Magna’s T.E.A.M. Systems: Automatic guided carts drive productivity

Magna’s T.E.A.M. Systems
Toledo, Ohio
Size: 179,000 square feet
Products: Just-in-time supplier of front and rear fascia bumper systems and front end modules for Jeep
Throughput: Varies according to production rates at Jeep
Employees: 300
Shifts per day/days per week: 2 shifts per day, 6 days per week

The production processes at Magna’s T.E.A.M. Systems Toledo facility are designed to synchronize with production at the nearby Jeep plant. Automatic guided carts (AGCs) are used as a mobile assembly line in the production of the front-end module for the Wrangler and Cherokee and the front and rear bumper fascia for the Cherokee. There are variations in the assembly processes, depending on the part being produced. This description is for the assembly line for the front-end assembly of the Cherokee, with more than 20 assembly stations.

The process begins when vehicles exit the paint line and are assigned a vehicle identification number (VIN). A bill of materials for each vehicle is sent electronically to T.E.A.M.’s manufacturing execution system (MES). The plant then has a limited window to assemble and deliver finished parts to the nearby plant in the same sequence as the cars coming down the assembly line. Depending on the vehicle program, parts are delivered in one to three hours from the time of the broadcast.

Kitting processes: Parts and components required for a delivery are pulled from storage areas.

Front and rear fascia systems—not pictured here—are stored in two manual storage and retrieval systems (MS/RS) for buffer storage. An MS/RS is similar to an automated storage and retrieval system; instead of an automatic crane, however, the system is serviced by specialized forklifts that carry an operator up and down the storage aisles to pick in sequence. The operator receives instructions on a tablet, and scans a bar code on the fascia to confirm a pick. The part is placed in a specialized rail system. Once the parts are picked, they are inspected and conveyed to the line, where they are placed in a fixture on one of the AGCs.

To produce the front-end module for the Cherokee, a pick-to-light system directs picking in the kitting area (1). Order selectors pick the indicated parts and scan them into a kit tote. Once all the parts have been picked, the tote is placed on a manual roller conveyor (2) and moved to the assembly line (3).

Assembly: The plant has a total of 36 AGCs: There are 24 on the line assembling front and rear fascias for the Jeep Cherokee and 12 on the front end module line for the Jeep Wrangler and Cherokee. With parts in place, the AGCs are directed to one of multiple subassembly stations on each line (3). Each subassembly station is equipped with a computer that communicates with the MES and indicates the tasks the operator has to complete on that part. Tasks are confirmed electronically. Once all the tasks at all the stations have been completed, the MES releases all of the carts at one time and they advance to the next step.

Once a cart has visited all of the required subassembly stations, the part is visually inspected and the electronics are tested.
Front-end modules are automatically placed on a special pallet designed to work with the conveyor system (4) and transported to shipping (5). There, they are loaded by a robot (6) into the trailer in a first-in/last-out sequence for the Jeep assembly line. The pallets are unloaded by robots and automatic guided vehicles at the Chrysler plant and delivered to the line.

Front and rear fascias are loaded onto a custom-designed rack system (not shown). The racks are delivered by a tugger to the loading area. There, the tugger may back them into the trailer; otherwise, they are manually loaded in sequence into the trailer. M

System suppliers
Automatic guided carts: Daifuku North America
Manufacturing execution system (MES): Nysus Solutions