The Volkswagen Phaeton – the company’s prestige luxury car – may not have set
the world on fire but the factory in which it is produced is Something Else.
Dubbed the ‘Transparent Factory’ because of its incredible use of glass, the
plant is in Dresden, Germany.
Visitors are more likely to think it is an art gallery or modern office block
rather than a car factory. Or, when cars are spotted behind the glass, perhaps
an architecturally cutting edge car park? But then again, all the cars behind
the glass are the same...
Located just 100 metres from the Dresden Botanical Gardens in the city
centre, the factory benefits from a 6 million Euros (AUD$10.27 million) investment
in its outdoor area (50,000 sq metres) to ensure it blends with the beauty of
the ancient city.
Dresden’s municipal tram network plays an integral role for Volkswagen as
specially developed tram cars ("CarGoTram") are used to carry prefabricated parts
from the Logistics Centre outside the city to the Transparent Factory. This
shuttle service is environmentally friendly and does not create extra traffic
congestion for the city.
The factory’s landmark is a glass tower almost 40 metres high and visible
from a considerable distance - finished vehicles are stored within it, ready for
collection.
Volkswagen has invested a total of 187 million Euros ($A320 million) in the
Dresden facility since the foundation stone was laid in July 1999.
The idea of a brand new and truly unique automotive plant in the heart of one
of Europe’s most beautiful cities was turned into reality by Gunter Henn, the
group of architects responsible for Volkswagen’s similarly remarkable Autostadt
complex which is part of the company’s worldwide headquarters in Wolfsburg.
Volkswagen’s Phaeton luxury class vehicle is built behind 27,500 square
metres of glazed facades in a production area covering 55,000 square metres. The
glazed area and 24,000 square metres of parquetry floor create a light, airy
atmosphere that has to be seen to be believed.
At the heart of the new production line is a ‘Slat Belt’ - all that it has in
common with conventional conveyors is its phased movement according to assembly
stage. The surface of the Slat Belt itself consists of 29 individual elements
that are also fully lined with parquetry and carry the vehicles to be assembled.
Other features include an induction power supply and a new indirect lighting
concept. All parts required for the assembly process accompany the corresponding
vehicle in a ‘components basket.’ Driverless buggies – one per body shell - move
around collecting components, so negating the need for shelves along the
production line.
Phaeton customers are encouraged to come to Dresden to see their car being
built and receive VIP treatment when they collect their finished product.
But enough of the words – just take a look at the pictures!
So, would you guess that this is a car factory?
To avoid trucks arriving all around the clock, Volkswagen uses the Dresden
tram system to bring components to the factory from the logistics centre at
Friedrichstadt on the city outskirts. The specially developed trams are 60
metres long. However, the body shells do come on trucks.
The use of trams is an elegant, non-intrusive approach but when you see the
size of the loads, it must be very expensive...
Even despite the blurb, the actual appearance of the factory is simply
jaw-dropping. Visitors report that it’s this clean every day...
The body shell is built about 100 km from Dresden, in the same building as
the Bentley Continental GT. It is painted there, and then transported to
Dresden. This is what it looks like when it arrives.
Each Phaeton is individually hand built. Sometimes two people work on the car
at once, but more often, one person works alone. Because each Phaeton is unique,
all the parts and components needed to construct that specific car are picked
ahead of time in the logistics centre and loaded onto storage modules. You can
see two storage modules - one in front and one behind each car. The small square
station in the right foreground contains specialized tools that are used to
assemble the vehicle at that particular stage of its assembly.
The word 'assembly line' really doesn't seem to fit, but there is a moving
line. You can see the two tiny seams in the floor, on either side of the car.
The portion of the floor inside those seams moves in a continuous loop
throughout the work area. It moves very slowly, about the same speed as a
revolving restaurant.
At some stages of the build process, the vehicle is lifted up and moved
around as needed. The overhead cranes lift the car up and the employee can then
move the vehicle around as they want.
Once all the wiring, electronic components, and other necessary parts are
installed in the body shell, the shell is mated with the running gear. The
running gear is also assembled by hand, and brought to the main production area
by an elevator. Magnetic sensors beneath the wood floor guide the driverless
cart that contains the running gear to the correct position beside the overhead
crane.
As in all car plants, the marriage of the running gear with the shell is a
precise operation requiring great care.
Note that the small electrically-powered cart that was holding the running
gear in the photo above has now moved out of the way. These carts are quite
sophisticated, and move to the correct locations on their own, once the
craftspeople are finished with them and initiate the movement
process.
Once everything is aligned, the running gear is lifted until it slots into
the body shell.
Once the Phaeton is on the overhead crane assembly, it stays there until all
the required work on the underside of the car has been completed. When that is
done, it is placed back onto a workstand at surface level.
The interior has been
installed, fluids added to the car, and the wheels and tyres installed. The
Phaeton is then moved into the light tunnel for a very thorough visual
inspection. The next process is testing the car, on both dynamometers and on the
test-track under the factory.
Phaetons that are built for customers who plan to pick their car up at the
factory are placed into the glass storage tower after they have been built and
the complete pre-delivery inspection process is completed. Phaetons that will be
shipped overseas go to a different area, to be wrapped in protective packaging.
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