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NOTABLE In developing the flexible production system for the plant, workers were asked for their ideas. According to Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG, more than 450 ideas were ob- tained from the workers. Assembly stations can be individually adjust- ed for each worker. They're having cross-func- tional work performed to help minimize any monotony. Says Reimold: "The ultimate goal is to have the workers attain mastery of the entire engine." The factory features programmable transport vehicles that run on lithium-tita- nate batteries. The transporters are guided by a grid of 16,000 magnets that are mounted in the floor. Paths can be readily adjusted to accommodate any product or process changes. Speaking of the floor, it should be noted that the engine plant is two floors, with the bottom level dedicated to logistics and the upper level engine assembly. Ninety-five carriers transport the engines being assembled in a U-shaped line that's 432 meters long. The build is composed of 110 work cycles, of which 71 are in the man- ufacturing portion. An engine is completed in 6.2 hours. The assembly of a new engine begins every 3.5 minutes. An abundance of information is collected for each build. Says Christian Will, Vice President Aggregate and Components at Porsche AG: "Around 2,300 units of data can be retrieved for each engine after it has been finished and tested. Any fluctuations in quality are detected very early at their onset and are prevented from having an effect." Zuffenhausen, incidentally, is where Porsche production began 66 years ago. Back then, according to Uwe Hück, Chairman of the General Works Council and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, there were 108 employees and annual output was 369 cars. Today, Hück points out, there are over 1,200 people at the site who are dedicated just to engine manufacturing. The electric transport vehicles are guided by magnets embedded in the factory floor. M4000 Efficiency across all generations. walter-tools.com/us Powered by Tiger·tec ® Silver M4000 is the universal system for all users who want to have as many options as possible when milling. The M4000 range can master all machining tasks with our most efficient indexable insert powered by Tiger·tec ® Silver. Whether it is a shoulder milling cutter, high-feed cutter, chamfer milling cutter, or T-slot milling cutter, the square system indexable inserts can be used across the entire M4000 range. Save time and money, and invest in the future. As the Walter Green seal shows: The M4000 is fully CO 2 compensated – from raw material to manufacturing to storage. Visit us at IMTS Booth W-1700 14 GEAR