Excel Monorail Systems, a division of Excel
Automation, has completed an extension to a
conveying and handling system, which has
enabled a Cockpit fit station to be re-located
20m further along a car production line.

Cockpits for the MINI range are delivered
to Plant Oxford from the Magna Intier plant
at Redditch using special road transport
trailers with on-board, chain-driven live
roller conveyor systems. On arrival, the
trailer is docked with the receiving conveyor.
Due to process changes, the Cockpit fit
station needed to be relocated further along
the production line. The move required the
design of a new conveying and handling
system to transport the loaded platen out of
the drop section to the new fitting position,
relocating the manipulator (and standby
manipulator), implementing a new light
guard array to the new position and a means
of returning the platen to the drop section
for onward despatch.

Excel Automation was awarded the
contract on commercial grounds and was able
to show the MINI team a similar system at
its Worcester factory. Excel had also installed
a handling and conveying system for
sequencing the same cockpit platens at the
Magna Intier Redditch plant.

The new 20m conveying system now takes
the platen on a two-tier conveyor to a new
Cockpit fit station where it is removed from
the platen and fitted to the vehicle. The
empty platen is then returned to the drop
section that brought it to the ground floor.