Modular manufacturing facility and method

• US 8,789,269 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comau LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Comau Incorporated (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Kilibarda, Velibor, Red, Daisy, Reid, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Omgba, Essama
• Application Number:
  US12/986,449
• Publication Number:
  US 20110209321A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• Field of Search: 29/33.P, 295/63, 297/00, 297/91, 294/29, 294/30, 294/31, 298/22, 298/23, 298/24
• US Class Current: 29/791
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 5/02 Buildings or groups of buildings for industrial purposes, e.g. for power-plants or factories buildings forming part of cooling plants E04H5/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49815 Disassembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49829 Advancing work to successive stations [i.e., assembly line]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/5124 with means to feed work intermittently from one tool station to another
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/5196 Multiple station with conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53 Means to assemble or disassemble
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/534 Multiple station assembly or disassembly apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53539 including work conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53543 including transporting track
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53548 and work carrying vehicle

Abstract

A modular manufacturing facility and method of construction includes a plurality of service and equipment modules which are readily sized and oriented to be packaged, shipped to a desired location, assembled and connected to local resources to form a fully operational assembly or build facility substantially or wholly independent of any resident building structure at the selected site.

Claims

1. A modular reusable manufacturing structure for use in manufacturing and assembling automotive vehicles, the manufacturing structure comprising:

a substantially continuous support surface;

a plurality of modular assembly stations selectively positioned about the support surface, at least one of the plurality of assembly stations including;

a first and a second self-supporting scaffolding structures supported by the support surface without load bearing support by an overhead truss, the first and the second scaffolding structures positioned on opposing sides of a first assembly line path of travel;

a bridge scaffolding portion positioned between and connected to the first and the second scaffolding structures and defining second assembly line path of travel positioned above a top portion of the scaffolding structure and elevated above the first assembly line path of travel; and

a plurality of programmable robots supported by at least one of the first or the second scaffolding structures and collectively having a robot path of travel, the robot path of travel extending to the first assembly line path of travel;

a portable modular conveyor positioned along the first assembly line path of travel and supported by the support surface adapted for moving a partially built device through at least some of the modular assembly stations along an assembly line; and

a plurality of portable service modules temporarily connected to and supported by the support surface, the service modules are selectively positioned in one or more of modular assembly stations proximate to the assembly line, the service modules respectively operable to generate and provide resources to operate the manufacturing structure.

2. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 further comprising:

an exterior shell having an upper portion positioned vertically above and defining a ceiling for at least some of the modular assembly stations.

3. The manufacturing structure of claim 2 wherein the shell upper portion further comprises a structural truss having a vertical height of less than about three (3) feet.

4. The manufacturing structure of claim 2 wherein the exterior shell further includes a plurality of exterior walls extending vertically downward from the upper portion at least substantially enclosing an interior of the manufacturing structure from environmental elements.

5. The manufacturing facility of claim 2 wherein the exterior shell upper portion comprises a soft canopy.

6. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 wherein the plurality of portable service modules comprises at least one of an portable electrical substation module, a portable welding water cooling module, a portable pressurized pneumatic supply module, a portable heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) module, a portable power source or a portable personnel office module.

7. The manufacturing facility of claim 6 wherein the plurality of service modules are positioned directly adjacent one of the first or second scaffolding structures of an assembly station, the service modules preselected for the assembly operation specific to that assembly station.

8. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 wherein each of the portable service modules are integrally formed as commercial shipping containers for shipment to selected locations throughout the world.

9. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 wherein the partially built device is a first passenger vehicle body-in-white (BIW) structure, the assembly stations being configured in content and number to support the build of a the first vehicle body-in-white (BIW) structure, with at least some of the assembly stations being reusable to support the build of a different vehicle body-in-white (BIW) structure.

10. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of first and second scaffolding structures selectively positioned end-to-end forming a sequence of progressive assembly stations along the first assembly line path of travel.

11. The manufacturing facility of claim 1 wherein the plurality of robots are connected to at least one of the first and the second scaffolding structures and suspend downward from the scaffolding toward the support surface thereby not requiring direct mounting to the support surface.

12. The manufacturing facility of claim 1 wherein the modular assembly stations, modular conveyor and portable service modules are sized and configured to package within an interior space of a standard ocean shipping container.

13. The manufacturing facility of claim 12 wherein the ocean shipping container further comprises a first and a second wall section, wherein at least one of the first or the second wall sections is removable and replaceable with a door panel permitting selected ingress and egress into an interior of the container for selected housing of personnel.

14. The manufacturing facility of claim 13 wherein one of the first or the second wall sections is removable and replaceable with a window having an open position and a closed position, the open position allowing selected natural ventilation to an interior of the container.

15. The manufacturing structure of claim 1 wherein at least one of the service modules is adapted to generate one or more of the resources independently from existing resident infrastructure.