Are all 911s made on the same line by the same technicians?
04-26-2016, 10:19 PM
#16
RL Community Team
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04-27-2016, 08:56 AM
#17
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Location: Newport Beach, CA and Melbourne, Australia
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By way of contrast a couple of years back a car club I'm a member of organized a tour round the Toyota factory in Melbourne Australia. Most factories use the same just in time systems these days, with automated robots running around the place with parts for "their" car etc.
The contrast with the Toyota plant is most cars are pretty much the same, so you get these lines of white / beige / black / silver cars all trundling down the line that mostly look the same apart from some are LHD, some are RHD, some have V6 etc. but same bodies, same shapes, same same.
The part that I found amazing though was watching the tack stations and then the full weld stations at work. They tack the body panels together from the various individual panels, before they go into a separate section to be fully welded. As each car enters that second section it travels through a series of linear stations (I think 3-4 by memory) each with its own set of robots; each car goes from one station to the next at the same standard time, 35 seconds or whatever it is, and in between these robots do their work on each one.
In that plant you can stand directly behind the full weld section and watch all this happening and it's like a dance. And standing in that one place you can pretty much see a set of body panels get turned into a complete body shell before it heads off to get painted. Cool stuff.
The contrast with the Toyota plant is most cars are pretty much the same, so you get these lines of white / beige / black / silver cars all trundling down the line that mostly look the same apart from some are LHD, some are RHD, some have V6 etc. but same bodies, same shapes, same same.
The part that I found amazing though was watching the tack stations and then the full weld stations at work. They tack the body panels together from the various individual panels, before they go into a separate section to be fully welded. As each car enters that second section it travels through a series of linear stations (I think 3-4 by memory) each with its own set of robots; each car goes from one station to the next at the same standard time, 35 seconds or whatever it is, and in between these robots do their work on each one.
In that plant you can stand directly behind the full weld section and watch all this happening and it's like a dance. And standing in that one place you can pretty much see a set of body panels get turned into a complete body shell before it heads off to get painted. Cool stuff.
04-27-2016, 12:21 PM
#18
Rennlist Member
By way of contrast a couple of years back a car club I'm a member of organized a tour round the Toyota factory in Melbourne Australia. Most factories use the same just in time systems these days, with automated robots running around the place with parts for "their" car etc.
The contrast with the Toyota plant is most cars are pretty much the same, so you get these lines of white / beige / black / silver cars all trundling down the line that mostly look the same apart from some are LHD, some are RHD, some have V6 etc. but same bodies, same shapes, same same.
The part that I found amazing though was watching the tack stations and then the full weld stations at work. They tack the body panels together from the various individual panels, before they go into a separate section to be fully welded. As each car enters that second section it travels through a series of linear stations (I think 3-4 by memory) each with its own set of robots; each car goes from one station to the next at the same standard time, 35 seconds or whatever it is, and in between these robots do their work on each one.
In that plant you can stand directly behind the full weld section and watch all this happening and it's like a dance. And standing in that one place you can pretty much see a set of body panels get turned into a complete body shell before it heads off to get painted. Cool stuff.
The contrast with the Toyota plant is most cars are pretty much the same, so you get these lines of white / beige / black / silver cars all trundling down the line that mostly look the same apart from some are LHD, some are RHD, some have V6 etc. but same bodies, same shapes, same same.
The part that I found amazing though was watching the tack stations and then the full weld stations at work. They tack the body panels together from the various individual panels, before they go into a separate section to be fully welded. As each car enters that second section it travels through a series of linear stations (I think 3-4 by memory) each with its own set of robots; each car goes from one station to the next at the same standard time, 35 seconds or whatever it is, and in between these robots do their work on each one.
In that plant you can stand directly behind the full weld section and watch all this happening and it's like a dance. And standing in that one place you can pretty much see a set of body panels get turned into a complete body shell before it heads off to get painted. Cool stuff.
04-28-2016, 06:13 AM
#19
Burning Brakes
It is an amazing process. Though you will see GT3s next to Boxsters, I believe there is some sequencing to what cars they put in line with the next, as some may be more complicated and the stations are identically timed. This gives them some buffer. Also, they have "jumpers" who go to whichever station needs a helping hand at any given moment. The workers (within a segment, perhaps all? I don't quite remember) are all cross-trained so they can do many different jobs, and they switch stations periodically so as to avoid boredom mistakes. As a result, most workers will have built at least some portion of every car that comes off the line, so they can say when they see a Porsche on the street that they built "that car", giving the workers pride of workmanship. They have quite a collection of masks, too, to avoid damage to finished surfaces, and order their sequencing to minimize wear on interior seating, etc.
04-28-2016, 07:34 AM
#20
Rennlist Member
Going the factory tour again on Tuesday...my 5th or 6th time...never gets old!
04-28-2016, 08:27 AM
#22
Rennlist Member
You will enjoy it for sure. The guides are very good and it is a relaxed tour.
Get there one hour early in case traffic or the trains are an issue. Go into the Museum and be sure to bring your PCA card and the parking ticket for the underground garage - it's very nice and then entrance to the garage is right by the train stop. At the museum ticket counter pay for the factory tour (4 Euro though sometimes they don't charge for PCA members). Pay for your parking (4 Euros), and get your free museum tickets with PCA card. Then check in at the factory tour desk right by the museum store (about 10 meters away). If you still have time, enjoy a coffee and pastry right near the ticket desk by the visible workshop.
You won't be able to bring cameras or phones on the tour and they will secure them as you start the tour so you don't need to leave them in your car if you drive in. There are some short periods outside, so leave your jackets in your car unless you need rain gear.
Otherwise, it's a great tour that will cover both floors of the assembly line, the logistics staging area, the upholstery shop, and the engine assembly line. It's right at two hours. Enjoy the Museum after for about two hours then visit the Museum store. Show your PCA card for a 15% discount. Then walk across the street to the Flagship dealer, but don't expect them to be overly friendly as they get tons of browsers. The dealer near the airport is much friendlier.
Enjoy and hit me back with questions...
Get there one hour early in case traffic or the trains are an issue. Go into the Museum and be sure to bring your PCA card and the parking ticket for the underground garage - it's very nice and then entrance to the garage is right by the train stop. At the museum ticket counter pay for the factory tour (4 Euro though sometimes they don't charge for PCA members). Pay for your parking (4 Euros), and get your free museum tickets with PCA card. Then check in at the factory tour desk right by the museum store (about 10 meters away). If you still have time, enjoy a coffee and pastry right near the ticket desk by the visible workshop.
You won't be able to bring cameras or phones on the tour and they will secure them as you start the tour so you don't need to leave them in your car if you drive in. There are some short periods outside, so leave your jackets in your car unless you need rain gear.
Otherwise, it's a great tour that will cover both floors of the assembly line, the logistics staging area, the upholstery shop, and the engine assembly line. It's right at two hours. Enjoy the Museum after for about two hours then visit the Museum store. Show your PCA card for a 15% discount. Then walk across the street to the Flagship dealer, but don't expect them to be overly friendly as they get tons of browsers. The dealer near the airport is much friendlier.
Enjoy and hit me back with questions...