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If you’re fascinated
by fireworks and meteor showers, you’ll love the continuous pyrotechnic
display in Body and Weld.
Body and Weld is literally the hottest place to work at NUMMI!
Stamping manufactures more than 100 individual parts for our vehicles.
Body and Weld uses those parts, along with others provided by vendors,
to construct the metal shell of our vehicles before sending them on
to Paint.
More than 90 percent of welds are done by machines.
NUMMI uses two kinds of machines for this automated task: multiwelders
and robots.
A multiwelder is a large, stand-alone piece of equipment that typically
performs dozens of welds at one time. Usually, a team member will
load several metal parts into it, push a button, and let the machine
complete the task.
NUMMI's robots look more like the type of machines you see in science
fiction movies. They are more humanlike and zip around performing
a series of single welds.
Robots are flexible and can be programmed in just a few hours to do
something completely different. During one of NUMMI’s Family Days,
for instance, robots entertained visitors by playing chess, drawing
Pokémon characters and dueling with swords!
Obviously, the machines can do more than simply weld. In the area
where truck underbodies are handled, for example, a multiwelder picks
up a part, shoots studs into it, punches out a floor pan, adds additional
pieces, and then performs even more welds. Robots perform another
series of welds to finish the job.
Production and Maintenance team members work long hours to meet the
demand for parts. Maintenance team members work three shifts to care
for all of the machines.
Team members in Body and Weld also have to take additional precautions
to protect themselves against stray sparks and sharp metal edges.
Gloves, bump caps, safety glasses, hearing protection, aprons, long
sleeves and pants and steel-toed shoes are worn for most jobs.
An automatic safety feature for multiwelders is the photo light beams
that detect when someone or something passes between them. An interruption
in the beams will immediately shut down the machine.
Although machines do much of the welding, team members typically assemble
the parts to be joined. To one who has never done this job before,
it might seem like putting together a simple wooden jigsaw puzzle.
Body and Weld team members also:
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Take
over and perform welds manually if a machine breaks down. |
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Do
quality checks on parts, such as surface and torque. |
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Perform
integrity checks on welds. |
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Ensure
that doors, hoods, fenders and other parts fit correctly. |
If there are any problems during the welding
process, the vehicle is diverted off the line for repair. |
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