Automation – Page 190
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ArticleHitting the gas
As OEMs step up their sustainability programmes, two leading players are arriving at key milestones. AMS reports on how biogas projects have contributed greatly to the renewable energy success of GM and BMWLast year, for the first time, the BMW Group met the majority of its electrical energy needs by ...
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ArticleTaylor takes charge of GM’s compliance
US – The vehicle-maker has appointed Jeffrey Taylor as deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer, with immediate effect. He will report to Craig Glidden, executive vice-president and general counsel.Taylor will have overall responsibility for the ethics and compliance programme. The vehicle-maker says he will “support GM’s business operations and ...
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ArticleNikolai takes Gigante role at Waupaca
US – Currently COO and president, Mike Nikolai will replace Gary Gigante as CEO of the Hitachi Metals subsidiary from July 1. Gigante will retire, as will Kris Pfaehler, whose responsibilities will be assumed by current executive vice-president John Wiesbrock.Nikolai started at Waupaca Foundry in 1993 as a metallurgist at ...
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ArticleFaustmann leads Pre-Series Center, Audi
Germany – As head of the facility since April, Thomas Faustmann now oversees the building of concept cars, prototypes and pre-series vehicles. He has served the Volkswagen Group since 1991.Faustmann first worked in Germany, starting as a production planner at VW Salzgitter before moving to Wolfsburg the following year to ...
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ArticleBMW makes senior appointments
US – Chris Koenders will leave his role as executive vice-president, Operations, to become head of Project Retail Channel Performance Europe. He will be replaced by Petter Witt, moving from his role as regional vice-president, Western Region. The changes will take effect on May 1.Koenders joined the vehicle-maker in 1993 ...
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ArticleFCA to invest $74.7m at Trenton
US – The vehicle-maker will retool North Plant at Trenton Engine Complex, Michigan, to produce next-generation, four-cylinder engines from the third quarter of 2017. Assembly will take place on the flexible production line which was installed in 2012.“This investment in our flexible production line at Trenton North will allow us ...
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ArticleFord spends $1.6bn at Livonia and Ohio
US – The investment is divided into $1.4 billion for Livonia Transmission, Michigan, and $200m for Ohio Assembly Plant. The former will build a new, ten-speed transmission which will be introduced first in the new F-150 Raptor and certain other F-150 models. The investment at the latter will support production ...
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ArticleVolvo makes American leadership changes
US – Jim Raggi will become regional vice-president, Southern Region; Gregor Hembrough will be vice-president, Northeast Region; and Michael Cottone will be promoted to regional vice-president, Western Region. The reshuffle is part of Volvo’s ongoing transformation in the US.Raggi was previously responsible for the Northeast Region, and Volvo says he ...
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ArticleLaser radar for large-scale metrology
Nikon Metrology says the Laser Radar MV331 and MV351 units will perform high-speed vision scans enabling faster measurement of complex features, sections and surfaces. New usability features such as an integrated robot mount and removable air filters makes the system suited to robotic inspection on the shop floor.The company says ...
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ArticleMazda MX-5 reaches 1m units
Japan – The milestone was reached on April 22, after 27 years of mass production at Ujina Plant No.1 in Hiroshima. Mazda is currently making the fourth generation of the model, known as the Roadster in Japan.The original MX-5 debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989. A generation later, ...
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ArticleLow cutting force modular drill
Kyocera has launched its new Magic Drill DRA, featuring a replaceable drill bit, which the company claims offers a high level of drilling accuracy at a low cutting force.The design of drill bit and chip flute has been optimised for stability and effective chip removal and features Kyocera’s Megacoat ...
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ArticleFord recycles F-150 aluminium
US – The vehicle-maker says it is recycling as much as 20m pounds of scrap per month using the closed-loop system at Dearborn Truck Plant, Michigan. This equates to more than 30,000 F-150 bodies in the latest configuration, a SuperCrew body including doors, bonnet, tailgate and 6.5ft cargo box.According to ...
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ArticleAudi Neckarsulm starts A8 production
Germany – The carmaker invested in additional body construction and assembly facilities for the new model, strengthening the ability of the plant to make large sedans. Completion of the upgrade took 17 months from groundbreaking.According to Audi, the new bodyshop was a particular planning challenge. A roof was built over ...
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ArticleTravel blog: Painting the town red in Karlsruhe
It’s that time of year when industrial coatings companies of various hues briefly coagulate to show off shiny new ideas, mix with others of their kind and enjoy the general swirl of an international trade show. PaintExpo this week has drawn 501 exhibitors, including 158 from 26 countries outside Germany, ...
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Article3D imager array for in-process measurement
The new Faro Cobalt 3D imager is equipped with dedicated on-board processors and a smart sensor that allows multi-imager array configurations enabling manufacturers to improve productivity, claims the company.Faro says the system allows an unlimited number of 3D imagers to be placed in array configurations almost anywhere in a manufacturing ...
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Article
聚四氟乙烯轴承
现在的发展趋势有点不太关注聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）支座，但是在装配和性能上，小小的组件却能有大用途。在车门、阀盖和汽车车体阀盖上的折叶是所有汽车制造最直接的原件部分。但是通常来说，简单的外表会掩盖产品内部复杂的技术含量。这就是德国Willich(Norglide旗下)的Saint Gobain公司产品的特征。产品并不是传统的球形或滚子轴承，而是由两个同心环材料构成 — 里面的圆圈是PTEF（聚四氟乙烯）复合物，外面的圈是由钢、不锈钢或铝构成，中间层可能是由铝、铜或其他材质构成。Saint Gobain公司全球市场部经理Mirko Hundertmark已经证实这些细节。Saint Gobain公司是汽车内饰公司，位于Willich。他明确地表示，汽车业是公司产品最大的市场，产品主要售给以及供应商和二级供应商，而不是汽车制造商。他说，“我们是组件供应商”。他说，公司的研发活动分布在全球各地，主要是在欧洲、美国和亚洲。Hundertmark称，与客户合作开发产品是不变的目标。但是令人惊奇的是，他承认公司并不太愿意做到这个地步。 The metal-backed PTFE bearings made at Saint Gobain are produced under the Norglide brand他大胆地说，很多汽车相关公司只是“不喜欢”在项目初期与Saint Gobain合作。至于原因是什么不太清楚，但是很多人只是把轴承当做简单的商品，而没有对产品最终质量或性能关注很多。这已经成为装配厂合作中明显的因素。Hundertmark坚持认为，这样只会失去提高汽车性能和制造装配流程的机会。他说，“我们介入得越早，在这两方面就能获得更多。”“这是肯定的了”。在装配流程方面，Hundertmark说，甚至原件部分与封盖铰链一样简单明了，也在总效率上有很大影响。他举了一个例子，内在稳固性问题，车门先安装然后再一处，在装配过程中再岸上，以便进行喷漆、装上内饰机械原件和装饰品。而且，汽车喷漆流程与感知质量息息相关，购买者的决策也是一个基本原件，其影响力巨大。Hundertmark解释说，有一个严格要求，就是不能有异常电流通过汽车车体，才能保证稳定的上漆能力，但是这种零部件可能会造成电阻变化，影响效果。Hundertmark说，为了克服这个问题，Norglide轴承的导电性可能因为在PTFE圈添加不同的填充剂而发生变化。他说，“我们能将材料调节成非导电或导电的”，如果需要还可调整为“高度导电”。此外，如果需要在零部件添加凹槽，也可以增加导电性。但是，这种情况会变得更加复杂，因为在有些情况下，铰链需要一边导电，另一边不到点。他说，“轴心点的接触区域一定要非导电性”，并称在那些区域需要避免产生“升降台”，这个地方的铰链移除时就会断裂，从而影响喷漆抛光质量。他说，在这种情况下，公司需要使用非导电PTFE炉衬材料，成为LR。有趣的是，虽然产品并不是特别新，但是在采用是还会有“区域差异”。“我们介入得越早，在这两方面就能获得更多。” - Mirko Hundertmark, Saint Gobain还有一个新产品，就是使用一个刚外圈和铝衣外层的轴承系列。Hundertmark解释说，这个产品的目的就是解决潜在的腐蚀风险，这在纯钢圈用于铝质车身时经常发生 — 而铝车身越来越得到制造商们的青睐，是他们汽车轻量化发展努力的方向。这受到铝衣阴极的影响。他说，在这种情况下实现创新就是要在不损坏负荷的情况下否定清理，从而确定铰链的机械性能。公司对产品的抗腐蚀性能非常有信心。公司称，ISO认证测验已经证明产品具有高度抗腐蚀性，能抵抗高浓度盐分和潮湿环境。比如说，放在镀锌钢或铝和中欧，并暴露于盐雾中超过1,000个小时，轴承上完全没有红秀。Hundertmark强调，从生产视角来看，在装配过程中使用新产品不需要任何之前所使用过的产品。特别需要强调的是，他们不要求特殊运送技术，就能在装配操作中保留喷漆。他肯定地说，“这绝对客观”，所有系列产品都在装配中可适用人工、半自动和全自动流程。他说，选择的基本点是“出于以客户为基本的整体考虑”。事实上，产品是新出的 — 去年11月开始在一部分市场里出现。但Hundertmark证实，公司已经与很多潜在客户协商。没有涉及具体细节，他只是说可能会在未来一两年里普及。Hundertmark说，有很多因素都在影响产品的普及过程。 The bearings comprise an inner ring of PTFE with an outer ring made from steel, stainless steel or aluminium其中一个因素就是掌控零部件的集合结构，帮助客户避免任何二次镶边等修理情况。提高钢电环的厚度技能进行压装。他还说，调整铰链的集合结构就能创造更强的耐量范围，可适用于汽车零部件（当然要更大更昂贵）。Hundertmark说，这种铰链还可以在汽车内部使用 ...
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ArticleBearing in mind PTFE
Little attention is paid to the humble PTFE bearing, but this small part can affect assembly and performanceThe hinges on doors, bonnets and other car-body closures seem at first to be among the most straightforward elements of the componentry on any vehicle. But, as is often the case, the appearance ...
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ArticleEarthquakes disrupt Japan production
Japan – Vehicle-makers have been obliged to temporarily suspend production at a number of plants after earthquakes in the south of the country on April 14 and April 16.Honda initially announced a suspension of production until April 22 at its Kumamoto factory but has now extended this to April 28, ...
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ArticleFactory-wide metrological network
Etalon claims its Absolute Multiline Technology offers a measurement system for monitoring the geometric accuracy of machine tools by means of high-precision length measurements: An absolute distance interferometer measuring with sub-micrometer resolution serves as metrological centrepiece of a factory.The company says it connects with any number of machines via a ...
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Article
Bearing in mind PTFE
The hinges that allow doors, bonnets and other closures on a car to open and close seem at first sight to be among the most straightforward elements of the componentry on any vehicle. But, as is often the case, the appearance of simplicity can disguise a surprising amount of technical ...