swanicyouth
New member
- Mar 3, 2011
- 9,388
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So, after leaving Detail Fest to drive back to PA, I stopped at the BMW NA Assembly Plant in Greer SC. Located there is the plant, Zentrum Museum, and the M Performance Driving School. I took a tour of the plant which was really interesting. There they make the X5, X6, and X3 SUVs. They used to make the Z4 (E85/6) and Z3 (E36/7) there also. Z4 production was switched to Germany with the latest Z4, the E89. Z3s were made there from model inception to completion. While touring the plant, the first stop is the paint section. There, you are able to see much of the process of the new BMW getting prepped for primer and paint, and some of the painting process. You are looking at the whole thing through glass windows, as the area where all this happens is obviously sealed off. They had a BMW fender on display with the 5 open layers of the paint process for everyone to see and touch. It was metal, primer, a non color specific under basecoat (same for all vehicles except white and red), basecoat, and clear coat. When touching this, since all the layers are seperated on the fender, you can actually see and feel how thick each layer is. I was really surprised to see how thick (yes thick) the clear coat layer was to what I had imagained. To me it seemed almost as thick as a medium fingernail, I pictured it thinner. You were able to see the employees sanding and polishing the finishes of the new cars also. All seemed to be using rotary buffers with large pads. All chemicals were in non labeled what look like color coordinated bottles, so what exactly they use was a mystery. Obviously, BMW doesn't let you take pictures of there manufacturing process. However, I was able to get a few pictures from a display there demonstrating some of the process:
Above you can see an image of someone buffing a new car
Someone wiping down a new BMW with a MF towel.
No sheet metal is stamped at this plant, everything is done my vendors using tools designed (made?) by BMW and shipped to the plant. One interesting thing is all bumper covers and plastic fenders (X5 & X6) are painted by the vendors and are shipped to BMW already painted. They didn't mention rocker panels and other plastic parts though. I was looking under the bright lights at the off site painted plastic panels and the on site painted bodies and the match was perfect to me. BMW paints the metal bodies and then installs the pre-painted plastic parts from the vendors afterwards. These bumpers come with all lights and electronics assembled from the vendor and just snap on the body (after plugging in the wire harness). Doors are painted on the vehicle, then removed and reinstalled at the end, so it's easier to install the seats and the dash assembly. Wire harnesses are heated in a huge oven to 143 degrees do they are more flexible and easier to install by hand. Almost all the welding seems to be by high tech robots, but if a defect is found a welder will spot weld and repair it. Something else I learned is that the weight of the finish is about 20 lbs. So, if you weigh the body as bare metal, and then weigh it after the final coat has been sprayed, the average weight of clear coat, primer, and basecoat is 20 lbs. After polishing, the new cars go to an area with super bright lighting for inspection of the final finish and then they are preserved in a protective material. Next door is the BMW Zentrum Museum. It's not too big, but it was certainly worth checking out. Here, they did let you take pictures!
A believe this is a 328.
The first Z3 made. It was assembled by hand
A WWII era BMW 12 cyl aircraft engine
A Z8
An Isetta
Above you can see an image of someone buffing a new car
Someone wiping down a new BMW with a MF towel.
No sheet metal is stamped at this plant, everything is done my vendors using tools designed (made?) by BMW and shipped to the plant. One interesting thing is all bumper covers and plastic fenders (X5 & X6) are painted by the vendors and are shipped to BMW already painted. They didn't mention rocker panels and other plastic parts though. I was looking under the bright lights at the off site painted plastic panels and the on site painted bodies and the match was perfect to me. BMW paints the metal bodies and then installs the pre-painted plastic parts from the vendors afterwards. These bumpers come with all lights and electronics assembled from the vendor and just snap on the body (after plugging in the wire harness). Doors are painted on the vehicle, then removed and reinstalled at the end, so it's easier to install the seats and the dash assembly. Wire harnesses are heated in a huge oven to 143 degrees do they are more flexible and easier to install by hand. Almost all the welding seems to be by high tech robots, but if a defect is found a welder will spot weld and repair it. Something else I learned is that the weight of the finish is about 20 lbs. So, if you weigh the body as bare metal, and then weigh it after the final coat has been sprayed, the average weight of clear coat, primer, and basecoat is 20 lbs. After polishing, the new cars go to an area with super bright lighting for inspection of the final finish and then they are preserved in a protective material. Next door is the BMW Zentrum Museum. It's not too big, but it was certainly worth checking out. Here, they did let you take pictures!
A believe this is a 328.
The first Z3 made. It was assembled by hand
A WWII era BMW 12 cyl aircraft engine
A Z8
An Isetta
