New BMW 3 Series Coupe In Depth

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Concept
Page 3: Design
Page 4: Power Units
Page 5: Automatic Trans.
Page 6: Suspension
Page 7: All Wheel Drive
Page 8: Body & Safety
Page 9: Light Concept
Page 10: Features/Equipment
Page 11: Production
Page 12: History

Production

Quality, Flexibility and Environmental Care

• Modern on-line production at BMW’s Regensburg Plant

• Clear powder painting: even more brilliant, even less chemicals

• Customer-oriented sales and production process

The BMW Group invests consistently not only in the development of new cars, but also in the modernisation of its production facilities and the know-how of the employees working there. This is indeed the only way to build attractive cars with a high standard of efficiency, maximum flexibility, and supreme quality.

Production of the new BMW 3 Series Coupé at BMW’s Regensburg Plant once again proves the exceptionally high standard of these production processes. Although the BMW 3 Series Coupé is quite different and, indeed, unique in its body design, with each and every car being built to the customer’s specific, individual order, the production of each model is fully integrated into the overall course of production at the BMW Plant in Regensburg.

BMW has been building cars at the Regensburg Plant for 20 years. Originally the Plant started out with just an assembly hall, today the production facility is one of the most modern and, in particular, flexible car production plants in the world. More than 10,000 associates, among them some 300 apprentices, work in the Press Shop, Bodyshop, Paintshop, Assembly and Logistics.

The BMW Regensburg Plant builds both Saloons, Coupés and Convertibles in the BMW 3 Series, the BMW M3, and the BMW 1 Series. It also builds and provides the special equipment for police, fire brigade and emergency rescue cars, with total production output in 2005 of approximately 300,000 units.

Single-line production with unique flexibility.

It is particularly the diversity of models coming off the production line in Regensburg which makes the Plant a very special car production facility, with all cars being built in the so-called one-line system. This means that the associates assemble a new BMW 3 Series Coupé, for example, on the same line as, say, a Saloon or a BMW M3.

Flexibility of this kind is quite unique in worldwide car production. It requires not only careful and intelligent production planning, but also standardisation of production processes and a high level of employee qualification. All steps in production are closely coordinated with one another and are fully integrated into the BMW Group’s worldwide production network. Body panels and other components made in the Regensburg Press Shop, for example, go to numerous other plants within the BMW Group’s production network the world over. In return, numerous other components ranging from the plastic side panels for the new BMW 3 Series Coupé through engines and transmissions all the way to the completely pre-assembled interior components go from other BMW production facilities or from suppliers to the Regensburg Plant for further construction and assembly.

Robots putting together the body.

All new BMW 3 Series Coupés are assembled in the Bodyshop of the BMW Regensburg Plant, with up to 700 panels and metal components first being put together in individual modules and joined, depending on the model, by approximately 5,500 welding spots. The next step is to put together the floorpan, side frame and roof, as well as the doors, engine compartment lid, side panels and rear lid to complete the entire body. Ninety-five per cent of this work is done by robots, giving body production the highest degree of automation within all BMW production processes.

The Paintshop at BMW’s Regensburg Plant is among the most advanced and innovative facilities of its kind the world over, car bodies going through a multi-stage process in the fully automatic paint line. Operations start with a cleaning process and the cathodic dip bath applying the first layer of paint on the electrostatically charged body of the car. With the body being turned and tilted individually according to the requirements of each model, the cathodic dip bath ensures a consistent and complete paint coating.

After the body has been sealed and the filler applied, the next step is to apply the topcoat in a third layer, giving the body the colour ordered by the customer, before clear powder paint adds the final touch in providing a lasting, brilliant surface gloss. This fourth layer serves to protect the surface of the car and gives the paint colour not only brilliance, but also the right feeling of depth. Introducing powder paint, BMW has ensured the breakthrough of a particularly environmentally-friendly technology neither requiring solvents nor producing effluents.

Plastic side panels also painted online.

For reasons of weight reduction, the front side panels of the BMW 3 Series Coupé are made of an innovative thermoplastic material. Contrary to conventional plastic components, they no longer have to be painted separately and then fitted on to the car at a later point in time. Instead, they can be painted online, going through the normal paint application process together with the entire body-in-white.

Assembly: perfect logistics, optimised ergonomics.

Assembly is the last process in building a new BMW 3 Series Coupé, with approximately 100 operations being conducted in this phase of production. Depending on the car, up to 20,000 individual components are assembled at this point, the process of bringing together the body and the drivetrain referred to as the “wedding�' being fully automated.

Most of the other operations, in turn, call for highly qualified, individualised manual skills and craftsmanship. To offer associates optimum working conditions in this process, the assembly lines at BMW’s Regensburg Plant have been designed and laid out consistently for the highest standard of ergonomics. And to ensure that each associate receives the components required at the right time, all components and sub-assemblies are delivered to the assembly line just-in-sequence.

Precise information: when will the new car be built?

The ability to handle even the most complex logistics and production processes is an essential prerequisite for efficient, high-quality car production. This also benefits the customer himself, with the BMW Group’s Customer-Oriented Sales and Production Process (KOVP) having already proven its merits and success over many years. KOVP helps to minimise delivery periods for a new car, maximise flexibility in ordering and production, and ensure optimum transparency in the production process.

The Customer-Oriented Sales and Production Process supports the Online Ordering System networking the BMW dealer and the BMW Group in processing car orders. This initiates the process of production logistics as soon as the customer has put together this desired car, while still allowing short-term changes with a high degree of flexibility. As a result, the customer can be informed at any time how many days will still elapse until the start of production and, if he wishes, he is able to change equipment features or, say, the paintwork colour up to just a few days before production of his car actually begins. So modern production technology at the BMW Regensburg Plant even helps to whet the customer’s appetite in anticipation of his new car.

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