All Ford articles – Page 36
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ArticleRemote handling by radio control
Fixed routes and flexibilityControl systems – the devil is in the digitalIf there was ever a ‘Cinderella’ technology that has suffered at the hands of tough economic times, it is the automated guided vehicle (AGV). Unmanned, remote-controlled material handling by AGV was mooted by many as the answer to speeding ...
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ArticleTotal turnkey paintshops in India
As production grows rapidly in India, enterprising suppliers have come up with imaginative solutions to finishing system challengesTata paintshopRebuilding at MarutiTwo wheeler space savingTrial painting trims ramp-up timeIndia is one of the most exciting areas of automotive production in the world, with domestic and transplant OEMs taking advantage of the ...
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ArticleSummer of success at VW Sachsen
When the carmaker needed complete reconstruction of two topcoat lines in the factory’s standard vacation period, it turned to Durr for paintshop buildingTight scheduleHeavy haulingMission accomplished! With these two words, project manager Ralf Gildhorn announced on 12 August 2008 the successful end of the greatest summer reconstruction including robots in ...
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ArticleVolkswagen opts for sustainable dry separation
The German carmaker and its supplier partner drive their green manufacturing message abroad by opting for Dürr’s EcoDryScrubber systemSupplier partner lead the wayUp to 150,000 vehicles a year will roll off the production line at Volkswagen AG’s new plant at Chattanooga in the state of Tennessee, US from 2011. EcoDryScrubber, ...
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ArticleRobots flex their muscles to multi-task
Softly, softlyWelding – man or machine?Robots have traditionally been a single-task tool; in the earliest days of robot usage, engineers designed tasks and tooling for one robot carrying out one operation, be it welding, heavy (and light) lifting, machine tool changing, etc. Empowered by increasingly sophisticated control systems, time and ...
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ArticleEco-efficient and agile
Geico's Ali Reza Arabnia explains how it is working to revolutionise its customers’ paintshop operations and of his dream of total plant energy self-sufficiencyGlobal expertise, local contentConcentrating on core competenceBalancing business with energy savingDr. Arabnia manages to combine the zeal of an ecowarrior with the sharp business sense of a ...
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ArticleView from the top at GM
Following on from his interview in our 10th Anniversary issue, AMSwent back to GM’s Gary Cowger for more on how the auto manufacturing landscape has changed and what the future holds for General Motors ManufacturingAMS - What changes in manufacturing technology have had the most impact?GC - One of the ...
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ArticleInvest to impress for R-R's new baby
Press sharingGoodwood reworkPersonal touchRemote suppliersWhen BMW took full control of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in 1998, it was quick to launch the first new model, the Phantom, just five years later. Since then, Rolls-Royce has expanded the Phantom range to include the standard car – if a Rolls-Royce can ever be ...
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ArticleA green and better paint finish at Mazda
Reducing VOCs and CO2 emissions have been contradictory aims in paintshop for many years, but Mazda has come up with a revolutionary solutionCleaner plant and brighter finishesEnergy saving flash off processMazda Motor Corporation recently announced the successful launch of the newly developed Aqua-tech Paint System for vehicle body painting at ...
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ArticleSurviving the storm at JLR
Body shop – robot re-useCelebrity squaresSealing out the elementsPaintshop and final assembly – raising the quality barINTERVIEW Michael StraughanThe Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant at Halewood, UK, occupies a 300-acre site and provides capacity for the Jaguar X-Type and Freelander models. It is equipped for up to 100,00 cars per ...
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ArticleSpecial customers, special cars, special coatings
Audi uses a mix of robot and manual spraying, matching and inspection on mixed material substrates to give its customers a range of colours and effects, as two of its heads of paint operations explainSelling cars in the ‘mid-premium-sports’ sector of the market combines the challenges of satisfying increasingly sophisticated ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: A theory on Opel’s future
While China’s Sichuan Tengzhong and GM have signed a memorandum of understanding as to the estimated $200 million deal to buy Hummer, the Chinese government appears to be rightly wary over the proposed purchase. After all, a failed car company is just that; a company that, given the best opportunity ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: Automotive Paintshop Solutions
Customer colour choices and expectationsIn the present tough economic climate, the paintshop community could be forgiven for concentrating on cost cutting, streamlining operations and even looking for opportunities to ‘manualise’ some paint operations.As equipment budgets tighten and line workers are laid off from assembly work, they could possibly be available ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Welding
Sharing numbersRemote weldingDominating the marketIn the first issue of AMS, it was predicted that a welding revolution was on the horizon. Important news, as there are up to 3,000 individual resistance spot welds on every passenger vehicle.The revolution, it was reported, was to be brought about by the arrival of ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Pressing, tool & die
Hi-tech toolingStronger die steelsLatest and greatestIt was not until the oil crisis of the 1970s, together with the rapid penetration of Japanese-built vehicles into Western markets, that European and American carmakers were forced to update antiquated press lines.Faced with an increasing demand for lighter, more aerodynamic vehicles that the existing ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Paintshop
Environmental concernsNew products for old plantsCutting emissionsNew plants lead the waySmooth finishThe early years of this decade saw paint solution providers introduce a series of new preparation and application techniques. For their part, OEM carmakers analyzed the new products and technologies with growing interest but, with the exception of a ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Measurement & quality
Sensors determine finish qualityKeeping it in shapeMobile scanningDisruptiveMeasurement is a key aspect of maintaining quality in a variety of areas of automotive part manufacture and assembly. As well as physical areas like fit and finish, and gap and flush, quality measurements must also be made in areas such as the ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Materials
Money isn’t the whole storyThe solution is compromisePlastic is on formExotic metals such as titanium and magnesium offer carmakers lightweight alternatives to standard materials. But drawbacks such as the strength (or lack of it) and cost of the basic commodity have served to kept these choices very much in the ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Machining
Improving the qualityUnder pressureEasy to alterThe machine tool industry has traditionally been the provider of dedicated lines (transfer and special machine tools) to handle the five ‘Cs’: cylinder blocks; cylinder heads; crankshafts; camshafts; and connecting rods.But these lines needed more flexibility if parts producers were not to be left with ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Lasers & vision
Boxing cleverExtremely costlyGoing furtherVision systems can help maintain and improve quality standards across most areas of car production, while also driving new technology designed to increase automation and reduce production costs.Such systems are predominantly used in the following areas: part inspection (including measurement); assembly verification; flaw detection; and part identification ...