Simulation · Minimal Factory · Rhineland
Düsseldorf future factory · robot cells and driverless transport
A modern factory as a model: robot cells, driverless transport vehicles, drones and a robot dog, plus people on the assembly line and a plant tour in ten stops.
Trailer
Real are location, terrain and surroundings (official NRW elevation data, OpenStreetMap). Halls and processes are an interpretation of our own based on public reports; quantities, processes and times are model values. With your data, the model shows your site and your processes.
The Düsseldorf future factory is a modern van factory as a block model: twelve robot cells with four large robot arms each weld the body shells. Every body shell rides a driverless transport vehicle from cell to cell, drones fly inspection rounds, a robot dog patrols – and people work on the assembly line. Small robots, so-called cobots, fit the windows.
Five controls steer the plant: investment (one to three lines), skilled workers, supply, quality and market. A plant tour with ten stops shows delivery, cells, paint, assembly, testing and the yard. If there are too few driverless transport vehicles it gets tight, because every body shell needs one; if the yard is full, the car transporter waits.
Real are location, terrain and surroundings in Düsseldorf from official NRW elevation data and OpenStreetMap. Halls and processes are an interpretation of our own based on public reports; quantities, processes and times are model values, and one working day lasts ten seconds. The page is for museums and exhibitions, schools and universities, training and further education.
Factory tour (10 stops)
- 01
Delivery
- 02
Body shop · robot cells
- 03
Body shop · inside a cell
- 04
Paint shop
- 05
Assembly · on the line
- 06
Assembly · marriage
- 07
Assembly · glass and cobots
- 08
Logistics
- 09
Inspection
- 10
Yard · car transporter
01
A site at work
Düsseldorf future factory: A modern van factory in Düsseldorf: robot arms weld in cells, each body rides on a driverless vehicle, people work on the line.
02
Delivery
Delivery – Pressed parts arrive from other plants: floors, side panels, roofs, doors. Forklifts bring them to the cells in racks.
What is shown – why – for whom
| What is shown | Why | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery with pressed parts from other plants | WhyShows how floors, side walls, roofs and doors reach the cells in racks. | For whommuseum, teaching |
| Twelve robot cells with four robot arms each and driverless transport vehicles | WhyShows how the body shell travels from cell to cell and is welded. | For whomteaching, history of technology |
| Paint shop with dip tank, filler, colour, clear coat and dryer | WhyShows how paint robots work in the booths. | For whommuseum, teaching |
| Assembly line, marriage, windows with cobots and logistics | WhyShows where people work and how driverless vehicles bring the parts. | For whommuseum, exhibition |
| Testing with light tunnel and drones | WhyShows how paint, gaps and lights of every van are checked. | For whomteaching, industrial heritage |
| Yard with car transporters, gate, canteen and robot dog | WhyShows how finished vans, eight per truck, leave the plant and who comes through the gate. | For whomexhibition, career guidance |
| Five controls with output, stockpile and daily result | WhyShows connections in operations, not operating figures. | For whomeconomics teaching |
03
Body shop · inside a cell
Body shop · inside a cell – The clamping frame holds the panels while the arms weld from all sides. Next to the cell: parts rack, control cabinet and a light curtain that stops the robots if anyone steps in.
04
Five levers, one works
Full investment – three lines: further line halls on the north site with body shop, paint, assembly and testing.
Films from the model
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Above Düsseldorf future factory
A flight across the whole site: low approach, the production line, then across the works to the long shot – everything moving, with the sound of the works.
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Through the halls
The factory tour glides low through the halls: from delivery through the robot cells and the paint shop to the marriage, inspection and the yard.
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A working day in time-lapse
In time-lapse working days pass in seconds: shifts at the gate, traffic on the supply and dispatch routes, the stockpile (yard of finished vehicles) changing along.
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A works grows
Investment step by step: new lines appear, the workforce grows with them, then more supply and a boom in the market.
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Bottleneck – the works respond
First materials run short and the plant only runs in part, then the market takes too little and the stockpile fills up – in the boom the works recover.
