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www.ridemakerz.com on 11/21/2008 9:58:23 AM
www.ridemakerz.com on 11/21/2008 9:58:23 AM
 Think of a parking lot the size of four football fields that starts out empty at 9:00 a.m. and ends up packed with brand new cars by 5:00 p.m. Now imagine hundreds of lots just like it all over the world, going from empty to full every day. That’s a whole lot of cars being built, day after day. So, how do they do it? In 1906, Henry Ford perfected a simple yet revolutionary idea – the assembly line. Small teams of workers would piece together each car, little by little, as it moved past on a conveyer belt. Ford built his first factory around this concept in 1913, and soon a new car was rolling off the line every three minutes. That car was the Ford Model T – a simple, reliable car that millions could afford to buy. Soon, the car industry was booming and people all over the country were out shopping for their first cars. Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer, and by the late 1920s, Ford had built more than 15 million Model Ts. Today’s assembly lines turn out new cars every one to two minutes. That’s pretty amazing, considering each car or truck contains between 8,000 and 10,000 different parts! People do most of the jobs, working in teams to assemble exterior components, stitch interior upholstery and install engines. They’re helped by vast teams of robots, programmed to weld chassis components, prep, paint and perform other dangerous tasks. |
