All Casting/Forging articles – Page 4
-
ArticleEdging out inefficiencies
Tooling innovations matched with supplier partnerships are proving critical to competitive gain at automotive machine shops the world overFord’s Bridgend engine plant in the UK, which produces over 750,000 petrol engines a year, has engaged in a cutting-tool partnership with Mapal to help the factory to hit its SPC targets ...
-
ArticleFCA US to open new training facility
US – The OEM will unveil its fourth World Class Manufacturing Academy (WCMA) site at Tipton, Indiana, this March. The $2.1m centre, funded by FCA US and Unite Automobile Workers (UAW), will serve personnel from the Tipton Transmission Plant (TTP) and the UAW National Training Center (NTC) Kokomo.“FCA US and ...
-
ArticlePresidential suite
As Donald Trump has entered the White House, Ford has elected to make a number of key financial and strategic changesThings have changed at Ford in recent times, both financially and strategically. And since November 2016, its strategy has changed still further, with a number of key decisions taking on ...
-
Article
- 节能
不管是低排放、零垃圾、再用水，还是再生能源、可持续性发展、以及能源管理，都已经成为汽车制造商的当务之急可持续性发展和能源管理：这些词是汽车制造业在过去十年里的流行词。现在有几个大型汽车制造商没有可持续性政策？福特公司最新发表可持续性年度报告中称，从2010年到2015年，制造业能量消耗降低了25%。Seat公司能源效率战略被称为“Ecomotive Factory（经济动力工厂）”，而丰田公司还以水资源使用和环境管理而得到非营利性可持续性经济发展机构CDP的奖励。大众还进入世界上可持续性发展最好制造商名单，此前不久，公司还爆出使用能够规避清洁空气标准的设备。在之后的丑闻中，人们开始意识到，可持续性发展和能源管理对消费者和类似业务有多重要。当汽车制造商第一次制定能源管理和节能目标时，他们也许会踌躇满志，但是他们可以改变方法，找到改进可持续性发展的方法。在旧工厂采用新技术，使用可再生能源，又或者从新工厂建设之处就注重能源效率。综合性能源管理通用汽车讲能源管理融合到公司核心业务内部，在每个工厂内部都有专门的人事部门。过去的15年里，公司在节能方面取得很大的成绩，占总体使用的60%。通用全球能源部经理Al Hildreth说：“我们的挑战就是找到新的创新性技术和行为变化，让我们继续节能的步伐，但是我们也是意识到，我们无法取得比过去15年还多的成绩了。我们的目标是从2010年到2020年之间，减少耗能20%，节水15%，这一定要从方方面面入手。” GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant is reusing storm water in its paint shop虽然在建造工厂时就注意能源效益看上去会取得更大效果，但是通用公司通过改进原有设备同样获得加大的节能效果。Hildreth说，“我们在老厂节能方面看到了巨大的机会，尤其是没有过多车型改变或机械的工厂。我们有很多例子，用创新设备替代了旧系统。比如说，我们在发动机上放入无级变速器，用适当的发动机尺寸提高效率，此外我们还使用建筑管理系统，降低工厂的耗能。”Hildreth还提到了很多的项目。在印第安纳州，通用在Fort Wayne装配厂安装了变频驱动，有助于冷却塔泵系统和风扇，提高精确度。在密歇根州，Lansing Delta Township工厂的喷漆车间安装了新门，隔离了气流。公司在俄亥俄州Bedford Casting Operation工厂，熔解炉里安装了高效燃烧器控制器，减少12%的耗能。工厂还改进了检测与控制设备。通用还启动一个目标计划，就是到2020年，100%采用可再生能源，满足全球工厂的店里需要，将密歇根州Grand Rapids工厂11,000个LED灯管替代来下。在新款变频驱动热力与冷却设备的帮助下，耗能会降低18%。照明问题同样也是Seat公司关注的焦点 — 公司计划到2018年，每辆汽车实现减少耗能25%。该西班牙制造商 — 与Philips Lighting合作 — 将西班牙Martorell工厂所有的外部照明都替换成LED照明。