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Using the software
With the full interface: the works with five levers, slump and boom, one hall and the factory tour through the halls.
Facilities and areas in the model
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Delivery
Pressed parts arrive from other plants: floors, side panels, roofs, doors. Forklifts bring them to the cells in racks.
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Robot cells
Twelve cells with four large robot arms each weld the body. Every body rides on a driverless transport vehicle from cell to cell.
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Paint shop
Dip bath, primer, colour, clear coat, oven – paint robots in the booths.
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Assembly
People work on the line: wiring, cockpit, seats. Small robots fit the glass. Driverless vehicles bring parts from logistics.
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Inspection
A light tunnel and drones check every van: paint, gaps, lights. Whatever is wrong goes to rework.
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Yard · trucks
Finished vans wait on the yard and drive onto the car transporter – eight per truck. When it is full it leaves.
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Logistics
Trucks bring parts to logistics; driverless vehicles take them on to assembly.
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Gate · canteen
The shifts come through the gate; the canteen feeds the workforce. A robot dog patrols the body shop.
05
When things get tight
Yard of finished vehicles filling up – more is made than sold; when there is no room left the surplus goes at a 40 % discount.
06
Medium long shot
Medium long shot – the production line: robot arms weld in cells, driverless vehicles carry the bodies.
Processes in the model
Factory tour (10 stops)
- 01Delivery
- 02Body shop · robot cells
- 03Body shop · inside a cell
- 04Paint shop
- 05Assembly · on the line
- 06Assembly · marriage
- 07Assembly · glass and cobots
- 08Logistics
- 09Inspection
- 10Yard · car transporter
From pressed parts to the van
- 01Delivery
- 02Robot cells
- 03Paint shop
- 04Assembly
- 05Inspection
- 06Yard · trucks
Expansion
- 01investment: further line halls on the north site
- 02body shop, paint, assembly and testing on each line
- 03set the workforce to match
- 04the yard in the north-east shows what is not sold
Bottleneck and recovery
- 01supply short – the store empties
- 02materials missing – the plants only run in part
- 03market in a slump – the stockpile grows until the fire sale
- 04boom – the stockpile empties, the result rises
What the model can be used for
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Museum and exhibition
The plant tour shows the way in ten stops: delivery, robot cells, a single cell, paint shop, assembly line, marriage, windows and cobots, logistics, testing and yard.
For whommuseums, visitor centres, exhibitions
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School and university
What do robot cells do in body construction, and what are driverless transport vehicles for? Terms like cobot, light tunnel and andon board sit where they belong.
For whomschools, universities, vocational training
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Humans and machines
Where do people still work in an automated factory? On the line they fit cables, cockpit and seats while robots weld, paint and inspect. The model shows both side by side.
For whomcareer guidance, further training, economics teaching
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Understanding operations
Investment, skilled workers, supply, quality and market act at once on output, stockpile and result. It becomes visible why too few driverless vehicles slow down the whole line.
For whomeconomics teaching, further training
07
Body shop · robot cells
Body shop · robot cells – Twelve cells in four rows, each with four large robot arms. Every body rides on a driverless transport vehicle from cell to cell. Green light: cell active.
08
The whole software
Running the works – five levers: investment, workforce, supply, quality and market; the chain shows at once what follows.
What you can change
Controls
- Investment: Number of lines (1 to 3): more money builds more, less shuts them down; without more people they only run in part.
- Workforce: Enough people for all lines – output rises, and so does success. Too many people cost wages without more output.
- Supply: More material arrives – the plant no longer has to wait. Levels short, normal and double; supply security costs money.
- Quality: More quality means less scrap and fewer breakdowns but costs testing and maintenance (levels low, normal, high).
- Market: Slump, normal or boom. In a slump more is made than sold: the stockpile grows and success drops. In a boom the market takes more: the stockpile empties and success rises.
Disruptions
- Too few people: Workers are missing, part of the plant stands still.
