Where Do You Stand Now?

[Kuda]

It seems simple, but planning a process to efficiently assemble ten thousand individual pieces has got to be more difficult than it seems. It looks simple watching a video of a complete assembly line in action, but every single movement of every single machine has to be programmed. I sure much of the programming is automated with basic specification input. Far from simple, I'm leaning more towards intricate and time consuming.


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Who said genius is the art of reducing the complex to it's simplest form?

 

[RogWild]

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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You may 'surmise' that the prototypes will be built in the Shreveport facility; but I am going on what Elio Motors has ACTUALLY SAID! In addition to the previous quote; how about?

“Founder Paul Elio told Red River Radio that 25 prototypes are under construction in Detroit as the company enters into the product testing phase. “ -- http://redriverradio.org/post/elio-motors-engineering-centric-phase-says-founder --

Still think they are going to re-tool the machines, set up the assembly line, hire & train the workers, make some prototypes...... then let them sit IDLE for MONTHS while they do the tests and evaluations on them..... before PRODUCTION begins?
But back to my ORIGINAL QUESTION, of how they will build these "18 to 26 prototypes" (hand-built in Michigan) in the allotted time, when they have not 'shown' any progress since the P4 #1 came out 2 1/2 months ago? Perhaps they already have 8 - 10 'shells' completed, just waiting to install the IAV engines (when ready in June); but it is 'troublesome' that there has been NO BLOG UPDATES on the status of the 'prototype builds'!

 

[Craig]

It seems simple, but planning a process to efficiently assemble ten thousand individual pieces has got to be more difficult than it seems. It looks simple watching a video of a complete assembly line in action, but every single movement of every single machine has to be programmed. I sure much of the programming is automated with basic specification input. Far from simple, I'm leaning more towards intricate and time consuming.


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I would think there are less than 3K pieces. Most of the pieces will come preassembled from the supplier.
Ie, steering gear assembly, brake peddle assembly, gas peddle assembly and so on. JMO

 

[zelio]

Z, I believe what most are asking about in regards to a floorpan is a smooth panel that would be mounted under the vehicle to make it more aerodynamic. The mention of a floorpan in the Comau article refers to the interior floorpan. That's where the seats are mounted and the passengers put their feet.


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Oh, but why are they both called floorpan if one is inside and the other is outside? Thanks for the clarification. Not that I'm planning on crawling under my Elio to see what is there but it is nice to know if something is there or not. Maybe I can borrow someones grandkid to look for me. LOL :-) Z

 

[Cali Chris]

You may 'surmise' that the prototypes will be built in the Shreveport facility; but I am going on what Elio Motors has ACTUALLY SAID! In addition to the previous quote; how about?
Still think they are going to re-tool the machines, set up the assembly line, hire & train the workers, make some prototypes...... then let them sit IDLE for MONTHS while they do the tests and evaluations on them..... before PRODUCTION begins?

In the same article he had this to say:

“It’s a teeter-totter, and right now it’s engineering-centric and most of the action is in Detroit because that’s where the supply base is. As we get closer to 2014, it will become manufacturing-centric and the center of gravity will be in Caddo Parish," Elio said.

Is it not 2014?


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[raybonz]

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.

Think Elio needs to hire you Ty!

Ray

 

[Cali Chris]

Oh, but why are they both called floorpan if one is inside and the other is outside? Thanks for the clarification. Not that I'm planning on crawling under my Elio to see what is there but it is nice to know if something is there or not. Maybe I can borrow someones grandkid to look for me. LOL :-) Z

Each person I think has a particlular name that they use to reference something. For example, look at all the different names that people refer to the fenders, skirts, wheel covers, spatz, etc.



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[goofyone]

Oh, but why are they both called floorpan if one is inside and the other is outside? Thanks for the clarification. Not that I'm planning on crawling under my Elio to see what is there but it is nice to know if something is there or not. Maybe I can borrow someones grandkid to look for me. LOL Z

The floorpan is the floor of the automobile which is under the carpet and seats. Some vehicles also have a belly pan, underpan, underbelly, undertray, or underbody which covers part or all of the underside of the vehicle to make it more aerodynamic and/or resistant to damage.

 

[goofyone]

You may 'surmise' that the prototypes will be built in the Shreveport facility; but I am going on what Elio Motors has ACTUALLY SAID! In addition to the previous quote; how about?
Still think they are going to re-tool the machines, set up the assembly line, hire & train the workers, make some prototypes...... then let them sit IDLE for MONTHS while they do the tests and evaluations on them..... before PRODUCTION begins?
But back to my ORIGINAL QUESTION, of how they will build these "18 to 26 prototypes" (hand-built in Michigan) in the allotted time, when they have not 'shown' any progress since the P4 #1 came out 2 1/2 months ago? Perhaps they already have 8 - 10 'shells' completed, just waiting to install the IAV engines (when ready in June); but it is 'troublesome' that there has been NO BLOG UPDATES on the status of the 'prototype builds'!

I don't know the answer to where the pre-production assembly will happen however they very well could do the pre-production run in Shreveport without having to hire a bunch of workers and then lay them off. The assembly line itself and tooling will be set up by Elio suppliers not the final factory workers and it really does not matter if the line and tooling sits idle for a little bit as they will need it eventually anyway. They also would not have to set up everything as they could simulate some actions by using some pre-built sub assemblies and/or do things by hand instead of using automation. Most of the actual pre-production assembly could be done by the same engineers, suppliers, and consultants laying out the assembly process as it would help them analyze everything better.

There is nothing troublesome about the lack of assembly or prototype information right now at all as Elio Motors have already stated the next major public milestone is the P5 prototype which is expected around the time the drivetrain is supposed to be available in June. Right now the P5 is what we are waiting for and since a prototype can be built in weeks we may not even see any real news on this until June.

 

[RogWild]

In the same article he had this to say:

“It’s a teeter-totter, and right now it’s engineering-centric and most of the action is in Detroit because that’s where the supply base is. As we get closer to 2014, it will become manufacturing-centric and the center of gravity will be in Caddo Parish," Elio said.

Is it not 2014?


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Guess we will have to 'Wait and See' where the NEXT prototype comes from! I still wonder HOW they plan to BUILD and TEST all these....... and still meet an 'early 2015' production date.