British sports car brand chooses Dürr technology for production line modernisation 

By OEM Update Editorial September 4, 2021 2:36 pm IST

Dürr’s design of an innovative and flexible solution enables it to develop and install equipment for assembly of cars in Lotus’s new final assembly shop.

Lotus refurbishes its Hethel plant and entrusts Italian Dürr subsidiary CPM to create an open and innovative production line for its renovated assembly. This involves the use of ProFleet AGVs designed for final assembly shops.

In 2020, the iconic British sports car brand Lotus allocated significant funds to upgrade its plant in Hethel, near Norwich, UK, including its final assembly building.

Dürr’s design of a highly innovative and flexible solution enabled it to win the bid to develop and install the equipment for the assembly of cars in Lotus’s new final assembly shop. It will be implemented on Dürr’s ProFleet system and start with the all-new and recently unveiled Lotus Emira sports car.

Produced by CPM, ProFleet is an automated guided vehicle (AGV) designed for final assembly shops. Due to its innovative technology, ProFleet has already been selected by major car manufacturers worldwide.

Final assembly at Dürr

For the final assembly business, Dürr has set up a global strategy: ‘Next. Assembly’. This approach integrates Dürr’s technology and consulting capabilities into a one-stop-shop solution to enable manufacturers to assemble vehicles as efficiently as possible. The building blocks for this are conveyors, gluing, marriage, filling, testing technology, and digital solutions for intelligent control of overall production. Dürr offers this portfolio as a modular system of individual components or as a complete solution.

High efficiency, excellent usability and a safe working environment

The Hethel plant is equipped with 34 medium sized AGVs with natural navigation. This allows staff to change the AGV path and production layout without significant impact. The ProFleet AGVs at Lotus, used for trim and final operations, are provided with bi-directional kinematics, and controlled by an in-house fleet management system based on open software architecture. A clear advantage is the possibility for the plant’s operational staff to intervene directly with each AGV’s operations without necessarily having to wait for external support. The AGVs are also equipped with an electrohydraulic lifting table that raises or lowers the car bodies to an optimal position with high accuracy. It means manual operations can be carried out with the utmost respect for ergonomics, ensuring the highest safety standards.

For more info, visit: www.durr.com