CASE STUDIES

Shock/Spring Carousel Conveyor

Challenge:

Design and build in 30 days a conveyor that transfers the front shock spring package from the pre-assembly area to the installation point on the frame line.

Location:

Ford Norfolk Assembly Plant

Area:

Frame Line

Constraints:

  • Hold shock spring package without damage
  • Deliver from floor level to a shallow pit
  • Limited overhead space
  • Operator ergonomics

Solution:
Provide a carousel type conveyor that holds the product in a UHMW
pocket to prevent damage. The unit is floor mounted on a slant to accommodate both the load and unload conditions

Ford St Thomas Assembly Plant, St Thomas, Ontario
Lincoln Town Car Consolidation Project
July 2007 Downtime

This ‘Fast Track’ short term project consisted of the removal and relocation of the Lincoln Town Car production facility from the idle Ford Plant in Wixom, Michigan to the St Thomas Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. The purchase order was released in late May, with the installation beginning on June 29th.

Lesco’s portion of the project involved the splitting of the 4” Power & Free Right-Hand and Left-Hand Quarter Panel Delivery Conveyors into four separate integrated conveyors, plus the addition of lanes to accommodate the Town Car quarter panels. Lesco also provided engineering services, fabrication, and installation of new equipment to complete this project. This required the fabrication and installation of additional platforms and two CAT drives with takeup.

The conveyors were also converted from a ‘pusher’ type transfer to an intermediate dog’ type transfer conveyor. This involved the addition of secondary dogs to the carrier intermediate trolleys, the rework of the power only track at all track switches, plus the addition of new track switches. Extensive modifications were made to the Door, Roof and Frame Lines.

Lesco also reworked the Long Wheelbase Vehicle Area, including relocation of the entire work area and providing and installing a Grind Booth complete with fire protection and a 32’ roof stack with 36” fan.

Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville, Kentucky
P-356 Trim Shop Floor Conveyors
January 2006

In 2006, Ford Motor Company announced a $65m program to upgrade its Kentucky Truck Assembly Plant in Louisville, Kentucky with a new flexible Trim Shop. Lesco successfully bid and was subsequently awarded the Floor Delivery Conveyor Package. This project included the demolition of a discontinued product line in the Trim Shop, the assessment and refurbishing of approximately one mile of existing delivery conveyors, and the fabrication and installation of an additional
mile of conveyor consisting of 177 new conveyor units. This project presented Lesco with many engineering and design challenges.

The new Trim Lines had to be able to support both an increase in the jobs per hour rate and the ability to support both the old and new model year vehicles. Extensive planning went into the development of a schedule that predicted the completion of a finished installation with sufficient time remaining to do extensive testing and debug. With the efficiency of the production and installation team coupled with the success of extensive testing and debug procedures the launch of the new model was initiated ahead of schedule.

New technology was used to produce the most advanced trim shop within Ford Motor Company. In addition to the Trim Shop, a new path was developed and implemented within the Body Shop to enable the installation of the newly released Box Step Gate model. Lesco, working in conjunction with its subcontractors and UAW skilled trades, was able to insure no efforts were duplicated in order to keep project costs to a minimum.

Contact Mr. Rick Morgan, Kentucky Truck Plant Manufacturing Planning Specialist (502) 817-1540

Ford Chicago Assembly Plant, Chicago, Illinois
Door Cassette Conveyor

Challenge:

Design and build (in 45 days) a conveyor system that holds the front and rear cassettes during the assembly to the door. The cassette must be held under the door in a location where the wire loom can be attached.

Several other pre-assembly operations take place prior to the cassette installation to the door in the last station of this system.

Location:

Ford Chicago Assembly Plant

Area:

Off-Line Door Build Up

Constraints:

  • Allow for overhead conveyor chain stretch
  • Match overhead conveyor speed
  • Confined space for installation
  • Operator foot room

Solution:
Provide two parasitic driven pallet systems for both right and left hand operations. These systems have automatic air operated transfers at both ends. A chain driven power roll conveyor returns and accumulates pallets to accommodate the skipped carrier or repaired pallet. Each conveyor services 6 operator stations.

LESCO – Innovatively powering your production lines for over half a century.