INDIA -- Technicians in India expressed genuine excitement when the new automated line in the body shop began its first production in January, signifying its readiness to double productivity and welcome the new small car programme.
Incorporating best practices from operations in Nanjing, Cologne and Valencia, the new automated line features an installation of 66 state-of-the-art ABB robots for spot welding, sealer application, hemming and parts handling. It will incorporate 30 percent automation compared to the original body shop facility that was completely manually-operated.
The current expansion will also include the use of the Electro Motive System (EMS) to carry the underbody sub-assay to the underbody main line, and automated flexible framing on the re-spot line, which is capable of handling six models in a single line.
"The new process will enable us to have high flexibility in accommodating various models and high consistency in dimensions. Robotic line for welding operations and sealer application will help to speed up the process and double our production," said A D S Pathy, general manager of the body shop.
Currently, the automatic line is capable of producing 34 jobs per hour, compared to 16 jobs per hour with manual production.
The body shop area has also been expanded to 18,100 sq m, from 9,600 sq m. The entire expansion time line for the Body shop was only nine months, versus a norm of 12 months for any programme.
"Every system is carefully designed, taking into account all difficulties that we faced in the current set-up," Pathy added.
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Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India inaugurated the Body shop's expansion on February 16, 2009. |
Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India unveiled the inauguration stone.
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Guests and suppliers joined the inauguration ceremony.
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