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 Production 1
When comparing the production of cars with that of trucks, the first thing that strikes you is the larger area required by a truck factory. This is also evident during a visit to the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show,
where, despite significantly fewer manufacturers, the distances are considerably longer than they used to be for cars in Frankfurt or even Geneva.
The world's largest truck plant, Mercedes-Benz in Wörth, produces approximately 470 vehicles per day on an area of just under 3 km2. VW in Wolfsburg produces 3,800 on roughly twice the area.
Nearly 11,000 employees work in Wörth, and around 54,000 in Wolfsburg, five times as many employees for eight times as many vehicles.
Truck construction requires considerably more manual labor. Incidentally, this is even more intensive in bus production, which can cause prices to more than double. An Actros with standard equipment starts
at €100,000, although the seemingly endless array of optional extras and special requests would be worth mentioning.
The fundamental differences stem from the construction. A car essentially consists of a floor assembly with an integrated drivetrain and the body, while a truck consists of a frame with a chassis, drive unit, and
cab. Therefore, in addition to the so-called 'marriage,' the attachment of the cab, like the body in a car, a truck also undergoes the 'engagement,' the installation of the engine with a flanged-on transmission.
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The frame, consisting of two longitudinal beams and four cross beams screwed to them, looks like parts of an earlier Märklin construction kit.There are so many holes that one could also say it significantly
reduces the weight. But that's certainly not the only reason. The rule is that drilling is no longer allowed, at least between the axles. That almost sounds like lightweight motorcycle construction.
All suppliers must therefore find their own ways of mounting. For example, manufacturers of tilting devices (see picture below) are required to add another stable one on top of the frame and an additional box,
which of course must also be self-supporting. Even the ends of the chassis attachment must be carefully planned and must not, for example, work their way into the chassis in certain twists.
At least you can choose between two different lengths for the Actros frame, but for a passenger car, you certainly can't choose the material thickness, which is specified here as 7, 8, or 9 mm. Two different
frame widths are even offered, the smaller one for particularly harsh conditions. Accordingly, hundreds of bolts, some with exotic-looking nuts, are used. To ensure none are forgotten, they are laser-marked on
the frame for each configuration. A completely different world from that of a passenger car.
Unlike a car body, a truck frame can easily be turned over with suitable chain hoists, and the axles, weighing up to 900 kg, can be hoisted in with a crane. In a heavy truck, the axles are still rigid at the front
and rear, but at least with optional air suspension. Then it can be turned over again, and, again unlike a car, the engine and transmission are inserted from above. Wait, first the engine is given a glossy finish,
and the chassis is given a uniform color, unless a special request has been made.
The sheet metal for the driver's cab is naturally thicker. It's striking that the robots assemble it and weld it directly without any major work to fix it. As the measuring systems' tolerance of 5 hundredths shows,
they're somewhat larger for trucks. However, there's no room for rust prevention. Cataphoresis with full immersion is a must. Even troubleshooting directly after the topcoat is applied and even after final
assembly requires respect.
Everything is painted, unlike at a car all the add-on parts, too. Paints can be selected almost like in a Rolls-Royce, for example, based on the lipstick e.g. of the wife of the transport company's owner. The
number of special requests seems to be greater than with the VW Golf. Door management outside of final assembly is similar. And then the special part appears: The enormous windshield is guided past the
glue gun by a robot and then precisely inserted. In a car, the frame is primed, and the windshield is adjusted by hand.
At the factory, a truck is assembled five days a week, with two six-hour shifts each. Everything that's delivered must be very well connected to production. Ideally, the seats to be installed have just been
delivered. However, the idea of completely eliminating inventory has been somewhat abandoned, as so much can go wrong with rolling warehouses. Far more impressive than the 550 truckloads per day is the
ratio between automation and the remaining manual labor, and even more frightening is the control of that labor.
For example, inserting the pistons and connecting rods is faster than scanning them. Essentially, every activity is checked. One could maliciously say that if a screw goes missing in the factory, production will
eventually come to a standstill, because, on the one hand, the number of screws is limited, and, on the other hand, almost every screw has to be documented, otherwise, the process cannot continue.
For example: Robots are apparently not yet able to safely reach into small transport crates and retrieve various objects for installation on the assembly line. Humans do this, but they are shown what to grab by
lights and how many by numbers. If the ubiquitous computer doesn't find all the necessary objects in the transport rack, it won't let the human leave the aisle.
Sometimes the computer even remembers the torque it has set itself, for example, on safety-relevant components. Elsewhere, there's a separate cordless screwdriver for each screw, with the corresponding
torque setting. Under these circumstances, it's surprising that even a fifth of the production is shipped as parts kits in transport crates. Presumably, everything reasonably accessible on the mainland is still
supplied by entire vehicles.
Sometimes, however, tax or customs regulations require partial deliveries. An entire truckload doesn't fit into a container, and apparently, only that guarantees cost-effective transport. The in-house carpentry
shop takes great responsibility for a trouble-free journey, sometimes even testing the conditions during weeks-long sea journeys. And, of course, the available space is utilized as fully as possible.
There are richly illustrated instructions for assembling each of the incredibly numerous options. In addition, the assembly is practiced in Wörth and also at the receiving site. You get the feeling that nothing is
left to chance here either. Presumably, the same truck is usually used for delivery there as well. In the film, it's said that a screw is not only inauspicious in the wrong place, but is also missing somewhere
else.
So, these are a lot of specialties in truck construction that don't exist in cars, partly because there wouldn't be any possibilities for so many special processing steps. However, this used to be the case in
Spain, for example, where Fiats were sent in parts and assembled as Seats, often with significant modifications, perhaps with a diesel engine instead of a gasoline engine.
What's remains the same is the final inspection and the test run for many functions. There are also certain special features during pickup, although not as varied as with a car. For example, you can choose
between three different factory tours. But that all the functions of the new vehicle are explained to you and all your questions are answered - this is also available in Wörth.
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