An increase in demand for Aston Martin’s DB7 high performance car meant an upgrade was needed of the assembly system at the Banbury, UK factory.
Automatic Handling Europe (AHe) installed the engine and gearbox handling system five years ago but changes were needed when demand increased from 24 to 27 cars a week. Cars were being built in single file and the upgraded system now allows them to be built in tandem.
The enclosed rail overhead crane system is suspended from the building’s roof trusses to retain maximum floor space. AHe’s end effector is attached to a rigid mast from the crane and is used to manipulate the 300kg engine and gearbox units as they are removed from a stillage and installed in the engine compartment.
The existing handling system was removed and refurbished at AHe’s works and then reinstalled on a larger span, double bridge crane which required extra support steelwork. It now takes four minutes to install two complete engine and gearbox assemblies.
