Rust-protecting a Volvo pdf
0ne of the many reasons why the Volvo has become such a popular and sought after car is because it has been built for Swedish conditions and above all, to stand up to the Swedish climate. Volvo cars are given extremely effective protective treatment against the depredations of rust. Of all the makes of cars in Sweden it is the Volvo PV 544 which best withstands the ravages of rust.
In the autumn 1957 Volvo brought into use a new plant for rust-protective treatment or phosphating as it is known in the trade. At this time the roto-dip plant, which had been in use for more than 10 years, had served its purpose. This roto-dip was one of the very first to be built. The basic principle of this was that the car bodies, mounted on jigs, were fed cross-wise on to a conveyor and, while slowly rotating, were passed through a series of degreasing and phosphating baths. The bodies were dipped in each bath at the same time as jets were sprayed over them. The last section consisted of a paint bath (without sprays) where the whole body was dipped into synthetic primer and an oven where it was dried off.
This plant had a capacity of 11 bodies per hour. In the meantime Volvo’s production increased by leaps and bounds and the capacity of the roto-dip became more and more insufficient. It was not possible to alter the speed of the conveyor. Finally it was decided to install a completely new plant and to use only sprays in the various processes. Dipping was resorted to only to cover the lower portion of the body. In this way Volvo went over to the current type of plant used by the most modern car factories in Europe and America.
By the use of spraying the process times in the various sections can be cut down by less than half. The mechanical arrangement is simpler. The speed of the conveyor is adjustable so that the out-put of the plant can be exactly suited to production demands. This, and other things, means that the new plant, which occupies about the same floor space; has a production rate more than three times as great.
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