Jaguar axles roll off Schenck assembly line at Dana Spicer

Jaguar axles roll off Schenck assembly line at Dana Spicer

Jaguar axles roll off Schenck assembly line at Dana Spicer

Axles for the successful Jaguar XK8 are rolling off a £1.5 million Schenck assembly and test line at Dana Spicer's manufacturing facility at Witton in Birmingham. Capable of turning out 23 axles per hour, the 20-station line is part of the £9.1 million production plant at Dana Spicer to build specialist axles for Jaguar cars, including the Jaguar XK8 and the latest V8 saloons.

The Schenck line is designed to handle four variants of axle initially with the flexibility to accommodate future models. Based on a freeflow platen system with Siemens controls, the assembly and test line comprises a mix of manual, semi- and fully-automatic stations. Fully-automatic stations include leak testing, oil filling and bolt torquing as well as Schenck's new automated backlash setting technology.

An innovative test machine is also included to check the quality of the pinion/crown gear engagement automatically, using an accelerometer and camera vision system. For the vision test, the gears are sprayed with a marking compound and run in drive and coast mode under load. Data are gathered from the moving gears and are processed to provide pass/fail ratings against 14 parameters. The compound is then removed at a flushing station.

Schenck has been a pioneer of assembly integrated test (AIT) techniques and the Dana Spicer line incorporates quality checking at all stations. If a defect is detected, the assembly is returned for inspection and rectification before further "value" is added. A MOBY I pallet tagging system provides accurate traceability and interfaces to gauging equipment and PLCs to collect production and test data.

Schenck's assembly and test line for Jaguar XK8 axles

"The new axle facility enables us to meet the increasing demand for specialist axles from Jaguar and other vehicle manufacturers", explains Alan Truesdale, product manager at Dana Spicer. "Schenck and Dana Spicer engineers worked very closely together on the project and the line is engineered to very high standards that allow us to deliver consistent, high quality product."

Banbury-based Schenck UK Ltd is a leading supplier of assembly and test systems to the automotive industry ranging from a fully-automated system to build fuel cut-off microswitches to full vehicle assembly.

For more information contact: Peter Hewitt, Schenck Limited, Lombard Way, Banbury, Oxon OX16 8TX. Tel: 01295 251122.