Page 46: of Marine News Magazine (April 2013)

riers and ultra-modern PC tooling equip¬ment, provides  exibility in engine assembly. All six different C series engine models, each with nu-merous different ratings and custom- ized con gurations, can be assembled in random order. Regarding MCOE production capacity, Cat of cials would say only, ?The facility meets current customer output demands, with room for growth.? Work instructions are computer driven with color coded parts. Assem- bly line workers ?badge in and badge out? for quality control. Even torque control is automated ? the same exact amount of torque is applied to each bolt and clamp, every time. Electronic tooling with RFID chipped socket wrenches complete the picture of the fully modern assembly process. Nev- ertheless, the assembly line is versatile, changeable and audited throughout to allow close monitoring of the process. Every completed engine undergoes application-speci c testing to ensure that the  nal con guration meets the desired performance and quality levels. Three test cells, designed especially for marine engines, enable comprehen- sive dyno testing of any conceivable operating situation. To ensure maxi- mum compliance with engine speci- cations, the average testing time has been increased to about 45 minutes per engine. The data collected during the hot test process is available to the Cat Dealer for use in understanding that particular engine?s performance on board compared to in the factory. An additional bene t stems from the fact that the data from all tests is available internally for analyzing product and process performance. After successfully completing the performance test, the engine under- goes  nal painting and another de- tailed inspection prior to being re- leased for shipment.ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALLAt MCOE, Cat has made dramatic changes from past market experiences and now sees what industry wants April 201346 MNMN April2013 Layout 32-49.indd 46MN April2013 Layout 32-49.indd 464/2/2013 10:56:58 AM4/2/2013 10:56:58 AM