assembly line
Loading your saved state.
assembly line
A technical system in industrial production in which a workpiece is transported on a moving belt from one workstation to the next. At each workstation, a specific work step is carried out.
In dieser Fabrik werden die Autos am Fließband montiert.
In this factory, the cars are assembled on the assembly line.
nonstop
An idiom meaning that something is produced or completed in large quantities and without interruption.
Der Comedian erzählte am Fließband Witze.
The comedian told jokes nonstop.
The word is a combination of the verb 'fließen' (to flow) and the noun 'das Band' (belt). So it literally describes a belt on which the work 'flows' from one station to the next.
Die fertigen Produkte laufen am Ende vom Fließband.
The finished products come off the assembly line at the end.
In the literal meaning, the preposition 'am' is almost always used to describe the workplace. Typical verbs are 'arbeiten' (to work), 'stehen' (to stand), or 'produzieren' (to produce).
Mein Onkel hat 30 Jahre lang am Fließband bei einem großen Autohersteller gearbeitet.
My uncle worked on the assembly line at a large car manufacturer for 30 years.
The expression 'am Fließband' (nonstop / on an assembly line) is often used figuratively. It then works like an adverb and means that something happens in large quantities and without interruption.
Unsere Marketingabteilung produziert neue Ideen am Fließband.
Our marketing department produces new ideas nonstop.
You can recognize the figurative meaning by the fact that it is combined with abstract things (e.g., jokes, mistakes, compliments), not with physical products in a factory.
Der neue Praktikant macht am Fließband Fehler.
The new intern makes mistakes nonstop.
treadmill / conveyor belt
A Laufband is a single motorized belt that transports objects or people. Fließband, by contrast, refers to the entire industrial production system in which workpieces pass through several workstations in sequence. Use „Laufband“ for the transport device and „Fließband“ when you mean the continuous manufacturing process.
Am Fließband montieren die Beschäftigten die einzelnen Teile des Geräts.
The employees assemble the individual parts of the device on the assembly line.
Das Laufband transportiert die Pakete durch die Halle.
The conveyor belt transports the packages through the hall.
