All Maintenance articles – Page 27
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ArticleSpecht launches new horizontal machining center
MAG’s new Specht 500/630 horizontal modular machining centre offers linear motor or ballscrew drives, CAT-40 through HSK-100 tool interfaces, six spindle options, four control options and three 5-axis confi gurations to suit operations ranging from one-off jobs through to machining line integration. The machine is engineered around a box-in-box, moving-table ...
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ArticleJoining options in BIW
Focus on adhesive bondingLaser makes gains in BIWWeapon of choiceAdvanced laser techniquesA wide range of recently-launched vehicles claim to have set new standards in joining innovation and efficiency, the improvements largely gained by using a combination of resistance spot welding and adhesive bonding techniques. While few manufacturers are prepared to ...
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ArticleAlliance develops common process
Michel Gornet, Executive Vice-President, Manufacturing and Logistics, talks about the Renault-Nissan Alliance´s new plant in Chennai, India and reviews the company’s global manufacturing activities.AMS: Why did you decide to build a factory in India? What are the advantages?MG: India represents an important market for Nissan. India will be Nissan’s global ...
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ArticleAGVs stray from the fixed path
Multi-functional AGV solutionCompressor maker benefits from new routesLayout and softwareAGVs have been rather a Cinderella technology; invented some 50 years ago and known as ‘driverless systems’, they have seen advances in electronics start to catch up with their potential for autonomous material handling. Technological developments may have given AGVs more ...
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ArticleUltimate flexibility
People PowerLogistics and weatherWorld-class flexibilityPart deliveryWorking with labourTechnologies put in place at Kia Motors Slovakia seem to back up the claim that it is the company’s – and perhaps the world’s – most efficient automotive production plant.In Kyu Bae, President and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia, says that the company’s ...
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ArticlePaintExpo covers the bases
adphos Innovative TechnologiesErichsenHarterInfraBioTechCSF FoerderanlagenVollert AnlagenbauChemische Werke KlutheCMA RoboticsThe industrial paints market is looking better than it has done for the past year. AMS previews PaintExpo, one of the year’s top paint and coatings events.Recent figures suggest that the automotive market has passed the worst of the downturn. As markets strengthen, ...
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ArticleProduction systems return competitive edge
Virtual assemblyFord plans for global modelLean machine: GMS propels the new GMFord’s flexible bodyshopNissan flexes in TennesseeChrysler goes commonJapanese firms build on past successFlexible plants across the USFlexible production now lies at the heart of global automotive manufacturing. Using reprogrammable tooling in bodyshops, standardized equipment in paintshops and common build ...
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ArticleAll that Jazz
In September 2008, Honda finalised plans to start production of the second generation Jazz at its Swindon, UK facility. One year later, the car went into series production. To discover how Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) has managed to implement production of the Jazz city car in just 12 ...
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ArticleABB robots keep Magna in trim
ABB IRB 6600 detailsABB’s IRB 6600 robots are available with a choice of fi ve handling/ reach capacities: 175kg/2.55m, 225kg/2.55 m, 175kg/2.8m, 125kg/3.2m, and 200kg/2.75m. The IRB 6600 is suitable for various process applications, including spotwelding, material handling and machine tending. In addition, a range of software products - all ...
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ArticleSchneider Electric
Schneider Electric has extended its Preventa line of safety products with the launch of two new type-4 light curtains, the XUSLB and the XUSLD.The two new Preventa light curtains offer varying levels of capability, dependent on the needs of the application. The XUSLB provides basic light curtain functions, with the ...
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ArticleFriction reduction from Mobil Industrial Lubricants
What to look for in a hydraulic fluidBest practices for hydraulic system maintenanceSummaryHydraulic systems are used in nearly all areas of automotive production, including press shops, machine shops and general assembly. The drive for lower costs and improved productivity has led to significant changes in hydraulic component technology, resulting in ...
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ArticleThermal camera from SKF
SKF has launched the TKTI 10, a low cost, easy-to-use two-megapixel digital camera that also offers thermal imaging. Suitable for use by automotive engineers and maintenance technicians with limited knowledge of thermal imaging, the new thermal camera looks and operates like a standard digital camera, but further allows thermal and ...
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ArticleMotoman launches new VS50 spotwelding robot
Motoman has introduced the new seven-axis VS50 ‘Versatile Spot’ welding robot, designed to optimize automotive applications using DC spot guns with compact servo actuators. According to Motoman, the VS50 robot can be placed in close proximity to workpieces and other robots to create fl exible, high-density layouts, This can eliminate ...
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ArticleTooling gets tough
As the EMO tooling expo makes its biennial location switch from Germany to Italy, Julian Buckley looks at what buyers, exhibitors and attendees can expect at this year’s event.DMG, Hall 4, Stand TBASchenck, Hall and Stand TBAPrima Industrie, Hall 18, Stand C14/C16Hardinge Inc, Hall 6, Stand L13Haas Automation, Hall 4, ...
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ArticleTotal turnkey paintshops in India
As production grows rapidly in India, enterprising suppliers have come up with imaginative solutions to finishing system challengesTata paintshopRebuilding at MarutiTwo wheeler space savingTrial painting trims ramp-up timeIndia is one of the most exciting areas of automotive production in the world, with domestic and transplant OEMs taking advantage of the ...
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ArticleSummer of success at VW Sachsen
When the carmaker needed complete reconstruction of two topcoat lines in the factory’s standard vacation period, it turned to Durr for paintshop buildingTight scheduleHeavy haulingMission accomplished! With these two words, project manager Ralf Gildhorn announced on 12 August 2008 the successful end of the greatest summer reconstruction including robots in ...
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ArticleInvest to impress for R-R's new baby
Press sharingGoodwood reworkPersonal touchRemote suppliersWhen BMW took full control of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in 1998, it was quick to launch the first new model, the Phantom, just five years later. Since then, Rolls-Royce has expanded the Phantom range to include the standard car – if a Rolls-Royce can ever be ...
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ArticleSurviving the storm at JLR
Body shop – robot re-useCelebrity squaresSealing out the elementsPaintshop and final assembly – raising the quality barINTERVIEW Michael StraughanThe Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant at Halewood, UK, occupies a 300-acre site and provides capacity for the Jaguar X-Type and Freelander models. It is equipped for up to 100,00 cars per ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Materials
Money isn’t the whole storyThe solution is compromisePlastic is on formExotic metals such as titanium and magnesium offer carmakers lightweight alternatives to standard materials. But drawbacks such as the strength (or lack of it) and cost of the basic commodity have served to kept these choices very much in the ...
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ArticleChanging times
AMS magazine is 10 years old this year. During this time, it has reported on some of the most exciting - and turbulent - times in car making’s historyNano – a car for everymanHow globalization really panned outQuality expectationsWritten on the bodyIn the eye of the beholderPowertrain – testing timesFrom ...