In this video, I am going to explain, how a car is manufactured in an assembly line.

Most books will describe this as a 4-stage process of stamping, mating, painting, assembly.

However, when the actual operation takes place there are numerous steps that are taken to

ensure the best quality. In the next 10 minutes, I am going to tell you each and every step

and operation in a way you will never come across in any other source.

The automobile assembly plant represents only the final phase in the process of manufacturing

an automobile. More than 4000 parts are brought in, by various means, under one single roof

before the final process starts. The assembly line is the point, where skilled workers and

robotic systems bring together all of the necessary loose components to create a final

product on a "just-in-time" basis. The frame of the car is the baseline component.

All other parts are integrated on, or within the frame.

Stamping. Manufacturing of frame starts with the stamping

process. In the stamping plant of the automobile manufacturers,

sheet metal is passed through mechanical and hydraulic presses to produce three types of

panels: 1. External panels, such as fenders, bonnet,

deck lid, roof, side panels, doors, etc. Some of these are two panels in a set as left hand
and right hand

2. Internal mating panels, such as bonnet

inner, deck lid inner, or door inner deciding subassembly quality

3. Dimensionally critical inner panels such as floor pans, dash panels, etc.

After stamping these parts are cleaned, dried, and moved towards the body shop.

Body Shop.

In the plant’s body shop, they begin with putting together the front structure. It is

made of the radiator support, two side rails, and the clips to the front of those side rails

for the bumper structure. Then they put this front structure on the automated production

line.

Generally, the floor pan is the largest body component to which a multitude of panels and

braces will subsequently be either welded or bolted. As it moves down the assembly line,

held in place by clamping fixtures, the shell of the vehicle is built. First, the left and

right quarter panels are robotically disengaged from pre-staged shipping containers and placed

onto the floor pan, where they are stabilized with positioning fixtures and welded.

The front and rear door pillars, roof, and body side panels are assembled in the same
fashion. The shell of the automobile assembled in this section of the process lends itself

to the use of robots. Robots can pick and load 200-pound roof panels and place them

precisely in the proper weld position. Moreover, robots can also tolerate the smoke, weld flashed

and gases created during this phase. Once the body shell is complete, it is attached

to an overhead conveyor for the painting process.

Painting.

Prior to the painting process, the body must pass through a rigorous inspection process,

the body in white operation. The shell of the vehicle passes through a brightly lit

white room where it is fully wiped down by visual inspectors using cloths soaked in high-light

oil. Under the lights, this oil allows inspectors to see any defects in the sheet metal body

panels. Dings, dents, and any other defects are repaired right on the line by skilled

body repairmen. After the shell has been fully inspected and repaired, the assembly conveyor

carries it through a cleaning station where it is immersed and cleaned of all residual

oil, dirt, and contaminants. As the shell exits the cleaning station it

goes through a drying booth and then through an undercoat dip—an electrostatically charged
bath of undercoat paint (called the E-coat) that covers every nook and cranny of the body

shell, both inside and out, with primer. This coat acts as a substrate surface to which

the topcoat of colored paint adheres. This process is also known as Cataphoresis.

After the E-coat bath, the shell is again dried in a booth as it proceeds onto the final

paint operation. In most automobile assembly plants today, vehicle bodies are spray-painted

by robots that have been programmed to apply the exact amounts of paint to just the right

areas for just the right length of time. Considerable research and programming has gone into the

dynamics of robotic painting in order to ensure the fine "wet" finishes we have come to expect.

Our robotic painters have come a long way since Ford's first Model Ts, which were painted

by hand with a brush. Once the shell has been fully covered with

a base coat of color paint and a clear topcoat, the conveyor transfers the bodies through

baking ovens where the paint is cured at temperatures exceeding 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135
degrees

Celsius). After the shell leaves the paint area it is

ready for interior assembly.

Interior assembly The painted shell proceeds through the interior

panels, interior lights, seats, door and trim panels, headliners, radios, speakers, all

glass except the automobile windshield, steering column, and wheel, body weather-strips, vinyl

tops, brake and gas pedals, carpeting, and front and rear bumper fascias.

Next, robots equipped with suction cups remove the windshield from a shipping container,

apply a bead of urethane sealer to the perimeter of the glass, and then place it into the body

windshield frame. Robots also pick seats and trim panels and transport them to the vehicle

for the ease and efficiency of the assembly operator. After passing through this section,

the shell is given a water test to ensure the proper fit of door panels, glass, and

weather-stripping. It is now ready to mate with the chassis.

Mating. After passing through this section, the shell

is given a water test to ensure the proper fit of door panels, glass, and weather stripping.

it is now ready to mate with the chassis made. The chassis assembly conveyor and the body

shell conveyor meet at this stage of production. As the chassis passes the body conveyor the

shell is robotically lifted from its conveyor fixtures and placed onto the car frame. Assembly

workers, some at ground level and some in work pits beneath the conveyor bolt the car
body to the frame. Once the mating takes place, the automobile proceeds down the line to receive

final trim components, battery, tires, antifreeze, and gasoline.

Exterior Assembly. As the body moves further into the assembly

line, subsequent body components including fully assembled doors, deck lids, hood panel,

fenders, trunk lid, and bumper reinforcements are installed. Although robots help workers

place these components onto the body shell, the workers provide the proper fit for most

of the bolt-on functional parts using pneumatically assisted tools.

The vehicle can now be started from here. It is driven to the checkpoint of the line

where its engine is audited its lights and horn checked its tires balanced and its charging

system examines any defects discovered at this stage require that the car be taken to

a central repair area usually located near the end of the line. a crew of skilled troubled

shooters at this stage, analyze and repair all problems when the vehicle passes the final

outlet it is given a price label and driven to a staging lot where it will await shipment

to its destination

To summarize the entire process, Sheet metal parts are stamped, cleaned and
taken to the body shop. robots weld the floor pan pieces together and assist workers in

placing components such as the suspension onto the chassis.

The body is built upon a separate assembly line from the chassis. Robots once again perform

most of the welding on the various panels, but human workers are necessary to bolt the

parts together. During welding, component pieces are held securely in a jig while welding

operations are performed. Once the body shell is complete, it is attached to an overhead

conveyor for the painting process. The multi-step painting process entails inspection, cleaning,

undercoat (electrostatically applied) dipping, drying, topcoat spraying, and baking.

The body and chassis assemblies are mated near the end of the production process. Robotic

arms lift the body shell onto the chassis frame, where human workers then bolt the two

together. After the final components are installed, the vehicle is driven off the assembly line

to a quality checkpoint.