[n_aditya]

Brilliant thread Khan saab. The amount of pictures and explanations took us on a virtual tour of the assembly line. Any pics / videos of their test track?

[raghunandanj]

Absolutely Amazing ! Thanks for the detailed and wonderful thread ! It is amazing too see such high levels of perfection and passion with which these cars are made !

Tata making 3/4 of profit from JLR was a great piece of info I was unaware of.

[vvijay]

That is one amazing virtual tour of the factory I had. Kudos to you khan_sultan. The fact that the body parts are held stronger together more by adhesive than by rivets is stunning! Interested to know this - So, what other car makers make an all-aluminium car and use riveting fully to construct the body?

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

The only robot in the trim & final assembly block. Used for some processing on the windshield:

If i'm not wrong, that should be the process of PU (Poly Urethane) application on the windshield borders. PU is a semi-solid that gradually solidifies and glues the windshield to the windshield frame of the body.

Originally Posted by GTO

For some reason, manufacturers are fiercely secretive of their paint processes.

For two major reasons:

1. Paint shops are operated in high levels of purity and zero contamination because the car bodies undergo different layers of coating and treatment before the solid paint color is sprayed. Spoiling the car body either by contamination or by accidental contact in the process will lead to painstaking rework/losses. Which is why those working at the paint shop wear both body and head coveralls.
2. Of course, yes! Their own technology. They do keep it within themselves with high degree of confidentiality.

[_raVan_]

Excellent thread Mr. Khan! I just love the XFR. Driving one will be like a dream come true Thanks and really appreciate this thread.

[arjab]

Brilliant writeup Khan S'aab
A factory tour is one thing, but putting together everything that you had seen, in black and white, in such a lucid, simple, knowledgeable and highly detailed manner is another feat altogether. Truly, truly commendable.
One of the best write-up's on T-Bhp .

[informmaha]

Wow...Great write up Sultan.. Back in 2004, I visited the same plant when I was a student in Coventry University, you brought back those memories again. The only thing those are not there from what I saw are the seat stitching area. They were done with precision and with sweing machines and hands. At that time Jaguar was in F1 (I hope everyone remembers the green Jaguar driven by Eddie Irvine) and they had a replica of the same F1 car and we were allowed into the simulator as well and it was a great experience to sit and feel how a F1 cockpit would be. Once again a great descriptive narration and thanks for sharing. Hope to see some other plant visits in T-BHP in future as well.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by GTO

For some reason, manufacturers are fiercely secretive of their paint processes. While they allow a walk-through and photographs everywhere else, paint shops are strictly off limits. Of the factories that I've visited (VW, Ford, Mahindra), no one allowed us to even look at the paint shop....leave aside taking pictures.

Despite me being a R&D Engineer, I was not allowed to go into some places within the paint shop, eventually I found a way out.

It is mainly to prevent others from knowing the "paint processes", if you must have noticed paint quality varies significantly among various manufacturers. Safety, attire and cleanliness within paint booths is also a reason.

Khan saab, I see you have become a manufacturing expert with a good understanding of light weight structures, thanks for sharing.

Any plans for shifting jobs now?

Spike

[R2D2]

Superb thread Khan Sultan. Thanks for sharing pics of a factory I only dream of visiting. 5 stars.

[nitrous]

I visited the Castle Bromwich factory, a few months ago.
It really was an enlightening experience.
Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to shoot the production line. But, I got luckier though and got to see the production of the XKR.

Did you also have a wide grin when they talked at length about about their current owners - TATA? Feels good especially when there are people from 28 different nationalities in the room. A very proud moment for an Indian.

[n.devdath]

Amazing thread and awesome pictures Shahnawaz.

Shouldn't this thread be in the "International Automotive Scene"?

[ssh1979]

I really enjoyed reading the experiences and thanks a lot for the tons of pictures!!!

However, I am not sure if you can release the floor plan of the shop into the public domain.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by ajman28

Very nice review.

Originally Posted by sai_ace

WOW! what a thread! felt like viewing a Nat geo Megafactory show. Excellent photos as well. Thank you!....

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Brilliant thread Khan saab. ...

Originally Posted by raghunandanj

Absolutely Amazing ! Thanks for the detailed and wonderful thread ! ...

Originally Posted by vvijay

That is one amazing virtual tour of the factory I had. Kudos to you khan_sultan....

