FAStplant® for premium class vehicles – Audi to use this innovative final assembly system by Dürr FAS in production of Le Mans model
11/16/2005
AUDI has selected FAStplant®, the modular final assembly concept from Dürr Factory Assembly Systems (FAS), for the manufacture of its new Le Mans model. Production of the new premium class sports car will start at the Neckarsulm facility at the beginning of the second quarter 2006.
The production shop height of only 5 m presented a real challenge in the construction of the final assembly line. FAStplant® however will make it possible to build up a self-supporting line without the need for pits or alterations to suit building support structures and, despite the low shop ceiling height, will offer maximum free space for assembly operations beneath the vehicles.
Each FAStplant® module is a self-contained unit consisting of a steel support structure and overhead conveyor system, complete with all mechanical and electrical equipment and the FASmotion inductive power supply system for lifting operations. The steel structure of each module is suitable for the incorporation of handling equipment and also has an overhead belt arrangement for tools, etc. Integration within the module of a supply system for utilities like compressed air, lighting and electrical power is available as an optional extra.
Dürr FAS will supply a total of 24 of the 6m x 5m x 5 m pre-assembled and pre-tested FAStplant® modules. Vehicles weighing up to 2.5 t can be transported, even by the basic version modules. The 24 final assembly modules will be arranged as an oval. A Dürr Twin Trolley System® (TTS) equipped with 18 hangers, each of which has its own scissor lift, will move the sports cars from work station to work station. TTS, a system which has proven its capabilities on final assembly lines at Bentley and Land Rover in Great Britain and at Opel Rüsselsheim in Germany, is supplied with power by the FASmotion non-contact induction system developed by Dürr.
Plant planning engineers and end-users benefit not only from the use, throughout, of a standard conveyor system that eliminates interfaces with building steelwork, pits and conveyor transfer stations, but also from maximum flexibility of use. The modular design of FAStplant® makes it a simple matter to alter the line to suit cycle time changes or the integration of model variants. Vertically adjustable hangers ensure that vehicles are lifted or lowered to optimum height for each assembly task. Each module also offers the possibility of incorporating the handling equipment needed for individual operation cycles.
Substantial simplification of the planning process, optimization of installation together with the system's sustained flexibility coupled with high availability all lead to significant savings in terms of time. The incorporation of FAStplant® means that, in comparison with traditional time frames, the period required from layout approval to commissioning can be shortened by up to 12 weeks. It was this characteristic that made the ambitious commissioning date feasible.
FAStplant® is a system offering on-going assistance in fulfilling the increasing need for flexible final assembly equipment that can be adjusted speedily to suit changing requirements. DaimlerChrysler purchased FAStplant® as early as 2004 for its Sindel-fingen facility in Germany. Toyota began operation of a FAStplant® line at its factory in Valenciennes in Northern France in November 2005.
The Dürr Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of products, systems and services for automobile manufacture. The range covers solutions for major stages of vehicle production: as a systems supplier Dürr plans and builds paint shops and final assembly lines. In addition Dürr supplies industrial cleaning and filtration plants for use in the manufacture of engine and transmission components and balancing systems for vehicle components.
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