Let's see what stages a car passes through… A typical automotive plant shop floor looks like this. Logistics, services and power supply are support functions. The areas marked by blue border are involved in the main production process. Input from Tier One suppliers is received in the press shop or stamping area and powertrain assembly. Various parts pass through the body shop and paint shop. The finished car rolls out of the final assembly.
In a press shop, raw materials like metal coils are converted into metal sheets which are then molded into different automotive parts like doors, etc.
The parts from the press shop form the input for the body shop where the various car body parts are made and systematically integrated to form the car body.
The car body is transported to the paint shop where it is coated, painted and treated with various processes before being sent to final assembly. The car body is now ready to be shipped to final assembly for integration with the power train.
In parallel, at the power-train assembly, car components like transmission, engine etc., sometimes together called the power train are created out of metal and shipped to final assembly line for integration with the car body.
The integrated cars of the final assembly are tested and rolled-out to be sent to the market.
Let's recap the car manufacturing process, quickly… First input from T1 suppliers in received at the press shop and the power train assembly. Then, stamped components from the press shop are shipped to the body shop. Next, the car body from the body shop is shipped to the paint shop. After that, the painted body from the paint shop and the power-train from the power train assembly are shipped to the final assembly. Finally, the finished car is tested and rolled-out from the final assembly.
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