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Excellent thread Mr. Khan! I just love the XFR. Driving one will be like a dream come true Thanks and really appreciate this thread.

Originally Posted by arjab

Brilliant writeup Khan S'aab ..

Originally Posted by R2D2

Superb thread Khan Sultan. Thanks for sharing pics of a factory ...

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Amazing thread and awesome pictures Shahnawaz.

Thanks guys. I enjoyed as much putting this thread together for the community as the visit itself. Nice to know that you guys like the report. Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by informmaha

Wow...Great write up Sultan.. Back in 2004, I visited the same plant when I was a student in Coventry University, you brought back those memories again. ...

Thanks buddy.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

...Khan saab, I see you have become a manufacturing expert with a good understanding of light weight structures, thanks for sharing.

Any plans for shifting jobs now?..

Lol.!! I can only appreciate the Light Weight structures, the complexity behind them and the advantages.

Originally Posted by nitrous

I visited the Castle Bromwich factory, a few months ago.
It really was an enlightening experience.
Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to shoot the production line. But, I got luckier though and got to see the production of the XKR.

Did you also have a wide grin when they talked at length about about their current owners - TATA? Feels good especially when there are people from 28 different nationalities in the room. A very proud moment for an Indian.

Wow. The XKR line would have been nice to see. But yes, we were lucky that we could shoot the pictures and that helped in creating this report for the community.

It feels nice when TATA motors is talked in a +ve manner at the plant. I, personally, felt more happy at the 'business side' of decisions that TATA is allowing JLR to take.

Originally Posted by ajman28

.. Slightly OT: Most of the workforce shown in the pictures look like older folks! Was this only in the pictures you have uploaded or was this a phenomenon across the plant?

Not necessary. While not exactly young guys & just out of college folks in there but I would say folks in their 30s would be the majority. The older folks are for very key operations where "skills" and "experience" are the key -- like final inspection at body structures line, Sheet metal folks.

While on subject of automation, I mentioned that 87% of riveting is done by robots. Here is an example of how the rest 13% of riveting is done:

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

It is mainly to prevent others from knowing the "paint processes", if you must have noticed paint quality varies significantly among various manufacturers. Safety, attire and cleanliness within paint booths is also a reason.

I think you are right about the cleanliness aspect. But I doubt if manufacturers have some kind of secret processes that nobody knows about. Reasons -

1) The machines for painting cars are made by third party German/Japanese industrial engineering companies.

2) And the paint is supplied by Akzo Nobel or some other global paint company.

3) With these two, there is only so much you can do that others don't know about - the quality difference is actually negligible nowadays in mainstream brands. Some expensive cars might have a better finish, though, because they might get multiple coats of paint.

4) Employees move about from one company to other - even those who work in the paint shop. A "process" can be copied - just that one process might cost more than the other. And companies might take business decisions whether to adopt a process or not.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Reasons -

1) The machines for painting cars are made by third party German/Japanese industrial engineering companies.

Yeah, quite true. Even though two people may use the same nut runner (e.g.) to torque a component, the results will not be the same unless they follow a 'defined process'.

2) And the paint is supplied by Akzo Nobel or some other global paint company.

Paint supplier can be same but the composition and application need not be.

3) With these two, there is only so much you can do that others don't know about - the quality difference is actually negligible nowadays in mainstream brands. Some expensive cars might have a better finish, though, because they might get multiple coats of paint.

Expensive cars have better finish, not because they are expensive.

Taking example of M&M-

M&M's paint quality changed drastically since Logan production started, why?

Within M&M, paint quality of pickups and personal cars is different, any idea why? Don't tell me it is because one is cheaper and the other is expensive.

4) Employees move about from one company to other - even those who work in the paint shop. A "process" can be copied - just that one process might cost more than the other. And companies might take business decisions whether to adopt a process or not.

This is possible, not just in paint shops . There are lot more things which outsiders can see in a paint shop apart from the painting process, although I agree, to a novice this would not make much difference.

Spike

PS- Paint quality does not just depend on the paint, it depends on the surface on which it is applied to. Even DFT varies significantly.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Wonderful thread Khan!
Thanks for the lovely walkthrough of one of the most admired cars around!
Was an absolute treat!

About the paint section, yes, manufacturers have been intensely secretive about that area in most factories. No idea as to why, but thats always been the case.