Free «How a Car Is Built» Essay

Both humans and programmed robots build cars on the assembly line. Some car parts are constructed manually while others are produced by machines. However, humans make all quality checks. The current paper will use four videos of Mustang to summarize how a car is built. According to the videos, all cars are built through the process of assembly line, with some parts made on the assembly line automatically and others being fixed to the car manually.

Based on the videos, there are two processes of assembling involved in building cars. One of the processes involved is used majorly in designing unibody cars (which is a popular type). The other process is used for designing frame vehicles such as the rear wheel drive cars and trucks. When designing the unibody vehicle, the first stage takes place in the body welding shop (Huntimer 28).

When building a car, the bolts used on the components such as the trunk lid, doors, and hood are collected together with the help of fixtures, which are special to enhance clearance for a noble fit. The other stage is body metal finishing. The body is finished selectively by metal with disk wheel abrasives that remove defects that appear due to dirt contained in dies. Nevertheless, a skill is needed to remove the dirt. One has to eliminate even the potential defects that will glare after painting is complete. The next step involved in car building is painting, which is done in stages.

Welding, framing of bodies, and painting take almost two-thirds of the time required to build a car. The remaining time is used in assembling the nuts, bolts and other parts using human labor.

The interior of the car is assembled in a certain order. It starts with choosing floor carpets, windshields and the door glass. Then the workers deal with air conditioning, heating and the pedals. After that, headliners, instrument panels, lighting and the steering columns are installed. The last stage involves installing the seats in the car. It is followed by installing the power train. Before finishing the body, the engine has to be dressed with fuel injection system, wiring and other accessory drives such as air conditioner, generator and the pump for steering power.

The body is later placed on the structure known as cradle that supports it. This allows it to be joined to a transmission after which other works such as installing the exhaust pipes, rear and front hubs, drive shafts, brakes, shock absorbers and springs are mounted. The aforementioned parts are set into special fixtures that enhance support for the components.

Later, the fixtures raise the components under the body for the workers to install the engine cradle and the parts attached to the body. The parts work below the body, which is already supported by moving conveyor overhead. The final stage of assembling is wiring. All the wiring is connected. The radiator is also installed using the hoses. Then fuel tank, the bumpers and wheels are installed, all the necessary fluids are added, and lastly the external lights and grills are assembled (Huntimer 39). At this stage, the car can be started. Normally, the car is tested with the help of dynamometer. Its acceleration, brakes and transmission functions are tested. Later on, the tests for steering alignment are done on rollers as the engine spins the wheels. Finally, error corrections related to assembling are done.

There are two elements in the film, which I found to be worthy of discussion. The first one is the process of designing unibody cars in the body welding shop. At this stage, the major body panels like the side panels of the car, the upper parts, and the bottom part are welded into a fixture. When the body is brought out of framing fixture known as a ‘respot’, welds are applied. Support and reinforcement brackets for different components in the car are later welded to make the body stiff. According to the video, unibody cars have supporting parts, which need arc welding. In addition, wire fed MIG welders are utilized with the help of either manual means or robot.

The second element worth discussion is the procedure of car painting. Before painting, the car parts are coated with phosphate. The phosphate cleans all the dirt and oil and gives the metals a texture appropriate for painting. After coating, prime painting is done by dipping a construction in a deep and long bath unit. Electric current is also used to plate the metal construction with primers. Normally, the paint primer is baked in the ovens, which run at around 200 degree Celsius. After that, the paint is top coated. Robots or reciprocating beam sprayers automatically put most of the topcoat paint on the car. Due to the possible multiple colors, many different pipes run to the booths meant for spraying and back. This process makes the paint circulate from one end to the other. Different and multiple layers of topcoat are used. Each of them is set up to guarantee a flash off time to pass between coats (Huntimer 33). The topcoat is later baked. After baking the topcoat, the same process is done by adding clear coat, which is also baked.

In conclusion, most car bodies are built in fashions that are similar to each other. Nevertheless, there are various stages involved in building a car. All the stages are imperative and have to be accomplished for a car to be complete. Therefore, the aforementioned stages of the body construction, the topcoat, the primer and the clear coat make Mustang complete.