Where Do You Stand Now?

[Joshua Caldwell]

Thinking of going $500 all in on three more for my kids.

At least you know they won't be street racing.

 

[Neal]

Thinking of going $500 all in on three more for my kids.

Very cool

 

[Craig]

At least you know they won't be street racing.

There is always bracket.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

There is always brackett.

I suppose so

 

[Craig]

I suppose so

One year I was racing in the Winston Nationals out side of Jacksonville NC. Went up against a girl in an El Camino, the track had a hump in the middle and when the light came down on my side she was out of sight. Beat her to the line but broke out by 4 tenths and lost. Even in an Elio you can take home a trophy.
I know this is not street, but looking back, I think I would like to run mine one night just for old time sake.

Bracket was not a class in this series, it was something they ran to entertain the crowd.
I ran Pro Stock.

 

[Cali Chris]

"Read" what? The above Racer Trust 'news' article is from 3 Jan 2013. "Cali Chris", please provide a source from Elio Motors that states; "They will build this round of prototypes in Shreveport." My 'research' shows:

They have to develop computer simulations of the production process, then very slowly work that process through to find missing or redundant steps virtually (happening now). Once the process has been fine tuned virtually they will have to do real world testing. Why would they set up an entire production process in Michigan just so they can move that whole assembly line over a thousand miles to it's final home in Shreveport, LA? Besides they are going to need to assemble these vehicles in real world circumstances and evaluate every step under a microscope. This will allow them to catch possible production problems before they go live. You don't want to produce 20 vehicles just to find out that one of the robotic welders is failing to achieve proper penetration. That could kill there desired crash rating and set that process back months. The Racer Trust news article stated was that it would be premature to build one off prototypes in a manufacturing plant. One, because they are building one Elio and two, because they were only building a car, not testing the assembly process. Elio has also made statement on their FB page that there is some exciting upcoming news about the plant. They stated that approximately three weeks to a month ago.



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[Ty]

Actual assembly won't be difficult to model. The line is already set up for automobile production. The Hummer was a lot more complicated than the Elio will be to assemble. This is mostly an assembly plant, not a manufacturing plant. The S-10s that I worked with (using their Automatic Line Balance System (ALBS) and Material Line Balance System (MLBS) didn't have any welding done at the plant. with the exception of heavy lifting of frames, axels, engine, transmission, doors, etc., the only real robots I remember were the ones that glued in the windshield and the crazy paint booth. Everything else was done by people who worked usually about 2 to a station and each person worked on each truck for less than 52 seconds. (They produced trucks at a pace of one per every 54 seconds at the time) I don't see why they wouldn't be able to produce Elios at the same pace.

 

[Cali Chris]

Actual assembly won't be difficult to model. The line is already set up for automobile production. The Hummer was a lot more complicated than the Elio will be to assemble. This is mostly an assembly plant, not a manufacturing plant. The S-10s that I worked with (using their Automatic Line Balance System (ALBS) and Material Line Balance System (MLBS) didn't have any welding done at the plant. with the exception of heavy lifting of frames, axels, engine, transmission, doors, etc., the only real robots I remember were the ones that glued in the windshield and the crazy paint booth. Everything else was done by people who worked usually about 2 to a station and each person worked on each truck for less than 52 seconds. (They produced trucks at a pace of one per every 54 seconds at the time) I don't see why they wouldn't be able to produce Elios at the same pace.

Here's a short explanation I found in one of the news articles covering the Elio/ Comau partnership.

Comau Powertrain Systems will be used to machine and assemble the Elio’s inline 3-cylinder, 55 horsepower engine, while Comau Body Welding Systems will design, build and install systems to assemble the vehicle’s welded space frame and apply the interior and exterior composite body panels (floorpan, bodysides, roof, doors, hood, trunk and fenders) to the frame. Elio is also considering using Comau’s After Sales team to conduct plant health assessments in order to optimize reutilization of assets, as well as Comau Robotics for specialty robotic applications throughout the assembly process.

From that article it looks like the robotics will be doing more than just assembly.


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[Craig]

Actual assembly won't be difficult to model. The line is already set up for automobile production. The Hummer was a lot more complicated than the Elio will be to assemble. This is mostly an assembly plant, not a manufacturing plant. The S-10s that I worked with (using their Automatic Line Balance System (ALBS) and Material Line Balance System (MLBS) didn't have any welding done at the plant. with the exception of heavy lifting of frames, axels, engine, transmission, doors, etc., the only real robots I remember were the ones that glued in the windshield and the crazy paint booth. Everything else was done by people who worked usually about 2 to a station and each person worked on each truck for less than 52 seconds. (They produced trucks at a pace of one per every 54 seconds at the time) I don't see why they wouldn't be able to produce Elios at the same pace.

Ty, do you think they will have an in house Six Sigma black belt, or will the current big wigs get the job done?

 

[Craig]

Here's a short explanation I found in one of the news articles covering the Elio/ Comau partnership.

Comau Powertrain Systems will be used to machine and assemble the Elio’s inline 3-cylinder, 55 horsepower engine, while Comau Body Welding Systems will design, build and install systems to assemble the vehicle’s welded space frame and apply the interior and exterior composite body panels (floorpan, bodysides, roof, doors, hood, trunk and fenders) to the frame. Elio is also considering using Comau’s After Sales team to conduct plant health assessments in order to optimize reutilization of assets, as well as Comau Robotics for specialty robotic applications throughout the assembly process.

From that article it looks like the robotics will be doing more than just assembly.


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"looks like the robotics will be doing more than just assembly."

Can you say, bottom line.
Good call.