Investor relations US | EN EU | EN MX | ES DE | DE FlexQube CartsClose menu All Industrial CartseQart®Pallet & Container CartsShelf CartsKit Carts & Specialised SolutionsFlow CartsHanging CartsMother-Daughter CartsLiftRunnerPartsView all categoriesAutomationCase studiesNewsContact Type a word to search Search for carts, news posts and more. Suggestions Tugger cart eQart Find a sales person How do I order? 0 Menu CartsClose menu All Industrial CartseQart®Pallet & Container CartsShelf CartsKit Carts & Specialised SolutionsFlow CartsHanging CartsMother-Daughter CartsLiftRunnerPartsView all categoriesAutomationCase studiesNewsContact Customer careCustom DesignBecome a FlexQube DisitributorInvestor RelationsIndustries About FlexQubeCareerFlexQube ShopAftermarket Sales & Service LinkedIn YouTube Facebook Instagram Twitter Investor relations US | EN EU | EN MX | ES DE | DE 5 July 2017 It lasted for more than a 100 years but is the Henry Ford assembly line soon outdated? Per Augustsson CTO News Audi is rethinking the assembly line! Yes you heard right. Audi is rethinking the assembly line! It seems like Henry Fords invention is starting to show some weakness 100 years after its introduction. A lot of things has changed in hundred years, but it seems like the assembly line has been very resistant. Of course it has been improved over the years, but the basic principals has always been the same. A rigid flow and a rigid assembly sequence, which means that all cars are moving down the same path (assembly line) in the factory. This is a brilliant idea when the products are similar to each other in terms of design and assembly time. But as we all know, this is not the case. The number of products and models are exploding, and customers are constantly seeking for more customization. A rigid assembly line in combination with increased diversity means that many cars needs to pass assembly stations that are not needed for that car. For example; even if the car is lacking electric sunroof, it needs to pass the station where the sunroof is assembled. Same will happen as electrification and hybrids are implemented. Assembly stations for batteries and electrical engines will be needed, and cars without these features are forced to pass these stations just wafting without any value added. Audi’s solution is a completely new concept called modular assembly. The idea behind it is production without assembly lines, broken down into the individual work stages. The new assembly stations are occupied by one or two operators. The cars are transported between the assembly stations with self driving vehicles. Unlike on the assembly line, the routines in modular assembly are highly flexible with regard to time and space. The focus is on the car, not the process. The car is simply moving to the station that is needed for that specific car. When the central computer recognizes a jam at a station a driverless vehicle is heading for, it can often redirect it to another vacant station. As you probably understand, this new approach of assembly will require a disruptive change in the way we deliver and present parts. A super flexible logistic set up is the key enabler. As cars are not following the same path, the material needs to be delivered to different locations, at different times and in different quantities depending on the car configuration. And those parameters are changing all the time based on the customer demand. Audi will use small driverless vehicles that supplies the stations just in time with the components they need – from screws to sliding roofs. The assembled car decides what parts that needs to be delivered. Just as important as the driverless vehicles are the transport carts that holds and present the material. To handle the increased need for customization, these carts needs to be robust, easy to design, and easy to adapt. Exactly what we do at FlexQube! We are committed to create the next generation of industrial carts. We call them Industrial Carts 4.0! Regardless if you work within automotive, construction machinery, home appliances or other manufacturing segments, prepare yourself for change. I think Audi is showing the future direction of assembly. Visit test.flexqube.com or contact us to learn more. Per Augustsson CTO, The FlexQube group If you’re looking for a flexible solution, contact us on sales@flexqube.com You may also like: FlexQube’s top 7 shelf carts How to use flatbed carts to improve your material handling Also find more of the articles written by Per here. https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/audi-techday-smart-factory-7076/modular-assembly-7078 http://www.vdmaimpulse.org/article/-/article/render/124680 Copyright: AUDI AG – Copyright: AUDI AG – https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/presskits/audi-techday-smart-factory-7008 Top Sellers Product Q-007-1424 Shelf Tugger Cart – 840 x 1680 mm Read more Product Q-100-0609 Shelf Cart – 55 x 41 Inches Read more Up next News 3 July 2017 22 large carts for major agricultural equipment company FlexQube Inc. has received an order forto one of the customers manufacturing locations located in Pennsylvania, USA. News 8 July 2017 Why Big Data could be a Big Concern Big Data – from a lawyer’s perspective Big data is a term that, by now, has been around for a while, and it’s often casually referred to as the “next big thing”. Want to know more? Got questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us. (+44) 0795 177 0453 LinkedIn YouTube Facebook Instagram Twitter US | EN EU | EN MX | ES DE | DE ©2022 FlexQube – All rights reserved Page generated on Master: 2024-11-14T22:34:10+00:00 Contact us Close Hi, how can I help you? First Name Last Name Email Company City Country Select out country name... Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Ter Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Channel Islands Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Island Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote DIvoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Ter Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Great Britain Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Hawaii Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland Indonesia India Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea North Korea South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malaysia Malawi Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Nambia Nauru Nepal Netherland Antilles Netherlands (Holland, Europe) Nevis New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Island Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Montenegro Republic of Serbia Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda St Barthelemy St Eustatius St Helena St Kitts-Nevis St Lucia St Maarten St Pierre & Miquelon St Vincent & Grenadines Saipan Samoa Samoa American San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tahiti Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks & Caicos Is Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (Brit) Virgin Islands (USA) Wake Island Wallis & Futana Is Yemen Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe Comments* Attach a file (optional) Upload Maximum file size is 10mb. Something went wrong Please try again or contact sales. We will get back to you within 24 hours. (Unless it’s during holidays.)