27th Jul 2012, 09:03
Your 1950 car has more welds than a modern car. The reason being is with the increased usage of molds and plastics, that conform better to a modern day vehicle, as well as to reduce weight.
Operators are also faced with assembling more complex electronic assemblies than ever. There is an effect; far less metal to weld than cars of the past!
There are an amazing amount of fasteners in all modern cars as well. Operators in modern assembly plants do have air balancers, clamping fixtures and ergonomic arms with tooling attached. These reduce workplace injuries due to weight, as well as minimizing torque reaction. However most have an operator and are done by hand.
Assembly is more complex than ever. You may be the one responsible for a critical torque air bag ground wire or ABS brake component being assembled, as an example. Even multi-spindle tools with 2 or more nutrunners are operator controlled. Obviously as you can tell, I have been in many automotive manufacturing facilities. If you still feel that robotics have taken over automotive or truck assembly, simply drive by a vehicle manufacturing plant and look at large # of cars in the lots. I can assure you they were not driven to work by robots.
26th Jul 2012, 11:03
I am very familiar with robotics and automation, and that's not accurate. You still have operators overseeing assembly, bar code scanning parts using current controlled DC electric tooling. Controllers need programmed and assembly workers have to monitor assembly; in many cases a part is not released until the tightening sequences are followed. Also it gets tiring reading the grandpappy comments.
In fact the real issue has been deflected on where the money actually goes. If you look at the country as a whole, manufacturing has suffered in America. I have personally seen manufacturing going overseas for lower cost labor at the expense of the domestic workforce, not automation.