My story pales to the VW announcement on the "Clean Diesel" or not so clean.
This September we had the great pleasure to take a
private tour of the main Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen Germany. Of
course being in the metal forming industry, it was a great treat to see
how one of the worlds finest and oldest car makers puts it all together.
As you can see in the photo above, cars are made up of
We arrived at the Kunden-Center new car pick up location
just outside of Stuttgart to pick up our new station wagon (lower left).
As you can imagine we were excited about this and the 9 countries we
were about to visit. When they rolled out the sedan version I could not
believe that 8 months of advance planning had gone haywire. Mercedes
stepped up to the plate, apologized and let us take the new sedan for
our trip. In the meantime they are building the wagon we ordered.
During the time it took for Mercedes to figure out where the mistake
was made, they offered a private tour of the production and assembly
sections of the main plant. The photos (above) are one of six tandem
press lines for producing inner and outer body panels. We arrived just
in time for die change over which I timed at just under 8 minutes from
last hit to first hit. Below you can see the 3D model for press to press
automation.
Steel and Aluminum coils are delivered by rail and stored to feed press production lines, photo (below).
S-Class body automated fixture holding and welding cells.
Once we started into the assembly areas, it was truly amazing to have
an inside look at the automation and parts retrieval systems. Not only
do they vary in color but also in model types. As you can see (above)
this is a new S-Class upper body being delivered to the lower chassis
system. The photo (below) is the Master Control system for all
production lines, fantastic.
Photo (below) is a new E-Class sedan that is painted and on its way
for interior assembly. The transport system is elevated and moves from
building to building to deliver the components to the next phase of
assembly.
Once the cars arrive at interior assembly the Kuka robot
take over. As you can see (below) complete dash assembly is installed
with robots.
,
our tour guide had to slow down the tour to give me the time to absorb
all of the processes that are implemented by one of the leaders in the
automotive industry.
where also on display from the AMG performance division. It was amazing
to see the extent that private investors will spend on street illegal
cars. One of the cool items printed on the cars was the reverse print on
the noses / hoods that said "MOVE OVER".
. We will have 4 presses under power and will be showcasing our I-PRESS MECHANICAL press and automation control.
Mark Sutherland, President
My story pales to the VW announcement on the "Clean Diesel" or not so clean.
This September we had the great pleasure to take a
private tour of the main Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen Germany. Of
course being in the metal forming industry, it was a great treat to see
how one of the worlds finest and oldest car makers puts it all together.
As you can see in the photo above, cars are made up of
We arrived at the Kunden-Center new car pick up location
just outside of Stuttgart to pick up our new station wagon (lower left).
As you can imagine we were excited about this and the 9 countries we
were about to visit. When they rolled out the sedan version I could not
believe that 8 months of advance planning had gone haywire. Mercedes
stepped up to the plate, apologized and let us take the new sedan for
our trip. In the meantime they are building the wagon we ordered.
During the time it took for Mercedes to figure out where the mistake
was made, they offered a private tour of the production and assembly
sections of the main plant. The photos (above) are one of six tandem
press lines for producing inner and outer body panels. We arrived just
in time for die change over which I timed at just under 8 minutes from
last hit to first hit. Below you can see the 3D model for press to press
automation.
Steel and Aluminum coils are delivered by rail and stored to feed press production lines, photo (below).
S-Class body automated fixture holding and welding cells.
Once we started into the assembly areas, it was truly amazing to have
an inside look at the automation and parts retrieval systems. Not only
do they vary in color but also in model types. As you can see (above)
this is a new S-Class upper body being delivered to the lower chassis
system. The photo (below) is the Master Control system for all
production lines, fantastic.
Photo (below) is a new E-Class sedan that is painted and on its way
for interior assembly. The transport system is elevated and moves from
building to building to deliver the components to the next phase of
assembly.
Once the cars arrive at interior assembly the Kuka robot
take over. As you can see (below) complete dash assembly is installed
with robots.
,
our tour guide had to slow down the tour to give me the time to absorb
all of the processes that are implemented by one of the leaders in the
automotive industry.
where also on display from the AMG performance division. It was amazing
to see the extent that private investors will spend on street illegal
cars. One of the cool items printed on the cars was the reverse print on
the noses / hoods that said "MOVE OVER".
. We will have 4 presses under power and will be showcasing our I-PRESS MECHANICAL press and automation control.
Mark Sutherland, President
