Assembly line solution

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake is produced at the famous Castle Bromwich plant where Spitfires and Lancaster bombers were built in WW2. The 112-acre plant which operates 24 hours a day became a dedicated Jaguar factory in 1980 and today, the XF Sportbrake is built on the same assembly line as the award winning Jaguar XF saloon.

To accommodate the XF Sportbrake, Jaguar Land Rover selected Comau to build a dedicated tabbing and framing cell in E Block. This cell takes the Sportbrake body floor out of the existing XF saloon assembly line to have the unique side body panels, roof and other components put in place, tabbed and then welded by robots before being returned to the main assembly line.

Comau selected LB Foster Materials Handling to design, manufacture and install the conveyor system, lifts and transfer cars for this new cell. The first stage of the project included a powered roller conveyor, mounted on a hydraulic scissor lift table which in turn was mounted on a traverse car, to create a ‘bridge' over some of Comau's equipment. The lift has to raise the body floor some 1.75m off the floor to enable it to enter the tabbing and framing cell.

The second stage of the project required LB Foster to complete a special ‘take-out' station to provide an inspection facility for quality purposes. The work had to be completed over one weekend and involved the modification of an existing transfer car.

The final stage of the project involved providing a ‘one- way through' route from the welding station back into the main production line. This was achieved by installing a powered roller conveyor, mounted on a scissor table, just after the welding station and another unit at the start of the return line.