When production has to run on wheels.

With 6,500 employees, Volvo Car Gent is the largest industrial employer in East Flanders. In 2019, more than 200,000 cars rolled off the conveyor belt. Each of the components of those cars is delivered to the assembly line at exactly the right time and in the right sequence, including the wheels. In order to deliver these wheels to the operator in an ergonomic and reliable way, ATS Group's Machine Construction BU developed a wheel assembly concept. Result: a serious saving in costs and downtime.

All operations in one control unit

A concept was developed in the past, but due to wear and tear, this concept needed to be replaced. In the past, the wheels were released from the installation by letting gravity do the work. In contrast to that, another concept was now proposed whereby the wheels are clamped for the entire trajectory. During the trajectory they are also rotated and the wheels are finally delivered in the perfect position. The big advantage is that the operator only has to slide them over the axle and lock them. Easy and ergonomic! When the wheel has the correct position, the screwdriver joins in to secure the wheels.

Centimetre work

The big challenge in this project was the limited space available along the production line.

"It was centimetre work to assemble the wheel lifts, each of which we had built up and tested in our workshop, on site. Especially given the time pressure. The screw jacks were already in production in the summer of 2018. The wheel lift itself only came into its own later in the Christmas period of 2018. In less than ten days, the old one had to be taken out, the new one put in, the cabinet expanded and converted, and everything programmed together perfectly according to the standards prescribed by Volvo. Fortunately, we were able to count on the necessary support from the other ATS business units in this." Jurgen De Groote, BU Manager ATS Machinebouw.

Flexibility and a good understanding were crucial, from the beginning of the project when working out and refining the concept together to the implementation under time pressure. As a result of the successful cooperation, we were able to switch from two operators on either side of the conveyor to one in one body pitch. In addition, the operator has time to spare and can take on an extra task. An incredible cost saving, which is also accompanied by a much more sustainable installation and therefore less production downtime." Jan Demaecker, Equipment Engineer Volvo Car Gent.