Mercedes-Benz opened a new MANUFAKTUR Studio Thursday and expanded its MANUFAKTUR range at its Sindelfingen factory complex, according to a press release. 

 Customizations could include an expanded range of interior appointments and exterior colors, such as the PixelPaint. 

“In our new MANUFAKTUR Studio at the heart of the Sindelfingen factory complex, we’re offering our customers an exclusive area for a product experience with the highest degree of customization,” Jörg Burzer, Mercedes-Benz Group Board of Management member and Production, Quality & Supply Chain Management, said in the release. “By expanding the MANUFAKTUR experience, we are strategically developing the location and the ‘Made in Sindelfingen’ seal of quality. We’re now combining traditional craftsmanship with innovative, digital production processes.”

Customers are able to configure their vehicles at the Center of Excellence, the release says. It says the individual components are meticulously crafted by hand at MANUFAKTUR. In the new MANUFAKTUR Studio, customers can experience how the vehicle is customized according to their personal wishes. 

“The innovative matrix production in the MANUFAKTUR Studio enables variable individualization of up to 20 vehicles per day, regardless of the model series,” according to the release. “The highly flexible production structure has been completely reorganized. With the help of driverless transport systems that can move in any direction (autonomous guided vehicles, also known as “AGVs”), customer vehicles are transported between individual production clusters as required and independently of fixed sequences. Each of the nine clusters in the MANUFAKTUR Studio can be approached flexibly with the AGVs and operates independently of cycle times. In this way, the vehicle’s custom equipment can be installed effectively.”

A digital twin is used to monitor and optimize every stage of production, the release says. All production data can be accessed by every employee in real time via MO360, the in-house digital ecosystem for production. 

PixelPaint will be available for the first time through the MANUFAKTUR Studio, the release says. 

“The innovative and resource-saving PixelPaint process revolutionizes the wide-ranging options for multi-colored vehicle paint jobs,” the release said. “Inspired by the function of an inkjet printer, this new technology applies high-quality paint directly onto the body of the vehicle with incredible precision. This allows for the application of custom patterns with the highest level of accuracy – ideal for individually designed dream vehicles. Customers can request bespoke design elements according to their ideas, which are limited only by technical feasibility.”

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Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.