Latest News & Features – Page 122
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ArticleHuman-robot gap and flush measurement
Nextsense says its Calipri model series for the gap and flush measurement now includes a model variant (C12) suitable for the use in the human-robot collaboration (HRC) area.The company says the C12 variant has been applied to an HRC robot operating with a German premium segment car manufacturer. The HRC ...
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ArticleCompact structured light sensor
LMI Technologies says its Gocator 3210 stereo snapshot sensor is suitable for 3D inspection, quality control applications. Features include two 2-megapixel cameras for high-resolution 3D snapshot scans, a large FOV (120 x 85mm) for picking up multiple features at once, and onboard hardware acceleration to achieve 4Hz for full size ...
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Article
An order for progress
After the dips in demand of recent years, car makers in Brazil and Argentina anticipate an upturn in market fortunes and a boost in vehicle productionEmbattled vehicle makers operating in Brazil are predicting a return to growth in 2017 after the market sunk last year to nearly half its 2012 ...
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ArticleFast curing composite matrix resin
To meet the requirements for automated, short production cycles of composite components, Henkel says it has developed Loctite Max 2 composite matrix resin for RTM processes.The company claims this two-part polyurethane-based product is fast curing, and because of its low viscosity, rapidly fills the mould and quickly, resulting in short ...
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ArticlePortable laser tracker
Faro claims its latest generation of Vantage laser trackers is suitable for large-scale metrology applications, including assembly alignment, part and assembly inspection, machine installation and alignment, and reverse engineering.This product family consists of the VantageE with an operating range of 25 meters and the VantageS with an operating range of ...
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ArticleBMW modernises production areas
Germany – The OEM is cutting “ergonomically unfavourable and strenuous tasks” and enabling personnel to “apply their unique cognitive skills to the best effect”. By the end of 2017, it will use 60 lightweight robots, 230 smart gloves and 64 exoskeletons.“The digitalisation allows the BMW Group to tap a growing ...
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ArticleGestamp acquires plant at Pitești
Romania – The Spanish company has bought a majority stake in the operation through its Turkish subsidiary, Beyçelik Gestamp. It plans to increase turnover by manufacturing more added-value components for vehicle-makers.The plant on the edge of Pitești, an automotive production hub, has a 200-strong workforce and currently makes small and ...
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ArticlePPG sets up new coatings line at Wuhu
China – The $19m installation will make waterborne and high-solids coatings for automotive customers in the country. PPG said demand for coatings with low volatile organic compounds is rising in China due to tighter environmental regulations.“PPG’s high-performance waterborne and high-solids automotive coatings enable our customers in China to meet environmental ...
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ArticleToyota makes American appointments
US – The changes, effective from April 1, are intended to “strengthen regional integration in North America”, according to Jim Lentz, Toyota’s CEO for the area. The company announced in April 2014 that it was establishing new headquarters at Plano, Texas, for its North American manufacturing, sales and marketing and ...
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ArticleSquaring the circular economy
Given the continued increase in global production, vehicle-makers have had to take action on waste managementWaste management in automotive manufacturing has moved beyond the simple recycling of materials toward a concept known as ‘the circular economy’. This is where materials that may previously have either been scrapped or recycled are ...
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ArticleBoytsov to lead Nissan St Petersburg
Russia – From March 1, Igor Boytsov will take over from Dmitry Mikhailov, who is leaving his position as vice-president, Nissan Motor Manufacturing Russia (NMGR) to become vice-president for Quality and Customer Satisfaction at AvtoVAZ. Boytsov joins the company from Alliance partner Renault, where he was plant director.Prior to Renault, ...
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ArticleFinishing on a high note
Grinding, finishing and electrical discharge machining have gone from niche to mainstream manufacturing processes Once upon a time, machining processes such as grinding and electrical discharge machining (EDM) were viewed as ‘black art’ technologies. Today, however, these advanced machine shop methods have entered the mainstream, with the automotive industry among ...
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Article
Honda to establish new R&D centre
Japan – The vehicle-maker announced that it would set up R&D Center X to take a “non-traditional approach” toward “new value” areas including robotics, mobility systems and energy management. The facility will officially be launched in April this year.R&D Center X will initially focus on researching autonomously operated machines and ...
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ArticleHonda celebrates 1m units at Karawang
Indonesia – Production began at the site in February 2003 with the Honda Stream. The original 512,500 sq.m factory had a capacity of 80,000 units; total volume was raised to 200,000 in January 2014 by the launch of a second plant covering 145,760 sq.m. Honda reports that its sales in ...
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ArticleNew press starts at Nissan Sunderland
UK – Installation has been completed slightly over 18 months since groundbreaking and at a cost of £37m ($45.6m). At full capacity, the extra-large press will be able to produce 2.5m panels per year for the vehicles built at the plant: the Qashqai, Juke, Leaf, Q30 and QX30.“The new press ...
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ArticleVW Wolfsburg hits 44m-unit milestone
Germany – The record vehicle, a Golf GTE, rolled off the assembly line 72 years after production began at the OEM’s main plant. The highest-volume models in its history are the Golf, at 18m units, and the Beetle, with 12m produced up to 1975.Plant manager Stefan Loth described the milestone ...
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ArticlePallet-based transport system for BIW
The KS PULSE system features linear synchronous motors to transport automotive body components through the individual workstations of an automated assembly line quickly and safely, claims Kuka. The company says the system features low susceptibility to faults due to the small number of moving parts.The main element of the transport ...
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ArticleTHACO to produce two SUVs for PSA
Vietnam – The vehicles will be assembled at the Truong Haï Auto Corporation plant at Chulai, Quang Nam Province, according to the deal signed by the two companies. Operations will begin in October this year, with the aim of producing 27,000 units to meet domestic demand up to 2020.“The strengthening ...
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ArticleOptical measuring machine for quality assurance
GOM says it is expanding its ATOS series with a new sensor for full-field digitising and inspection of contoured part geometries. The company says a fringe projection system is used for production quality assurance of small to medium-sized parts. The ATOS Capsule can be used, for example, for first article ...
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Article
Optical measuring machine for quality assurance (image-GOM_ATOS_Capsule_ProductImage_ScanBox.jpg) GOM says it is expanding its ATOS series with a new sensor for full-field digitising and inspection o
Optical measuring machine for quality assurance (image-GOM_ATOS_Capsule_ProductImage_ScanBox.jpg)GOM says it is expanding its ATOS series with a new sensor for full-field digitising and inspection of contoured part geometries. The company says a fringe projection system is used for production quality assurance of small to medium-sized parts. The ATOS Capsule can be ...