Conveyor handles engines and IPs. (Assembly in Action).

Ford Motor Co.'s Wayne, MI, assembly plant is a facility where new, productivity-enhancing technologies are often put to work first. This plant is highly integrated, and it frequently serves as the testing house for concepts that eventually spread throughout the global Ford manufacturing organization. The plant also builds the Ford Focus and Ford Expedition.

Much of the credit for its innovative reputation belongs to the engineering staff and management team willing to explore new technologies. A pair of recently installed conveyors illustrates the point.

Engineered, built and installed by Bleichert Inc. (Sterling Heights, MI), the AL-25 conveyors use the same technology to meet two different requirements. One unit handles fully dressed, pallet-mounted engines in packages weighing up to 1,350 pounds. The other handles pallet-mounted instrument panels with a total package weight of only 80 pounds. The versatility to handle such a broad application range is designed into the conveyor's roller drive mechanism.

One of the major advantages of the AL-25 is that the roller drive uses a friction clutch with adjustable tension. For light loads, the clutch tension is simply reduced. For heavier loads, it is increased. This capability gives the conveyor a broad application range.

Ford installs engines into chassis by lifting completely dressed engines into the vehicle from below. The pallet-mounted engines are transported on a self-powered cart. As the body moves along the line, a floor-mounted chain conveyor positions the cart under it. Then the engine is pneumatically lifted into place and installed.

The conveying challenge was two-fold. First empty, 650-pound pallets have to be removed from the cart and returned to the engine dress area. Then full, 1,350-pound pallets have to be placed on the carts for delivery to the assembly area. During both phases of the operation, the Bleichert equipment recharges the on-board pneumatic accumulator on each cart.

Previously, Ford was using a gantry system to load and unload the carts, but this had proven less than satisfactory. The new system is an over-and-under configuration that conserves floor space. That, of course, necessitates raising and lowering the pallets during the process.