- Material missing: Supply is not enough; once the store is empty the plants only run in part (message: “Parts store empty – supply is short”).
- Too much built: More is made than the market takes: the stockpile grows; when it is full the surplus goes at a 40 % discount (message: “Stockpile full – fire sale at a discount”).
- Market wants more: Demand is greater than the works can make; once the stockpile is empty orders are lost (message: “Stockpile empty – orders are lost”).
- Bottleneck: Assembly: Parts missing.
- Bottleneck: Yard full: The car transporter is away.
- Bottleneck: Too few driverless transport vehicles: Every body needs one. More AGVs!
What the model brings
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01
The real terrain as a stage
Plant, tracks and surroundings stand on terrain from official elevation data. You show the site as it lies, not as a diagram.
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02
A body shell on its way
The ten-stop plant tour follows the path of the body shell. You understand the process before you steer the plant yourself.
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03
Bottlenecks without damage
Parts run short in assembly, the yard is full, there are too few driverless vehicles. You see where it gets tight first, and set it back.
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04
For big screens and the browser
Runs in the browser and on large projections. A working day in fast motion lasts ten seconds.
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Düsseldorf future factory: A modern van factory in Düsseldorf: robot arms weld in cells, each body rides on a driverless vehicle, people work on the line. -
Düsseldorf future factory from the other side – the same site in the afternoon sun from the south-west, with long shadows of halls and structures. -
Medium long shot – the production line: robot arms weld in cells, driverless vehicles carry the bodies. -
Far out near Düsseldorf – terrain, houses and trees come from official elevation data; at the edge the world fades softly into the dark. -
From above – Düsseldorf future factory as a model of blocks: every cell a block, buildings and terrain from elevation data and OpenStreetMap. -
Düsseldorf future factory from above at an angle – Delivery, Robot cells, Paint shop, Assembly, Inspection, Yard · trucks at a glance. -
All around Düsseldorf: streets, tracks and water from OpenStreetMap, houses and trees from the elevation data – only the plant in the middle is built specially. -
At eye level – the production line, as close as from the fence. -
Delivery – Pressed parts arrive from other plants: floors, side panels, roofs, doors. Forklifts bring them to the cells in racks. -
Robot cells – Twelve cells with four large robot arms each weld the body. Every body rides on a driverless transport vehicle from cell to cell. -
Paint shop – Dip bath, primer, colour, clear coat, oven – paint robots in the booths. -
Assembly – People work on the line: wiring, cockpit, seats. Small robots fit the glass. Driverless vehicles bring parts from logistics. -
Inspection – A light tunnel and drones check every van: paint, gaps, lights. Whatever is wrong goes to rework. -
Yard · trucks – Finished vans wait on the yard and drive onto the car transporter – eight per truck. When it is full it leaves. -
Logistics – Trucks bring parts to logistics; driverless vehicles take them on to assembly. -
Gate · canteen – The shifts come through the gate; the canteen feeds the workforce. A robot dog patrols the body shop. -
Robot cells close up – robot arms weld in cells, driverless vehicles carry the bodies. -
Assembly close up – people on the line, the bodies move on in rhythm. -
Delivery – Pressed parts arrive in racks from other plants. Forklifts bring them to the robot cells. -
Body shop · robot cells – Twelve cells in four rows, each with four large robot arms. Every body rides on a driverless transport vehicle from cell to cell. Green light: cell active. -
Body shop · inside a cell – The clamping frame holds the panels while the arms weld from all sides. Next to the cell: parts rack, control cabinet and a light curtain that stops the robots if anyone steps in. -
Paint shop – From AGV onto the skid: dip tanks against rust, oven, then the booths with paint robots – primer, base coat, clear coat – and the dryer. -
Assembly · on the line – This is where most people work. The lift table on the AGV raises the van to working height. Racks of parts and screens showing the next task stand right at the line. -
Assembly · marriage – The lift table lowers and the drivetrain comes from below – for the electric van, the battery. Then it gets its wheels. -
Inspection – Light tunnel for the paint, rolling road, rain booth. Drones fly inspection rounds over the hall. -
