Chrysler Group's approaches to Advanced Manufacturing Engineering: they're aggressive in their development of greater flexibility. They're working their capital equipment harder and longer. And they're counting on technology advances to make vehicle manufacturing even better

Automotive Design & Production, Feb, 2004 by Gary S. Vasilash

When it comes to process development at the Chrysler Group, Frank J. Ewasyshyn and his colleagues are pretty much the ones who are responsible for finding the ways and means to build better cars, trucks, and minivans: Ewasyshyn is the senior vice president, Advance Manufacturing Engineering for the vehicle manufacturer, a position that he's held since September 1999. During 2004, Chrysler is rolling out with numerous cars and trucks. CEO Dieter Zetsche claims that this "product offensive" is unparalleled in the history of the U.S. auto industry, with nine new vehicles. So, while there is certainly going to be attention placed on how well, say, the Chrysler 300C looks and drives and is put together, or on how well the '05 Jeep Grand Cherokee does in a market that is now full of vehicles in that size (if not with that capability), the issue of profitability producing product that has world-class levels of quality really has its bedrock in the advance manufacturing engineering community at Chrysler. So to get a sense of where Chrysler is now and where it might be going in terms of process technology, we ask Ewasyshyn....

ON MANUFACTURING FLEXIBILITY

"No, we don't have enough flexibility right now," Ewasyshyn candidly admits. But he goes on to say that they are working hard to increase it--but through evolution, not what he calls a "flexibility spree," or an artificial program meant to increase the flexibility in the plants by some defined point in time. Of course, given the number of new programs that they're working, the degree of flexibility that can be achieved by simply adding it with each new program is significant.

When asked to define what he means by flexibility, Ewasyshyn answers, "We're not restricting ourselves to purely vehicle size." That is, he says they're not just thinking in terms of small-medium vehicle plants and large vehicle plants, which has pretty much been the approach other companies have taken. "It may be that we'll have a small car cross-loaded into a plant that has the ability to build something bigger." In fact, he says that because of the influences of sibling and affiliated companies--Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Hyundai--they are thinking differently than other companies. "We're going to have to handle different architectures in similar buildings." By way of further explanation, he says, "We're trying to take a step back and look at it from a more universal approach than from a specific product or platform approach." He references the now-famous/infamous situation at the Belvedere Assembly Plant, when it was discovered that the paint shop didn't have sufficient overhead clearance to accommodate the PT Cruiser. As that plant has been redone, the concept of handling different-sized vehicles was taken into account: "It will never run anything as big as the minivan, but it doesn't stop us from running different types of products in the same building."

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But there's more. A lot more. "We're looking at not just flexibility within a building, but flexibility within the product, plant-to-plant, and business model flexibility." As for an example of the last-mentioned, Ewasysyhn says, "Supplier parks and expanding the boundaries of normal ownership--we also consider that to be versions of flexibility."

One more important thing to know about the Chrysler approach to flexibility: "We're doing it without adding any extra cost."

In fact, they've reduced spending. According to Ewasyshyn, compared to the year 2000, the capital plan is down by 40%, even though they've increased the number of models they are producing. "We've changed the standards. Changed what we buy. Where we buy. How we buy. We've leveraged the Covisint system wherever we could, and we have a very aggressive competitive bidding process."

ON METALCUTTING

"Most people have been chasing speed," Ewasyshyn says. He cites machines with linear induction motors to move the axes, machines with spindles that have high rpms and high torque. The machines are one thing. "What are lagging behind are the cutting tools to support them." He says that whereas, for example, you can do high-speed machining in aluminum, once you go to a different material "the tool life isn't there." He observes, "In the past, tool capability was better than the machine; now the machine has gone beyond where the tool capability is, so there's going to have to be a lot of work done in cutting tools."

CNC machines are going to become more prevalent. He cites the World Engine Program that Chrysler is undertaking with Mitsubishi and Hyundai, which will go into production in 2005 and which will have an annual volume of 1.5-million engines: "It is basically all CNC except for critical operations that are set up on transfer lines." The transfer lines will be used for purposes of controlling tight-tolerance operations.

While they are doing work on near-dry machining operations, and while he suggests that this will undoubtedly increase with time, the real focus is on minimizing the overall amount of machining performed. That is, he points out that casting technology is improving thanks, in large part, to sensor technology that mitigates the need to produce castings with additional material in order to help assure that porosity is brought to the surface. That additional material then has to be removed through machining. But by producing near-net shape castings, there is a need to remove less material. Because less material is being removed, it is possible to run at higher speeds and feeds, so the machining that is done is also being performed more quickly than is the norm.