Latest News & Features – Page 163
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ArticleToyota's in town
The global giant has muscled into America’s top tier of automotive manufacturers – and is still expandingThey were known as the 'Big Three': General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Together, they mobilised the post-World War Two ‘American Dream’ and put wheels under the freedoms enshrined in US national culture. The carmaking ...
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ArticleSmall-diameter high-feed endmill
Kyocera has announced the launch of the MFH mini, a small-diameter, high-feed endmill for processing metal parts. The company claims this new product achieves highly efficient processing by utilising its proprietary, newly designed insert.The insert design reduces impact on the insert when making initial contact with the workpiece, thus achieving ...
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ArticleTesting the water
Hydroforming is making quite a splash among automotive companies seeking to produce lightweight yet robust components which also meet stringent safety requirements; AMS reviews the latest techniquesThe fact that Vari-Form has been selected by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) US as its 2015 Supply Chain Management Supplier of the Year speaks ...
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ArticleAlliance in action
AMS examines the joint projects between Daimler and Renault-Nissan in terms of vehicles, powertrains, technologies, factories, geographies and timescales – and the advantages for each partnerFrom a near standing start in 2010, the Daimler-Renault-Nissan alliance has quickly grown to encompass projects across the globe. There has been significant technology transfer ...
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ArticleHonda: Getting Fit in Mexico
The Japanese OEM has designated its Mexican factory at Celaya as its centre of small-car production in the Americas – while a new transmission plant will take its total investment in the region to $21 billionWith the opening of its Celaya plant in central Mexico at the start of last ...
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ArticleInterview: Håkan Ivarsson, Volvo
The new XC90 is the Swedish vehicle-maker's most important model yet, introducing the latest SPA architecture. The technical director for this big SUV tells the story behind its developmentAMS: As technical director, are you head of engineering for just the V526 [the new XC90] or all other future big Volvos?Håkan ...
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ArticleHow vehicle-makers can be ever green
With OEM energy-efficiency programmes now well established, the drive to find extra savings is challengingEnergy-efficiency and sustainability targets are nothing new; automotive manufacturers have not only been setting them for years, they have also made significant progress towards meeting them. But how can OEMs continue to make energy savings when ...
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ArticleSpartanburg: SUV superstar
As the BMW factory in South Carolina prepares to introduce its fifth and largest SUV, the X7, AMS looks at what makes this operation so important for the German brand within its worldwide production networkOne of BMW’s biggest success stories is not a car but a plant. Spartanburg in South ...
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ArticleDaimler, Renault-Nissan break ground at Mexican JV
Mexico – The Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes (COMPAS), which is a 50:50 project between the two OEMs, will build next-generation premium compact vehicles for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. The companies are investing $1 billion for the construction and operation of the plant.Located near the Nissan Aguascalientes factory, COMPAS will launch with ...
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ArticleNissan invests £100m at Sunderland
UK – The OEM has allocated production of the next-generation Juke to its factory in the north of England, securing beyond 2020 both assembly lines and the jobs of 34,000 individuals employed in the area by Nissan and its suppliers. The announcement comes two years after the launch of the ...
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ArticleOptimised diesel engine turbocharging technology
BorgWarner is providing its regulated two-stage (R2S) turbocharging technology for Volkswagen’s new high-performance Euro 6 diesel engine.The R2S turbocharging system consists of two series-connected turbochargers and features a variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbocharger for the high-pressure stage combined with a larger B03 water-cooled turbocharger optimised for low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation ...
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ArticleFlexible chop gun
Graco is now offering its fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) chop systems, suitable for moulded fibre-reinforced plastics. The company says its 13:1 chop system proportioner offers precise on-ratio dispensing, while the RS chop gun allows for an easy transition from wet-out to chop.The company says its chop system proportioner is designed to ...
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ArticleNext-generation distance sensing
The DT50-2 PRO laser sensor combines high-performance distance sensing with excellent-resolution object profile detection over distances up to 30 metres, claim Sick.Typical applications in the automotive industry include robot positioning, small object presence/absence and container-fill level sensing. The DT50-2 PRO measures and detects small or barely-detectable objects in car body ...
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ArticleSchuler downsizes German operations
Germany – The company will manufacture at four locations instead of seven at present, with consolidation costs of around €55m ($62m) prior to annual savings of €30-35m. Schuler says that around 450 personnel will be affected, with some transferred to other sites.Production of presses and new machine components will be ...
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ArticleHeat resistant seals and gaskets
DuPont Performance Polymers has introduced Vamac VMX5000, a new family of ethylene acrylic elastomer (AEM) pre-compounds that it says extends the upper temperature limit for AEM applications by 15 to 20°C.The company says this material is currently under evaluation by major auto OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers for seals and ...
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ArticleIndustrial videoscopes
The entry-level Series C videoscope offers several features such as advanced articulation and high image quality that are standard on its high-end IPLEX videoscopes, says Olympus. The company says it’s suitable for use in diverse inspection environments and offers a high level of durability with a compact and portable design.The ...
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ArticleAutomation engineering software suite
ABB says the new release of its integrated development tool suite, Automation Builder 1.1, provides an integrated development environment for solutions using a range of automation components. These include PLCs, safety PLCs, motion controllers, drives, robots and HMIs, and will,the company says, reduce software complexity, time to market and cost ...
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ArticleChanging manufacturing geographies
Investment by Japanese vehicle-makers in the US and Europe has been predicated on the assumption that you need to produce where you sell; whether because of the trend toward globalisation or the strictness of government policy – especially tariffs on CBU vehicles to encourage local manufacture – developed-world OEMs have ...
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ArticleForm and substance
The latest solutions are aimed at delivering cost-effective composite forming for the automotive industryAt the end of last year, Toray Industries of Japan announced that its carbon-fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) was to be used in an automotive structural application. Claimed to be a world first, the CFRTP material is used ...