Radiator
There are a couple of stamped parts which are required for the coolant inlet and outlet; the tube required for the heat exchanger portion is sourced from its plant in Chennai or Korea. In addition, it also imports the rubber seals which go in-between the aluminum and plastic tanks.
Tube is the main part of the heat exchanger that has to be weaved along with the fins manufactured in-house by corrugating the imported aluminium sheets. The fins are made through a continuous process due to its low thickness. The core builder combines the tubes and the fins and it is supported with the aluminum stamped parts which are the headers as well as the side support. This is a raw core which is not braced; after this it is tied together with clamps and moved for the bracing process. It is basically one line, having separate phases. There is a degreaser, a dryer and the furnace, where the bracing happens in a controlled environment. The conveyor takes the core assembly to the furnace that runs 24 hours. It has to run around the clock as it takes a lot of time to reach the required temperature.
The plant works 6 days a week. However, the furnace is partially on, even during the off-day, so as to quickly reach critical temperature when production recommences after the weekly off. Furnace is basically the heart of the entire operation. Nitrogen is charged to control the atmosphere of the furnace, even during the standby mode. When the process is running, it is necessary to keep the nitrogen in the furnace as the presence of oxygen can oxidize the core charged in for bracing.
Once the core is out of the furnace, it goes to the assembly area where the gasket and tank are put together. The plant has only 1 assembly line having 2 stations to make radiators. After checks it goes for the assembly operations.
