Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill – one of the largest 5-axis machining centers to be installed in South Africa – is part of investment.
The high-profile US$1.05 billion investment by Ford South Africa (Ford SA) to modernise and expand its manufacturing facility in the Silverton plant to support expanded production of the all-new Ranger pickup truck is starting to take shape with the installation of a number of machines that will be seen for the first time in South Africa. Assembly of the Ranger is scheduled to begin in 2022.
The US$686 million investment in technology, upgrades and new facilities at the Silverton plant will support high-quality, efficient production of the all-new Ranger.
“Our key objectives with the US$1.05 billion investment in the Silverton Assembly Plant and our supplier facilities are to expand our production capacity, and to introduce the most advanced technologies and systems as we modernise our manufacturing operations to bring them in line with the best in the world,” says Ockert Berry, VP Operations at Ford South Africa.
Ford SA have invested in an Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill that will be used to service the dies and moulds used on the Jier stamping line that Ford SA have invested in. The Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill, powered with a Siemens 840Dsl CNC control, has been installed by technicians from Emco Mecof in Italy. Locally contracted to support the installation and service the machine in future is WD Hearn Machine Tools
When the next-generation Ranger is launched in 2022, the facility will have an annual installed capacity for 200 000 vehicles – which is nearly double the 110 000 units it was capable of when production of the current Ranger pickup began in 2011, and a significant increase from the 168 000 units prior to the commencement of the latest investment.
Modernised, more efficient, higher-volume assembly line
To realise the new production targets, the Silverton plant’s assembly line has undergone an extensive transformation focused on wide-ranging upgrades to modernise the facility, enhance efficiency and improve production quality throughout the plant. Additionally, Ford is currently constructing an all-new Body Shop and Stamping Plant on the Silverton site, along with a new in-house Frame Line in the adjacent Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ).
Most of the assembly line changes were completed during a strategic seven-week shutdown of the plant in July and August this year, with construction and engineering teams swooping in to remove the old equipment and install the latest technologies and production systems.
“The seven-week shutdown enabled us to implement the largest and most comprehensive upgrade and modernisation of the Silverton Assembly Plant to date,” says Plant Manager Tim Day. “Our entire focus is on being world-class and comparable with the best Ford manufacturing plants globally. This is essential as we work towards delivering the required production volumes and achieving the highest quality levels for our customers.”
The Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill during installation
“The biggest change has been a total redesign of the plant layout,” Day says. “The progressive evolution of the plant saw it growing organically over the years, which resulted in a less-than-ideal layout. Accordingly, we’ve completely reworked the assembly line to maximise efficiency through the vehicle assembly and validation processes.”
“We’ve removed roughly a kilometre and 20 transactions out of the previous assembly line flow by eliminating the back-and-forth movement of vehicles within the plant during the various stages of production,” he adds. “This will result in all of the manufacturing processes and quality checks being performed in the zone where it’s manufactured, contributing towards greater efficiency and more effective quality control before the vehicle moves to the next station.”
High-tech skillet system with moving platforms
Aside from the immensely complex logistics of keeping a fast-moving assembly line running optimally, ergonomics has gained new emphasis for the operators too. Most notably, the shift from fixed vehicle carriers to a flexible new skillet system has transformed the way individual tasks are performed by employees on the line.
“We did away with the previous vehicle carriers and replicated the skillet system which is used at Ford’s leading plants around the world, including the Ranger plant in Thailand and the F-150 plant in the US,” Day explains. “The skillet system is far less bulky and restrictive, and eliminates the various platforms and levels that people had to work around previously.”
With the skillets, the vehicle is automatically raised or lowered based on the ideal height for the completion of the required assembly task. It can also be adjusted to suit the height of the individual operators – thereby greatly improving the ergonomics and working conditions for the employees, improving cycle times and contributing to enhanced safety.
“An additional benefit of the skillet system is that it is based on a moving platform, which eliminates the need for the operator to continuously reposition themselves to perform the assembly operations while keeping up with the vehicle as it progresses down the line,” Day says. “This allows the operators to focus all of their attention on building the vehicle, driving big improvements in efficiency, quality and first-time-through (FTT).”
The key bodywork stamping equipment was one of the biggest equipment investments. The Jier stamping plant includes a 2 500-ton press, a 1 800-ton press and three 1 000-ton presses. The Jier stamping production line adopts automatic die change technology and will be pressing body parts for the new Ranger series
The plant has also installed an all-new box line for the Ranger’s load compartment, a new fully automated robotic station for the precise application of the windscreen seal, and a specially designed instrument panel sub-assembly line. There’s also an advanced new ‘Vac and Fill’ facility that integrates the filling of the Ranger’s liquids (fuel, brake fluid and engine coolant) and the air-conditioner gas – the new system replacing the inefficient multi-station configuration used previously.
The final integration of the automated wheel and tyre facility, which was launched in September last year, has also been completed. The fitted wheels and tyres are now automatically sequenced onto the assembly line via the roof of the main plant, eliminating the use of trolleys and the movement of vehicles and people. A series of latest-generation wheel and headlight alignment booths are another important new feature of the plant upgrades, complemented by a rigorous new water test facility that uses high-pressure jets to pinpoint any water intrusion into the cabin of the vehicle.
Jier stamping plant
The key bodywork stamping equipment was one of the biggest equipment investments. The Jier stamping plant includes a 2 500-ton press, a 1 800-ton press and three 1 000-ton presses. The Jier stamping production line adopts automatic die change technology and will be pressing body parts for the new Ranger series.
Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill
Traditionally 5-axis mills were built and marketed for the domain of aerospace and power generation manufacturers. However, the adoption of 5-axis machining centers has increased for the automotive industry, tool and die manufacturing, mould operations and other industries that require precision and flexible machining done in the shortest possible time, in recent years. There are many advantages to implementing 5-axis machining. A few of the more common ones are that 5-axis machining allows for milling complex shapes with one setup, finish with shorter cutters, mill deeper areas and reduce slower EDM processes.
Aside from the immensely complex logistics of keeping a fast-moving assembly line running optimally, ergonomics has gained new emphasis for the operators too. Most notably, the shift from fixed vehicle carriers to a flexible new skillet system has transformed the way individual tasks are performed by employees on the line
To service the dies and moulds used on the Jier stamping line Ford SA have invested in an Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill.
The Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mill, powered with a Siemens 840Dsl CNC control, has been installed by technicians from Emco Mecof in Italy. Contracted to support the installation and service the machine in future is WD Hearn Machine Tools.
The Emco Mecof DYNAMILL-S 5-axis gantry style mills – one of the largest 5-axis machining centers to be installed in South Africa and also the first of its kind has XYZ travels of 5 500mm by 3 000mm by 1 500mm, a 60kW spindle motor, a table load on the floor plate of 15 000 kg/m², a M&H probe, a full 5-axis Spazio 20 fork type milling head with a e58g high-speed spindle and a second one as a spare, a 24-pocket chain-type tool magazine and a video surveillance system.
The machine is also equipped with Emco Mecof’s Teleservice which allows Emco Mecof engineers to be connected remotely at any time in case of the need for troubleshooting.
This investment at the Ford SA plant in Silverton has created around 1 200 incremental jobs by adding a third shift and the local workforce has increased from the current 4 200 Ford SA employees to approximately 5 000, along with an additional 440 jobs at the plant’s on-site service provider. This takes the total Ford employees at the Silverton facility to over 4 100, with 850 people employed at Ford’s Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth.