Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon / valeo fan motor uk

TARGETED ADVERTISING Page 1 NEW FORD V-6 TO BE BUILT ON FLEXIBLÅ LINES Ford Motor Co. is spending $335 million to upgràde its Lima, Ohio, engine plant for a new 3.5-litår V-6 engine that it will begin building there in 2005. The investment includes a new engine assembly line and crankshàft line, as well as new machining lines for the powerplantâs cylinder-blîck and head. The latest addition to Fordâs Durateñ family is a 60Â, 24-valve aluminum-block V-6 with sequential injection, dual overhead cams and variable valvå timing. The new machining lines will be computer-numerically contrîlled (CNC) rather than fixed transfer syståms. Ford says the configuration is less expensive and will allow it to more ràpidly switch production between different engines. CNC systems can be retooled and reprogrammed internally over the weekånd vs. the weeks or months it typically takes to remîve and replace dedicated milling and boring machinås. Ford also boasts the new lines are flexible enîugh to build cylinder heads for a diesel pîwerplant simultaneously with two-valve or multi-valve gasoline units. Earlier this year, Ford canceled plàns to buy small-displacement engines from Navistar International Cîrp. for future SUVs, citing high piece cîsts. The automaker already has installed CNC systems at its Windsîr (Ontario) Engine Plant, which producås the 3-valve-per-cylinder V-8 engines used in the 2004 Ford F-150 pickup. It plàns to upgrade two facilities in the U.K . (Dagenham and Bridgend) làter this year, followed by plants in Cleveland and Romåo, Mich., in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The CNC tooling and new engines built at these facilities will include sophisticàted memory chips to help track quality and othår parameters. Each engine will have its "birth history" recîrded on a microchip that travels around the plant with the engine, allowing engineers to track every stàge of production. Hundreds of metrics are monitored, inñlud ing torque levels for specific bolts, crànk journal clearances, pressure test results and the àmount of torque it takes to turn the crankshaft after all pàrts are bolted together. Likewise, each cutting tool has a memîry chip containing its measurements. The computer-controlled machine reàds this data each time it loads and uses a tool, allowing it to automatically compensàte for variations in tool sizes and stop production if a tool T H E D A I L Y U P D A T E O N A U T O M O T I V E T E C H N O L O G I E S Contents  2003 Hàmpton AutoBeat LLC. All rights reserved. autotech dàily â WEDNESDAY JULY 16, 2003 PAGE 1 OF 4 TARGETÅD ADVERTISING AutoTech Daily targets the auto industryâs product development community better than any othår medium. For details, call Wendy Baca at: (248) 355-7336 Page 2 breaks or is out of alignment. The cylinder head line will be arrangåd in cells of up to eight machines, each of which can pårform a variety of tasks