Yard · car transporter – Finished vans wait on the yard and drive onto the car transporter, eight per truck. -
Small investment – only line 1 runs, the other plots lie ready as marked foundations. -
Full investment – three lines: further line halls on the north site with body shop, paint, assembly and testing. -
Every facility labelled – the halls from delivery to dispatch; at the top the working day with the daily output, on the right success in one number. -
The production line labelled – name and number right in the picture. -
Success in one number – 100 means it cannot get better in this market; below it the result per day, at the top the output per working day. -
Where a lever acts, a ring lights up – here after a change in the market: Yard · trucks. -
Materials missing – supply is short, the store is empty: assembly slows down and bodies back up. -
Yard of finished vehicles filling up – more is made than sold; when there is no room left the surplus goes at a 40 % discount. -
Too few people – the workforce is not enough for all lines, part of the plant stands still. -
Boom – the market takes more than is being made: the stockpile empties, the dispatch route is busy. -
The whole software – at the top the working day with clock and output, on the right success in one number, below the tiles for works and facilities. -
Running the works – five levers: investment, workforce, supply, quality and market; the chain shows at once what follows. -
One lever, visible at once – market set to slump: the status line explains the bottleneck, the stockpile grows, the daily result drops. -
Hall card – Robot cells: what is there, how many people work there and the hall’s output. -
Assembly card – the longest hall, people on the line and output in rhythm. -
Factory tour – stop 6 of 10: Assembly · marriage; the camera glides low through the halls, one sentence per stop. -
Yard · trucks card – finished vehicles wait until the car transporter is full. -
Bottleneck in orange – supply is not enough: the line at the top and the works status say in one sentence what is missing. -
The menu – overview and plant, cutaway, restart, demo, sound and other sites, below the controls for mouse, touch and keyboard. -
Sixteen real sites – blast furnaces, collieries, car plants, harbours and a shipyard, each where it really stands.
Your site as a model
Would you like to show your plant, your museum or your industrial site like this? Write to us or call. We will send you the password for starting it on request.
cube4tec.de/spiele/minimal-factory/
Ask about this
Minimal Factory: Zukunftsfabrik Düsseldorf · Roboterzellen und fahrerlose Transporte
Basis and limits
Real are the location, terrain and buildings in Düsseldorf (official NRW elevation data and OpenStreetMap). The plant in the middle is our own simplified interpretation: quantities, processes, times and prices are model assumptions; the economy runs in time-lapse (10 seconds are one working day). Not a simulation of real operations and no cooperation with the site.
Public sources the model is based on:
- Trade press, report on the site (31.01.2026)
- Trade press, report on the site (2013)
- Geobasis NRW: digital surface and terrain models DOM1/DGM1 (Data licence Germany – Zero – 2.0)
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): streets, tracks, water, land use
More places in the model
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Henrichshütte Hattingen · blast furnace and ironworks
A blast furnace as a model you can walk through: wind, hot-blast stoves, burden and tapping, plus steelworks, rolling mill and works railway, on the real terrain of the Ruhr valley.
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Bochum car plant · from sheet metal to the car train
A car plant as a model you can walk through: press shop, body shop, paint shop, assembly and test field, plus a plant tour in 16 stops up to the “marriage” and the car train.
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Hansa coking plant · coal becomes coke
A coking plant as a model you can walk through: charging car, pusher machine, quenching car and quenching tower, plus coal tower, compressor house and coke stockpile, on the real terrain in Dortmund-Huckarde.
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Zollern colliery · hoisting coal
A showpiece colliery as a model: winding towers, sheaves, winding engine and cages in the shaft, plus machine hall and pay hall on the real terrain in Dortmund-Bövinghausen.
Real are location, terrain and surroundings (official NRW elevation data, OpenStreetMap). Halls and processes are an interpretation of our own based on public reports; quantities, processes and times are model values. With your data, the model shows your site and your processes.