ThyssenKrupp Magazin

70 GALLARDO
The Lamborghini initially
starts moving on a plain carriage.
The car body shell is made up
of nearly 400 aluminum parts that
are assembled with screws, punch
rivets, welding seams and glue.
to 100 km/h in a breathtaking 4.2 seconds. Top speed is above 300
km/h. Any more questions?
Perhaps about the design, because the shape of the car’s body
naturally has a significant impact on the way it is produced, as shown
clearly at ThyssenKrupp Drauz. Lamborghini’s Belgian designer, Luc
Donckerwolke, created the Gallardo as a sculpture on wheels – and was
clearly very conscious of this mission. The body mirrors great artistic
freedom, which presents the manufacturers with numerous challenges:
it is not practical and even like that of mass cars, but exalted and extravagant,
with sharp lines and racy cavities. Che bella macchina!
TOP QUALITY IS TAKEN FOR GRANTED
It is hardly surprising, then, that 95 percent of the Gallardo body in
white is produced manually, particularly because it is produced in only
relatively small numbers. About 100 employees busy themselves in
ThyssenKrupp Drauz’s bright, spotlessly clean plant, getting the aluminum
into its racy final shape. In addition, two robots carry out special
tasks. The motto: to produce top quality. This is why employees receive
nearly a year and a half of special training and the machines need the
same amount of time to be set up and adjusted: aluminum has its own
particularities and, in many respects, cannot be compared to steel.
Some employees who learned their craft in steel body manufacturing
had to make big adjustments.
TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |