Caterpillar uses Airfloat turntables to remove assembly line bottlenecks.

THE SITUATION

Caterpillar wanted to increase productivity at its Decatur, Illinois 797 Mining Truck assembly line, which relied on a single-rail assembly line. The assembly line routinely produced production bottlenecks, as the trucks were hard to move off the rail. However, the system had successful elements that Caterpillar wanted to retain. Due to the nature of the assembly line, all equipment had to be flush to the ground to interface with existing rail lines.

THE SOLUTION

Seamless Integration

Pit mounted turntables turned the line from a single rail to a multi-rail system.

Low Maintenance

Air Caster Turntables were used to minimize wear and potential downtime.

Heavy Duty

The custom-designed turntables were manufactured to easily rotate 200,000 lbs.

These custom-designed turntables were manufactured to easily rotate 200,000 lbs.

The Result

Our multi-rail assembly line led to substantial productivity increases. By being able to move the 797 Mining Truck around bottlenecks using the Air Caster Turntables, Caterpillar was able to work around trucks that required more time than allotted for, increasing output.

Caterpillar Uses Airfloat to to Remove Assembly Line Bottlenecks

CASE STUDY

THE SITUATION

THE SOLUTION

The Result