BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 1 Bentley Motors enjoys a privileged position in the automotive industry. Based in Crewe, Cheshire, Bentley has regional offices and global dealer representation. With a £500 million investment plan, The company has embarked on an ambitious and exciting new car development programme, Crewe designed, crafted and built to a unique world-class standard. The Bentley Continental G.T. has already become a much sought after car. Heads of State, business owners, successful sportsmen and sportswomen, top entertainers and entrepreneurs share a passion for owning one of these super- cars. ABOUT BENTLEY MOTORS

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 2 The aim of this resource is to explain how the seats for Bentley Motor cars are manufactured and the technology involved. The product is very technologically advanced, with power adjustment, built in seat belts, air bags, heating, cooling and the option to have a massage facility! The seats are produced in their own separate area within the Vehicle Assembly Hall. We aim to show the main activities involved in this process which combines traditional skills with computer aided manufacture (CAM). Details of Bentley’s Wood Shop and Engine Build Line can be found on Axis PowerPoint resources, volumes 1 and 2. AIMS OF RESOURCE

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 3 At the start of the process a manifest is received. This specifies details about the car and its destination, as well as all the information needed to make the seats chosen by the buyer. Each manifest has a unique V.I.N. (Vehicle Identification Number). This manifest is ordering a seat for a 2 door car, left hand drive for a customer in the USA. Details of the choice of colour, stitching and whether it is to have the seat massaging element are coded. STARTING POINT

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 4 Once an order has been placed, the hide has to be selected. It takes twelve hides for the interior of the Continental G.T. and fourteen for the four door Flying Spur. On delivery they are stored on ‘horses’. There are nineteen standard colours, but at extra cost you could have any colour you like. Bentley have even matched a car interior to a certain shade of nail varnish! HIDE STORAGE AND SELECTION

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 5 The hides are carefully scrutinised for imperfections, these are identified with coloured tape to prevent the area being used. QUALITY CONTROL

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 6 The hides for the seat parts are cut on large C.N.C. cutters, which use a vacuum to hold them in place. These machines are similar to card plotters and cutters found in many schools, relying on X and Y coordinates to produce the required shapes. CUTTING

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 7 A team of male and female associates stitch the freshly cut leather pieces to corresponding padding, using traditional sewing machine techniques. SEWING

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 8 The Bentley wings logo is embroidered onto several parts of the car’s interior. There are 20,500 stitches, 5 metres of thread and each logo takes 6 minutes to produce. BENTLEY MOTORS LOGO

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 9 The start location for the logo is marked on the leather before machining, in order to line up the needle. The computerised embroidery machine works in a similar way to the smaller versions in schools. C.A.D. EMBROIDERY

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 10 At the same time as the leather is being prepared, other aspects of the seat build are in operation. Various parts for a seat are collected from flow racks at the start of this aspect of the build process, from the information provided from the manifest. They are then loaded onto a kitting dolly. (Below) The components are controlled by a lean manufacturing system, known as ‘Just In Time’ or J.I.T. This ensures exactly the right number of parts are always available, precisely when needed.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 11 Seat frames are imported from Germany. The six here are waiting for collection and fitting.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 12 Some of the leather pieces do not require pre-stitching and are applied directly to the components. These are temporarily stored in an area close to where they will be used. Bentley Motors only use premium grade hides for their seats, from Scandinavian and Baltic bulls, as Southern European hides are more likely to have insect bites! Cow hides are not used as they tend to have stretch marks from calving.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 13 Adhesive is sprayed onto the components which are to be covered in hide. The adhesive has an 8 hour window from spray to application before it sets. It is water based, and not harmful, however there is an extraction and filter system under the booth table.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 14 The hide of a seat component is applied and trimmed on a fixture which has been specifically designed for the purpose.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 15 Applying the hide to the back panel using a similar fixture as shown on the previous slide.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 16 These associates are busy covering various components with hide. This is necessarily a labour intensive process which relies on the traditional skills of the associates to manufacture the top quality seats for these vehicles.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 17 This associate is smoothing leather onto a head rest. Note the green protective covers over her ring and watch, so there is no risk of scratching the leather.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 18 Here, the seat frame is moving on a pulley to a point where the complex electrical harness can be installed. This view, without the cushion squab, etc., shows the complexity of the seat.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 19 The seat frame is fixed to the manipulator at the start of the assembly line. The manipulator is a moveable unit which has been specially designed to facilitate the assembly of seat. The bottom of the unit slots into a track on the factory floor. The seat moves very slowly around the assembly line giving each associate just enough time to complete their task.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 20 Here the associate is using an electrical power tool. The sockets used with the power tool are stored in the intelligent socket tray.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 21 The intelligent socket tray is programmed to control the sequence in which the sockets are used and the torque which is applied to each fastener to ensure accuracy.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 22 The Electronic Control Unit (E.C.U.) is a sophisticated embedded computer which controls all the inputs to the power seat system. Therefore, a person sitting on the seat can control the outputs, such as movement, heating, cooling, massage, etc. Here are the connections (right) for testing the E.C.U. prior to further assembly.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 23 After the seatbelt mechanism has been fitted an anti-tamper sticker is added. This is part of Bentley’s quality assurance. Notice how the seatbelt is an integral part of the seat. In most cars it is attached to the panel behind the doors.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 24 This associate is fitting the seat cushion.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 25 This shows the seat squab being positioned.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 26 Here the associate is fitting a ‘sock’ to protect the airbag in the seat. Airbags are only fitted into the seats of the Flying Spur. The word ‘Airbag’ is embossed in the leather to identify the location of the bag in the seat.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 27 Here, under the seat, you can see some of the complex wiring and the detonators for the airbags. Airbag detonators

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 28 Some clients opt to have a cross-stitch finish on the seats of their car and the interior in general, this costs an extra £2,500. It takes one skilled associate a whole week to hand embroider one single car interior. Cross-stitch trim to a seat squab and door panel. CROSS-STITCH FINISH

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 29 The associates wear special gloves to protect their fingers. Each component is decorated with one continuous thread. If they get a knot in the thread they have to unpick all the stitching and start again! It takes thread the length of three football pitches to decorate one car. CROSS-STITCH FINISH

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 30 A seat without the cross-stitch trim, requires the fitting of a valance before completion.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 31 The completed seats receive a final visual inspection before being covered and arranged in correct sequence for the build order for the assembly line. The seat controls can be programmed to the preferences of 3 different people. They can vary the temperature, tilt, length of seat and massage facility. COMPLETED SEATS

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 32 The completed seat is bolted to the cars floor pan and connected to the electrical system.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 33 The client for this vehicle has requested red leather seats and interior in their white continental G.T. The car is awaiting delivery to the USA.

BENTLEY POWER SEAT MANUFACTURE 34 The Axis team wish to acknowledge the time and help given by Bentley Motors in the development of this teaching resource. We would appreciate the completion of the feedback questionnaire sheet within 12 weeks of receipt. If you would like further copies please quote:- KS3/4 – Volume 15 Please Axis at if you want further copies of this resource, or information about other