The number of factory tour videos available online is incredible. I recently stumbled upon this one, which might be a new favorite. It’s a tour of the BMW i3 factory in Germany, and it’s fantastic. I’ve included some highlights below, for your convenience:
- 2:51 - use of a 5-axis Waterjet for cutting holes in carbon fiber. I never thought I’d see a Waterjet used in a factory setting like this.
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9:38 - spot welding of bolts, which are fed through tubing, onto the chassis.
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14:47 - tidying up the motor stator wires with some automated cable lacing, which is typically used instead of cable ties and other methods that leave obstructions along the cable.
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17:25 - using a hammering tool for engraving part numbers.
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18:00 - some fast vacuum forming.
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18:48 - neat tooling for pressing parts together.
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19:24 - absolutely incredible shot of tooling spreading apart to release a part.
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19:48 - a nice milling shot with vacuum fixturing. All those air lines hold onto the parts as they’re milled, and then release once an operator can remove them.
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21:58 - the operator uses a bone folder to help seat leather sections into some tooling. I highly recommend bone folders - A+ useful tool.
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24:32 - this shot really shows the amount of tooling involved in making these things. The back arm is holding that giant tool inside the chassis to cure adhesive - it carefully retracts at 25:03.
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27:44 - the application of a protective coating of some sort, followed by heating with open flames to cure it. All this is done by robotic arms, of course.
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28:34 - painting begins!
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32:43 - notice the complexity of jigs required to install part of the doors, and the individual e-stop buttons on them. Important!
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36:36 - elsewhere, the chassis is being assembled. Look at the size of those connectors!
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39:05 - an interface for the line, which gives the operator a glance at the status of vehicles as they move.
Share your favorite factory tour in the comments!
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