All Knowledge Bank articles – Page 9
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ArticleBrake cover
UV coating technology offers perfect protection for discs and the environmentDemand for brake-disc coating has risen noticeably in recent years and the market has responded accordingly. There are different types available, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. Currently, the most prevalent coatings are zinc flake coatings, zinc dust systems and ...
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ArticleLess noise, less cost, more benefits
When Iveco decided to renew its paint circulation line pumps in Madrid, Graco stepped forward with a more efficient and quieter solutionAutomotive companies are increasingly migrating from old pneumatic paint circulation pumps to electric pumps, on account of the cost savings possible and a range of other benefits. Take Iveco, ...
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ArticleSkid-free flexibility
With the energy savings it brings, the skidless paintshop is proving to be a popular ideaThere are some real heavyweights on the move inside automotive manufacturers’ production facilities: 200kg skids transfer 300kg vehicle bodies from the bodyshop to pretreatment, and on through the entire paintshop. Over 1,200 conveyor components and ...
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ArticleThe call of customising
With the popularity of personalisation, OEMs are looking to their painting lines to provide the answersHave you ever considered the number of customised cars that pass in front of you when stopped at a red light? It's no fewer than four cars in ten.Sober or more striking, the customisation of ...
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ArticleMultistory makeover
An international team made its way to China as Dürr completed a major modernisation project in record timeIn mid-May 2015, Dürr completed a €33m ($36m) conversion project at SAIC General Motors (SAIC-GM), the dimensions of which were exceptional even for the German plant construction company. The project objective was to ...
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ArticleSpecial colour spectrum
Experts from BASF’s Coatings division, laboratory manager Michael Brünnemann and product manager Stefan Sickert, describe how the company is responding to the special colour needs of OEMsCarmakers are calling for an ever more customised colour spectrum, shorter development and delivery times, and flexible batch sizes. A new material and manufacturing ...
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ArticleChoices for China
BAIC ZengCheng’s new plant is a typical example of perfect collaboration between a customer’s requirements and ABB’s expertiseABB Paint automation started in early 2000. It quickly became a leader in paint automation for all industries including tier one and GI with a special focus towards automotive, with more than 1,000 ...
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ArticleBrilliant simplicity
Geico Taikisha’s chief operating officer, Daryush Arabnia, explains how the company’s new LeanDip system was inspired by customer feedbackCharacterised by its extreme simplicity of operation and maintenance, the LeanDip conveyor system handles bodies continuously and in a stop-and-go process recommended for high and low production volumes. LeanDip allows the body ...
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ArticleFive steps to workforce readiness
With workforces strained like never before, automotive manufacturers must act to help protect profits, productivity and safetyBy Larry Smentowski, senior industry consultant, automotive and tire, Rockwell AutomationEven as global automakers build new facilities and look to surpass producing 90m light vehicles for the first time this year1, their workforces are ...
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ArticleCarry forward
State-of-the-art electrified conveyors contribute to production levels and offer a safer working environment Self-propelled electrified carriers, monorail systems and skillet lines with lifting platforms are state-of-the-art solutions in today’s automotive manufacturing process. Electrification with conductor rail systems has been in common practice for several years, continuously adapting to real-world ...
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ArticleLight work of heavy loads
KUKA Robotics and Boll Automation use Binspect vision system to optimise production of axles for commercial vehicles, helping to reduce the physical strain on employees and to increase efficiencyIn recent decades, commercial vehicle manufacturers have experienced rapid changes in the production of axles. The demands on drive-train modules in terms ...
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ArticleMetrology meets automation
Portable systems have made high-accuracy measurement possible across all plant areas – the next step in this evolution is the integration of metrology with automationFrom the progressive assembly line to lean manufacturing principles, the automotive industry has always led the way in manufacturing technology. As the industry faces ever shorter ...
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ArticleDriving customer performance
In business since 1973, noted cutting room authority Lectra has established an industry-leading position by helping customers to achieve operational excellence through a unique combination of expertise, advanced technologies and best-in-class services.As the privileged partner to a broad portfolio of premier businesses, Lectra provides integrated cutting room solutions for the ...
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ArticleTechnology for new business models
With a relatively low cost and high productivity, rollforming is proving an attractive technology for the manufacture of componentsDynamically changing markets are increasingly challenging classical business models for suppliers of car body parts. Multifunctional rollforming technologies are facilitating the adjustment of such production lines to fast-changing market needs.They open up ...
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ArticleThe true forming limit
Elongation doesn’t tell the whole story about forming high-strength steel As ultra-high strength steel becomes even more widespread in automotive applications, crash safety will continue to increase, component weight will go down further and many OEMs will benefit. Others will not. Some manufacturers are not taking full advantage of ...
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ArticleAutomated quality control
The strategic orientation towards full-field and non-contact optical measuring technology is one of the key elements of Opel’s car body engineering quality assurance Opel CEO Dr Neumann sees the ATOS ScanBox 7260 in action, guided by Dirk Kissinger, project manager for car body measuring technologyIn the future, Opel press shops ...
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ArticleFrom Sweden to Shenzhen and beyond
David Liang, managing director of market-leading tool steel service provider ASSAB in northern and central China, talks to Dermot Healy about challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid pace of change in the Chinese automotive sector.AMS: Your company ASSAB has been involved with the Chinese automotive sector for many years. ...
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ArticleMoving your business
Without automated conveyors, modern high-performance facilities could not function, writes Gilles Hernandez, Global Market Manager Automotive at Conductix-Wampfler.Being a historical leader in mobile energy and data transmission systems, Conductix-Wampfler has been moving the industry in China for more than two decades. Primarily the activities focus has been the heavy industry ...
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ArticleA bus to the future
Chinese entrepreneurial bus company, Greenautoo, is preparing to launch of a series of smart, safe and green vehicles that could be the solution to big city traffic congestion, write Jan Hökerberg and Crystal Yan. Bus travel is often a nightmare for China’s many millions of commuters, especially in rush ...
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ArticleShine the laser light
Fibre-reinforced composites are popular, but tough to machine. So production engineers are turning to laser light as a choice of tool, writes Trumpf’s Marc KirchhoffCarbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are all the rage, especially in the automotive, aviation and wind power sectors. They represent a key part of the solution to ...