Volvo Trucks - Building an ultra-modern Volvo FH in five days

The new Volvo FH has more computers than an aircraft- -offers the connectivity of a mobile phone- -and is environmentally efficient, safe and comfortable. How exactly is an ultra-modern truck built? It starts with this roll of sheet steel. Every new truck model is just like a human being - unique. And requires product-specific tools. In the cab plant, the sheet steel is shaped in 340 new presses. In one single year, they will produce 7 million parts for the new Volvo FH. Each part is pressed in several stages- -as this improves the fit of the cab's panels when they are put together. This assembly process is carried out with the help of more than 300 robots. They move with silky-smooth precision throughout the factory. Behind each robot is an advanced computer program- -that tells it exactly what to do, and when. That is the case with this entirely new laser welder- -which joins the outer panels in the door opening with a perfection- -that is hard to achieve using a conventional welder. After a few hours, the sheet steel has already been transformed into a cab. The next stop on the assembly line in the one-kilometer-long plant- -is the paint shop, which on the subject of ultra modern- -is one of the most environmentally optimized in the world. Here, the cab is painted in an entirely automatic process. Today, each cab requires four liters of paint- -half the amount used just ten years ago. On the assembly line, the cab is fitted with its components. Here, the on-board electronic components are installed. In total, the cab will pass through 350 different pairs of hands- -before the entire interior is in place. The glass panels are bonded to the cab, a method introduced with the Volvo FH- -which improves safety, as the glass panels contribute- -to the cab's overall strength. It's not long before the cab is finished, only three days- -after starting out as sheet steel. The cab will be transported to the chassis plant for completion. First, let's make a stopover at the engine plant. Here, truck engines are cast, machined and assembled. The mercury shows 25 degrees Celsius in the foundry- -and 1,500 degrees in the smelting furnace. Now that the cab and engine are ready, we'll continue to the chassis plant. Here, intensive work has been underway- -even before series production on the new Volvo FH started. In the pilot plant, about 300 pre-series trucks have been built. They've been driven a distance equal to several times around the Earth- -all to insure that they meet the very highest quality standards. Operators from all over the world - from Russia to Brazil- -have been here to learn how to build the new truck. On the assembly line, the chassis is fitted upside-down- -since this is easier for the operators. Here, the last electronic components are fitted, just like an aircraft- -with one control unit for each function. This means that several computers talk to each other several times per second. Receiving and transmitting information about parameters such as speed- -and steering wheel position. It takes just over five days, and 2,790 screws- -to transform sheet steel and hi-tech electronics- -into a state-of-the-art machine, weighing about 8,000 kilos. The all-new Volvo FH.