New Screw Jacks End Maintenance Problem For BMW

The installation of new screw jacks at BMW’s plant in Regensburg, Germany, has helped increase production of the BMW 3 Series cars and has ended a maintenance problem at the state-of-the-art facility.

The plant is highly automated and uses laser precision to achieve its standard build quality levels. The original OEM-supplied Cone Drive screw jacks — used in the final assembly section to lift and lower the rear sections of the cars before they are married to the front sections — were not designed to achieve the faster working speed required under an expansion that saw production increase from 200 units per day to 900.

Moreover, their age — they were installed 15 years ago — had created a maintenance problem in that it had become difficult to obtain a specific type of screw needed for the replacement of the spindles.

As a result, Cone Drive supplied new Series DB screw jacks. The mechanically operated devices were selected for the plant because of their greater precision and consistency over hydraulic or pneumatic jacks.

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