Welding Plant
Car body construction division
In the Car Body Construction Division, the basis for the future car is created. High level of precision, safe processes and severe quality controls are the conditions for building a safe and stable car.
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At the end of each production line there are Perceptron measuring stations which perform the measurements of 100% of the parts. With this it is possible to eliminate components with exceeded tolerance limits and promptly react to any changes occurring when the processes are disturbed. In order to guarantee, in any circumstances, the safety of passengers, systematic laboratory tests are performed as well as so called destructive and non-destructive quality tests of welds, junctions and glued connections. Side walls together with movable parts and roof are some of these essential components which principally decide of the customer's satisfaction. |
The car bodies produced by Car Body Construction Division are made in two production halls: one of them is located in our plant in Antoninek quarter of Poznań, and the other in our plant in Swarzędz near Poznań, where welded assemblies are produced both for Transporter T5 and the Delivery Vans Caddy and Caddy Maxi. In our plant in Antoninek we manufacture the actual car bodies, which are welded and glued to the parts delivered from our Swarzędz Plant.
Floor panel line
| The first thing to be produced is the floor, the basis for the car. At this stage of production manual and automated welding operations are performed, adhesive is applied and powder actuated fasteners are installed for casings and upholstery (final assembly). These works ensure proper rigidity and stability to the vehicle. The floor panel is transported automatically to the following stations until it reaches the final station, where it is connected with side parts prepared on another line. |  |
Side walls area
Side walls of the Caddy, Caddy Maxi consist of internal and external body panelling. At each side of the Caddy side walls there is a robotized station for cutting with plasma, where frames for passenger models (Kombi) are cut out. Connecting of internal and external body panelling on both sides of the side walls is carried out at the robotized stations. There are 40 work stations in the Caddy side wall panelling area. The Caddy Maxi side wall panelling area consists of 11 work stations on each side. In the side wall panelling area processes of welding, gluing, spot welding and bending of inner wheel arches are carried out.
Body shell welding line
On the body shell welding line, in the process of joining the floor panel with the side parts and roof, the final shape of the car as seen by the customer is created. On this line, the parts are joined using point welding, gluing and welding in gaseous atmospheres. Especially interesting are laser welding and soldering stations where the roof is joined with the car body. Thus a weld/solder is formed with the accuracy of max. 0.2 mm. The car body geometry is a basis for the further process of car production which enables to achieve the quality standards valid in the Volkswagen concern.
When the finished car body appears at the end of the line, a vehicle identification number (VIN) is stamped on it. From this moment on, each car body is marked with a unique number.
Final line
| In the final process of car body production, where mudguards, bonnet, doors and gates are mounted, the minimum tolerance of gaps must be kept. In the surface control area, employees with special qualifications carry out, manually, final corrections of the quality of external surfaces of the car body. In order to get a correct matching of bumpers, car body and lights in the Assembly Division, each car body is checked individually by a system of measuring cameras and, in accordance with the data obtained, the front panel for fixing the front part is adjusted individually to each car body and then laser welded. Also this process requires the highest precision. |  |
After passing the final quality control, the car body leaves the Car Body Construction Division and is transported using a skid system to the Paint Shop where it is painted in customer chosen colour.