts quickly and with great accuracy – helping to support car production around the world.