After visiting the Ford India Engine Plant, the bloggers were showcased the company’s efforts to reduce the cost of owning Ford cars through its selection of child parts. These child parts reduce the cost of repairing or replacing spare parts by eliminating the need to replace large sections of the car. This is done by simplifying major assemblies into component-level parts. For example, a starter motor, which was previously replaced as a complete unit, has now been classified into several component-level parts such as the arm assembly, housing assembly, bushing, drive assembly and solenoid assembly. Similar child parts are also developed for engine components and transmission systems, to name a few.

“Ford has taken an awesome initiative to reduce costs at both the manufacturing as well as maintenance level. Owners of the Figo will experience very reasonable prices of spares. Add to that, the company has ensured that you don’t need to change the complete part should anything go wrong with a part being made of sub-parts and thus making it cheap to replace,” Faisal of Motorbeam wrote on his blog.

The last stop for the bloggers was the delivery yard, where the cars are stored when they are ready for delivery hundreds of Ford Figos stood waiting to be delivered to dealers. For the car-loving bloggers, it was a fascinating experience to watch the journey of a Ford car

Earlier, we posted about the Ford facility tour and Driving Skills for Life session, which we organized recently for select auto bloggers. Here is a sneak peek into the Ford manufacturing facility. The video starts with a visit at the Blanking facility where sheets of steel are cut into ‘blanks’ or shapes of the car’s body , according to specifications. It then moves on to the Stamping unit , where the blanks are moulded into specific car body components such as doors, hood, roof etc. Then, it is moved to the Body Shop where 66 robots spot weld the ‘stamped’ sections of the cars, followed by the Paint Shop where the cars are painted in the vibrant colours. Finally, the tour moves on to the Trim Chassis and Finish (TCF) where the engines, doors and seats as well as other electrical parts are fitted in the cars before they finally roll out for stringent quality tests. We also have a sneak peek of the delivery

Ford India took a select group of auto bloggers on an exclusive tour of its state-of-the-art facility on 19 May, 2010. The facility that sprawls over 350 acres has a capacity to produce up to 200,000 vehicles a year and 250,000 engines.

For the invited bloggers, it was a rare opportunity to see a car take shape from a coil of steel. Their tour began at the Blanking, where the coils are cut into flat sections called ‘blanks’. These blanks are then sent to the Stamping, where they are ‘stamped’ into the different parts of the car, such as the roof, side body panels, etc. through both automatic and semi-automatic press lines.

The action then continued at the Body Shop, where the parts of the car are assembled together. The bloggers were fascinated by the sight of 66 robots going about their jobs in their own relentlessly robotic way, carrying out critical processes like spot welding and door hemming.

]]> http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/from-metal-to-machine-the-journey-of-a-ford-car-part-1/feed/ 3 http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/two-eventful-days-for-bloggers-in-chennai/ http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/two-eventful-days-for-bloggers-in-chennai/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 11:52:08 +0000 Ford Figo http://www.drivingford.in/?p=330 Road accidents are often the result of poor driving habits and skills. Most of us tend to forget the basics of good driving and put ourselves and others on the road at risk. To inculcate good driving skills in drivers, Ford India conducts the Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program. The unique DSFL program is a CSR initiative by Ford to train new and seasoned drivers in safe, efficient and eco-friendly driving through a mix of theory and practical sessions.

“We take a lot of things for granted while driving, and with time get ignorant about certain vital things that are of utmost importance for safety. This event was a great refresher about these basic precautions. It reminded us that we don’t need to wait for an accident to happen before incorporating basic safety precautions into our routine.” said Amit Chhangani of Motoroids.com

Amit was part of a group of bloggers whom Ford India had invited to take part in a DSFL session at the Maraimalai Nagar plant, near Chennai. The bloggers spent an eventful two days in Chennai.

]]> http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/two-eventful-days-for-bloggers-in-chennai/feed/ 1 http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/the-ford-figo-tough-road-test/ http://www.drivingford.in/chennai-plant/the-ford-figo-tough-road-test/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:32:35 +0000 Ford Figo http://www.drivingford.in/?p=187 In our earlier post, we explained how automation at the Chennai plant and robots ensured best-in-class vehicles.

But quality doesn’t end with the manufacturing process. We have to ensure that our cars are able to survive tough Indian road conditions before they’re shipped out. For this, Ford’s developed a 3.2-kilometre dedicated vehicle quality testing circuit in our plant.

Testing Time

Name the road type and the testing track has it – straight, twisting, cement, rough roads or village streets! Engineers conduct rigorous quality test drives on Ford cars for up to 40 kilometres.

Our forthcoming Ford Figo will also go through several quality checks and tests to ensure we give consumers nothing but the best. Some of these tests will include:

• Hill climbs to test vehicle power and braking
• Lock-to-lock turning manoeuvres to check the steering system
• Straight line tests to verify wheel and steering alignment

Once we begin Figo production, we will test vehicles at random for quality inconsistencies in manufacturing and get them corrected. “Quality is one of the key pillars our brand stands on and the spirit of commitment to achieve world-class quality is inspiring,” says Ram Ramanathan, general manager, Vehicle Quality, Ford India.

Did You Hear That?
You certainly don’t want to hear squeaks and rattles while driving your car. We’ve adopted a global approach to identify the root causes of such noises and fix them permanently.

http://www.drivingford.in/?p=174 The robots at our Maraimalai plant are quite versatile. In an earlier post, we told you how they paint a Ford car. In this post, we will tell you how the robots put your vehicle together at the plant’s body shop.

The new state of the art facility has an array of high-tech robotics – a total of 92 new robots have been installed in the body shop, paint shop and final assembly.

The all-new body shop

Sixty-six robots are used in the body shop for critical processes like spot welding, sealer application and door hemming. The robots have increased the automation level at the expanded facility gearing for volume production to 30 percent.

Automated underbody framing robots build the lower and upper body structure of the vehicle. This operation requires absolute precision, as large metal structures are assembled and spot-welded into vehicle floorpans.

The body shop has also become “flexible”, with a framing line designed for handling up to six different models simultaneously in a single line.

Other features of the body shop include:

• Portable measuring machine: to measure jigs and fixtures for build precision.
• Part checking fixture: to measure all major subassemblies, body, front-end and rear-end fit and finish.
• Real-time seal gap measuring equipment: a step up over measuring seal gaps with hand-held calipers.

Why these