All Press and stamping articles – Page 21
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ArticleEdging success
New solutionsGetting it doneMachine lifeDV Automation is both an equipment supplier and contract manufacturer serving various OEMsDVA is, together with Thompson Friction Welding, a subsidiary of Kuka AG. While the company also carries out contract manufacturing, for example delivering axles to Land Rover and piston cylinders to JCB, DVA’s core ...
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ArticlePressing the advantage
Pressing matters in ChinaPress hardeningThe press shop marks the beginning of the automotive production process. Here, as chassis parts are shaped from precisely cut metal blanks, while corresponding tool sets create body parts such as side frames, doors, bonnets and roofs from sheet metal of various thicknesses.Material details vary between ...
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ArticleGreen materials from start to finish
Lightweighting by JSPEnvironmental swings and roundaboutsMaterial reuse at FordRecycling carbon fibreThe bigger pictureFlexible polymerThe quest for higher quality at the same price point or retained quality at a lower cost has driven the automotive industry forward for a century. Yet in recent times, the game has dramatically changed. Through a ...
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ArticleKabelschlepp introduces new modular conveyor
Smooth transport of parts between processes can be decisive in determining fi nal part quality in production of stamped parts. To assist in this, Kabelschlepp has introduced a new parts conveyor for use with stamping machines, while also adding a modular version of its hinged belt conveyor. The new conveyor ...
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ArticleVariations on a colour theme
Limitless possibilitiesPSA’s Pierre Budar explains how production of the new Citroën DS3 hatchback has been organised to allow for the car’s twotone paint finish.The DS3 is the first model in Citroën’s new line which will ultimately feature three distinctively styled cars; DS3, DS4 and DS5. Key to their appeal is ...
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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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ArticleSustainability on show
ArcelorMittal Automotive EuropePepperl+FuchsDassault SystèmesEuchnerPilz AutomationThe 2010 Hanover Fair, themed with the headline ‘Efficiency - Innovation - Sustainability’, runs from 19-23 April, 2010, and, as in previous years, will be showcasing innovations, new developments, technologies and materials from many manufacturing areas. The three main display categories are Factory Automation, Process Automation ...
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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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ArticlePushing boundaries at Ford India
Part deliverySignal interferenceIncreased automationA better body shopPioneering paint shop technologyAll in one placePreparing for exportsWhile car sales in China have tended to grab the recent headlines, sales in India – and particularly small car sales - continue to increase at a break-neck pace, with market leader Maruti Suzuki posting record ...
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ArticleAutoForm launches new hot-forming simulation software
Hot forming has become an important tool for the automotive industry, the technique being used to meet specifi c requirements in crash safety and vehicle weight reductions. Many automotive manufacturers use these processes to produce body structure components such as A- and B-pillars, tunnels, front and rear bumper beams and ...
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ArticleThe dragon defies the downturn
GM China - common practices and global systemsUpper segment boomLabour laws – improving but still restrictiveProduction equipment – German versus localGreat Wall - a domestic tigerHigh strength from hand-welding and finishingLabour and skill setsHyundai - dealing with demandNew technologies increase speedQuality by numbersIn April 2009, the general consensus was that ...
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ArticlePart perfect for BWI
Mount technologyVariations on a themeBraking groundTest for successDesign for EnvironmentThe latest part of Delphi to be sold to a private firm was its Ride Dynamics and Brakes unit, which has become Beijing West Industries (BWI) Group. Under GM, Delphi was of the world’s largest automotive part manufacturers. After being made ...
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ArticleAutoform
AutoForm Engineering, software supplier for the sheet metal forming industry, has developed a new function for progressive die stamping. AutoFormplus R1 provides a physical model for strip positioning in progressive die stamping, predicting the need for material pilots.Pilots play an important role in progressive die stamping as they fix the ...
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ArticleGermany plans for success
Numbers fall but strengths emergeExports and emissionsTruck and bus – how fast is the barometer falling?Suppliers under pressureBMW – quiet confidence behind cost cutsMercedes-Benz – sharing the painThe German car industry’s workforce has been dealt a bad hand by the global downturn; jobs that were almost guaranteed for life have ...
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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: Digital manufacturing
Getting the full pictureVirtual part and plant developmentFull circleLegacy creates problemsThe first issue of AMS noted that General Motors had, in 2000, already been using simulation tools for over a decade. At plants around the world the company had put various software packages into widespread use in applications ranging from ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Automation systems
Market saturationTouch sensitiveFull automationProtecting the peopleIn 2000, AMS reported BMW as having a total of 1,275 bodyin- white robots in total at its Dingolfing, Regensburg and Munich plants. The Regensburg equipment alone, totalling 475 units, represented an investment of $320 million. Meanwhile, GM had installed 500 Fanuc robots at its ...
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ArticleRobots extend their reach
With production levels under close scrutiny in the current credit squeeze, OEMs that have already invested in automation are well placed to manage the challenges ahead.Flexible vehicle assembly‘Welds’ apartReasons to be cheerfulThe automotive industry is the world’s biggest user of industrial robot technology. The automation of such operations as welding, ...
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ArticleSpeeding up during global slowdown
Theoretical analysisHandling a bonnet on a stamping lineStep 1Step 2Conclusions after Step 1 and Step 2Step 3Conclusions after Step 3Friction cups - crucial components in high-speed sheet metal fabricationChoose the correct friction cupIn many cases, metal fabrication involves a process of station-to-station handling of oily or slippery blanks. The most ...