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The new highly automated electronics assembly and test line at Siemens Automotive's plant at Foix in France is claimed to enable high-volume production without compromising on flexibility. Known as MELF (Mise en Ligne Flexible), the FF105 million line is claimed to have the capacity to produce a total of 200 product references at random and achieve an output of 5,000 assemblies per day in three shifts. Among the innovative technologies employed in MELF are a FF1 million laser system for applying barcodes to boards and a FF4 million four-armed robot for mounting exotic components onto boards.
The French branch of Siemens Automotive is based in the Toulouse area where it employs 1,367 people on three manufacturing sites. Reporting a turnover of FF1,250 million, it is the only Siemens company worldwide concerned with developing engine management products. The activity has operated under Siemens ownership since 1989. Between 1986 and 1989 it belonged to Bendix Electronics before which it was called Renix and was jointly owned by Bendix and Renault.
Since January 1993, electronic fuel injection, in combination with the catalytic converter, has become the technology most widely adopted by car manufacturers to meet the new, stringent requirements of EC Directive 91/441/EEC controlling petrol engine exhaust emissions. In addition, the amount of electronic equipment in vehicles is increasing. Both these facts have led Siemens Automotive to invest in the new manufacturing technology which is targeted at raising output from 2,000 to 5,000 units per day. However, the key feature of the technology is its flexibility. Says Roel Hellemans, manager of advanced manufacturing, "Because of the different emission laws in different countries, everybody in the car industry is making small batches of 'specials". In the first instance, the MELF line will make engine management electronics though products relating to braking systems and automated gearboxes will be introduced at a later time.
The 200 product references that can currently come off the new MELF line divide into ten families, which are assembled on five different board designs. Each one requires about 200 components to be mounted. During their automated passage along the MELF line, the assembled boards are fully tested, inserted into their casings and packaged into cardboard cartons ready for shipment. There is no sequence control which means...