Evolution of arc welding Design in welding MicroTack - Kemppi

10
CASE
Kemppi services project
manager Markku Mäki
inspects a transmitter
unit at the new factory
of Lahden Autokori.
Kemppi ProNews 1 • 2008
Lahden Autokori Oy deploys
Kemppi Arc System for
monitoring welding effi ciency
Simultaneously with opening its brand-new
production facilities in Lahti in November
2007, Lahden Autokori Oy modernised its
production technology. This update included
deployment of the Kemppi Arc System
solution, used for analysing the development
of welding productivity in the bodywork
manufacturing.
Lahden Autokori Oy, specialising in the design, manufacture,
and servicing of bus bodywork, has two locations in the
Lahti region: the older factory at Villähde and the new
production facility in Lahti, which opened in November
2007 and manufactures buses of 12 to 15.5 metres for
express routes and charter use.
A major bus manufacturer in Finland, the company has also
gained a foothold in other Nordic countries and elsewhere
in Europe, too. The opening of the new production facility
received good media coverage. Reports presented the
expansion as a positive example of maintaining industrial
production in Finland.
What is different in the new production facility in
comparison to the Villähde factory as regards the method
of bus production is that the manufacture takes place on
a continuous line. The manufacturing of bodywork starts
when the chassis for a bus is transferred into the production
hall. Before being completed, a bus goes through various
posts in the factory. Finally, the end product is transferred to
a client facility, where it is delivered to the buyer.
Welding has great importance in bus
manufacturing
The bodywork of an Autokori bus is made of stainless
steel in order to withstand demanding Nordic conditions.
Combining metals is, thus, a major part of the manufacture,
so welding effi ciency has a place of great importance in the
overall production process.