Technical
In this, the third article in the series, Richard Comely and Lee Kristensen of
Ransomes Jacobsen look, in detail, at the production of a Jacobsen GP400 ride- on greens mower.
On this particular
production line, there are ten stations in the build process and the functions that happen on each are explained
The mower is delivered to the production line from the paint shop on a bespoke trolley and it stays on this as it travels the length of the line.
The first job is to prepare the engine and then insert it into the chassis. The GP400 can be fitted with either an 18hp Briggs
Line Production
Station to Station...
Station 1 - Engine, Swing out arm, rear wheel yoke
& Stratton petrol engine, normally for export to the USA, or an 18hp Kubota diesel engine, the more common power source for machines in the UK, Europe and most other countries world-wide.
Both engines are fitted with their mounting brackets, main hydraulic pump
and exhaust unit at the side of the line before being hoisted and positioned in the chassis.
The rear wheel steering yoke is bolted into position and the swing-out arm for the rear cutting unit, a patented design unique to Jacobsen greens mowers, is fitted.
Transmission pump and lift/lower valve block attached to engine
Here, we begin to fit some of the main and ancillary hydraulic components. The first item to be fitted at station 2 is the backlap valve block. Once fixed into position, flexible hydraulic hoses are attached and the hydraulic couplings hand tightened and a coloured line drawn vertically on both parts of the coupling. This is then tightened using a
Engine complete with exhaust system, ready for insertion
Engine being positioned in chassis Station 2 - Backlap valve block, cutting unit lift-drive valve block, rigid pipelines
torque wrench and the coloured line becomes broken and offset showing that the coupling has been torqued correctly.
The colour coding is unique to the assembly technician and forms part of the quality checking system.
If a component is found to be incorrectly assembled, and there is a consistent
colour present in the component marking, the technician can undergo further training to alleviate the problem.
Next, the valve block which controls the cutting unit lift and drive functions is fitted and we insert the rigid pre-bent pipework that connects these two components.
Rigid pipework being prepared 118 PC JUNE/JULU 2013
Coloured line is drawn on both components with a marker pen
The offset line shows that the coupling has been torqued correctly
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