Skunkworks: Ford's new $27 million R&D Centre in Geelong

[jpd80]

This is a really good read and will bring our North American and European cousins

up to speed with what's happening down under.

LINK TO ARTICLE

 

Here's a few paragraphs:

 

FORD Australia says its brand-new Research and Development Centre, unveiled recently to the media along with cutting-edge new testing equipment at Ford’s nearby You Yangs Proving Ground (YYPG), represents tangible evidence of the company’s commitment to the development of world-class vehicles for Australia and overseas.

 

R&D Centre

“Anything that’s done on wheels we can do here,” said a Ford engineer.

 

The development garage houses a range of latest-technology vehicle lifts to suit both low and high-clearance applications, while the three-storey test lab houses new noise enclosures for component and full vehicle testing, complete with two 400kW road-simulating engine dynos and high frequency vibration testing equipment – usually mounted on massive concrete blocks beneath the ground to isolate the test rig from the surrounding building.

 

Upgraded stamping plant

REPRESENTING more than double the R&DC investment at a total of $55 million is an expanded stamping plant with new buildings to house new press lines and press equipment that will produce the 2008 Falcon.

 

To be operational from the second quarter of next year, the transformed press facility will be the culmination of three years of civil works to incorporate a new “wide-body” press line dubbed Press Line 21, a hydraulic try-out press and a new blanking press.

 

Manufactured by Fagor in Spain, the new single-bodyside press will see the Falcon match Mitsubishi’s 380 and Holden’s Commodore in featuring a single-piece body side, which brings benefits such as improved quality, rigidity and refinement.

 

It consists of four integrated, state-of-the-art mechanical presses, serviced by six robots and five automated guided vehicles, and is capable of producing 380-520 parts per hour and eventually up to 28 unique parts. Further improving productivity, the tandem presses can stamp left and right-hand side doors simultaneously using a “smart” tooling design.

 

Ford says the new press is a world-first in aluminium tooling with an auto tool-change device, which delivers world-class four to six-minute die changeover times (from Falcon sedan, ute or wagon to Focus hatch or sedan, for example), and said to be the first facility in the world to employ the latest level seven-axis robots, also from Spain (ABB).

 

It claims the new “tryout” press will allow “testing and quality improvements to be initiated outside of the main press line, as well as supporting the addition of the Focus small car to Ford's manufacturing operation in 2011”.

 

The new stamping plant will also elevates Ford Aus build techniques to parallel what is done in USA and North America,

an important point when sharing platforms or building other people's cars (FoE & FNA).

Edited January 2, 2008 by jpd80