It is amazing not only to behold the process but also to consider that the machines you see in action must've been one-offs that were designed and built just for this factory. It is all so precise and complex that it you'd think once they get the line up and running, they'd make the same model for 25 years.
I love how badass the guys who take out the hot metal parts are. Has a piece of metal that a couple hundred degrees dangling in front of him, casually maneuvers it while dressed in a regular shirt.
Absolutely awesome video! I am surprised how little protective gear the workers use. And everything is too slow, and too clean. As someone commented, it's probably a prototype workshop.
@Stoyan Stoyanov @Kass Komvaak Lol this is BMW's mass production in Germany, for their high end models at least. "too slow" is the right amount of time needed for impeccable QC expected when you're paying that kind of money. This level craftmanship is NOT intended for "poors" who can't afford machinery made outside of china.
@@Max_808 There are a few wide-angle shots showing no movement in the background... What kind of a mass production does that? Well, if the video was shot on a Sunday...
1.25.17. Reminds me of Flir Infrared Camera training at Saginaw Metal Casting (Grey Iron) Plant. We checked out the aluminum 4.2L inline 6 cylinder block. If I remember correctly, it weighed 80lbs. Nice video! 👍🏽
Be nice now! BMW has the foresight to assign part numbers to their electrical faults for easy location and repairs. They also sell a smoke refill kit for the wiring harness in case you have a leak.
Red Scorpion 6 haha! My favorite feature is having 17 different grounding points on the aluminum block so that they each get a turn at corrosion and intermittent failure. Who doesn’t love chasing intermittent problems?
@@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760 Sure, if one grounding point is good, then 17 is better! In fact, why not have each circuit have it's own dedicated ground? It will give the electrical tech something to do all day.
Red Scorpion 6 you’re right. I used to think that the goal of auto engineering was reliability. Owning a BMW opened my eyes. BMW taught me that I was just being lazy!
Yes, however, if you look closely, the piece the robots are working on is not only rocking/bobbing about like crazy, but it also gets shifted to the left a bit.
I program robots like these. Most likely the tolerances required for this step aren't very tight to begin with. Castings tend to be more material, and then they're milled down to spec
I served my Engineering Apprentiship way back in the 1960's for a company who produced aluminium-Brass and Zinc castings - High Pressure (where I became a highly skilled Toolsetter) - Low Pressure - Gravity - Brass - Zinc - and Sand Foundry.
They don't need to add it, it comes with it.... Especially the aluminum melt is not from virgin aluminum stock. Especially for this kind of sand casting with complex shape. It is very picky on the raw material.
Any one else think of the ant hill videos while watching this? For those who don’t know, there are people who melt aluminum scrap, the find massive ant hills and pour it in the holes. Then dig up the whole ant farm in one casting. Followed by a pressure washing. Once it’s done, it’s very interesting. One of a kind art work of u ask me. This video reminds me of it.
@@TheEternalHermit let w little moisture get in that molten aluminum and it wouldn't be a good day for those ppl walking around it with no ppe. I work in a plant that melts aluminum and when their casting or even have the melter door open you can't be within a 100 ft of the area without all the protective clothing
I work in a grey iron foundry that makes alot of aftermarket blocks of various sizes. An aluminum process like this is way different where we still pour from large ladles into enclosed molds and after traveling down a cooling line, they fall onto a shake-out line to get the sand off and continue to cool.
One of the reasons why there are still not enough EVs on the market: so much manpower, infrastructure and pride invested in good old fashioned ICE car manufacturing
The thing is about foundry’s, they have not changed for hundreds of years, it always amazes me as an engineer when I go to visit them how archaic and dangerous they look but that is the nature of the beast, this foundry is amazingly sanitised compared to normal places.
great, somebody thats not criticising the supposed lack of cleanliness....today people are crazy and think everything needs to look like a hospital or a food industry plant..i also thought it was clean, quiet, and with pleasant lighting for a foundry...although i think the sound was massively edited.....also the workers seem confortable on their outfits and are not loaded with 100kg of protective gear that stops them from seeing well and moving freely. the brain is their safety equipment, i like that
This is a very low volume process. Transporting a small ladle of molten aluminum with a fork lift is slow and allows atmospheric gasses to contaminate the metal. Most aluminum foundries keep molten aluminum covered in a shielded gas tank. It is seldom poured open to the air. Typically, it is injected into the molds either by gravity or pressurized nitrogen.
How many pounds per inch of pressure would the press need to form the sand castings? Also, shouldn't they blast the the casting with a torch to harden the sand and leave a coat of soot? I was told that this makes it easier to separate the mold. For example, Fiat and Ferrari always have a worker run a torch over the sand before the metal is poured. That's why their molds are black on top.
The sand mold broke too easily in this video....Although im not sure but i think they used alpha-set or furan resin. And mixed these resins with sand. This allows sand to be broken easily. Even with graphite powder (coat of soot), mould cannot be broken that easily....
It's a bit like a cottage industry. You should see a Japanese production line. They're bangin out engine blocks in the same time these guys are fixing their mits.
thats what i thought about , for a while i though i want to touch that , then hello noo that will leave me with not finger at all , even the bone will melt xD
BMW plastics though hmmmm, I own a 2019 model that I'm pretty sure is made out of recycled old children's toys from ancient hospital waiting rooms all over Uganda.
"and next week folks, we have a film of the BMW indicator assembly department....what? oh they dont?... Oh sorry folks, apparently BMW's don't have indicators"
TheAwesomeGuy just because they exist on BMWs doesn’t mean they get used. There’s one intersection I pass through on my morning commute, and there is one older fellow who drives a BMW SUV who makes the turn in the opposite direction from where I’m heading, and I have never once see him put on the damn 🤬 blinker!!!
Any BMW owner can tell you: "We know they exist, and we know the car has them... But if we use them, then other people instantly cut you off and take your cleared spot indicated by your signals... Soooo, we stop using them" 💯🤷♂️
Really nice, that under any car related video, theres the unbearable car community and their toxic behaviour. People need really need to chill, if it comes to cars