2016年，通用公司最具创新力的项目之一就会在Detroit工厂对雨水进行回收利用。Hildreth说，“我们发现，Detroit-Hamtramck装配厂可以通过回收利用雨水，来降低喷漆厂的耗能。我们已经在搜集雨水，但是要送到工厂进行处理。我们在搜集雨水和水处理工厂进行大量的投资，现在我们搜集雨水，而不是导入到底特律河里（这么做会出现环境危险）。我们得到极大的回报，预计工厂使用该设备之后，每年能够节省大约200万美元。”另一个在能源效率创新方面的典范就是Toyota Manufacturing UK，公司升级了Derbyshire工厂的喷漆厂，安装的新系统能够解决废气问题。公司的目标就是对最后从烘箱加热设备中拍出的废气进行分离。为了实现这个目标，独立承包商George Koch Sons Europe公司为每个炉子安装了气驱动加热系统，使用带有逆变器控制的风扇。这样就能根据生产中车辆的装填，控制并监控炉子的再循环，改进了整体能源效率。创建相关工厂另一个熟练掌握节能的就是使用率。通过自动化房屋管理和设备，汽车制造商能够确保在最需要的时候使用技术和工艺。Schneider Electric公司大客户总监Mark Staples说，“随着汽车制造商实行准时化顺序，他们通常不得不等待供应商把零部件送来，才能完成制造，因此生产线有时候虽然没有使用，但仍然在运行。这里的能源浪费巨大。通过将生产线和流程连接到建筑物，汽车制造商能够保证，在不需要的时候可以关闭照明和其他设备。” George Koch’s regenerative thermal oxidiser installation at Toyota UK为了实现这个目标，公司采用以太网技术、开放式体系结构、智能联网设备，为工厂的节能提供了可能，这在工厂中已经实施了一段时间了。Staples说，“原来的工厂全都是专有网络，非常孤立，但是现在的制造商想要将系统全都连接起来，这样他们就能互相交流结合。有一个例子，就是操作员全都配有呼叫系统。当一个生产线上的零部件用光了之后，管理员不得不离开座位，去按一个按钮，提出要求。但是无线以太网技术把不同的系统和网络连接起来，他们可以在座位上就想联网设备提出他们的要求。”“我们的能源管理方案，比如StruxureWare Power Monitoring Expert软件，我们的Masterpack MTZ大功率低压断路器，以及我们的Smart Panels智能房屋管理方案，这些方案的特点就是都具有开放式结构，不仅可以与我们的设备联网，还能与第三方联网，以及以太网。”具有耗能标杆意义的无线以太网技术还可以帮助汽车制造商确定提高能源效率的区域。Minimise Energy公司推出的监控系统（Monitoring ...
-
ArticleSaving energy
Whether lowering emissions, going landfill-free, reusing water or harnessing renewables, sustainability and energy management has long been a top priority for carmakersSustainability and energy management: these are the buzzwords that have dominated automotive manufacturing over the past decade. How many major automotive manufacturers can you think of that don’t have ...
-
Article
Seven key issues for tier suppliers
Taking examples from across the world of automotive tier supply, AMS looks at the seven key considerations from supply base consolidation, vertical integration and outsourcing to the changes that the move to electric, autonomous and connected vehicles might mean for the supplier industry1. Supply base consolidationWhile car companies make most ...
-
ArticleGM Lordstown and LGR lose third shift
US – The vehicle-maker said the third shift would be suspended at the two assembly plants from January 2017, in line with a shift in demand from cars to crossovers and trucks. At the same time, GM announced an investment of over $900m in its Ohio, Michigan and Indiana facilities ...
-
ArticleKTM steps up the pace
KTM has grown rapidly and is now looking to increase production volumes. Nick Holt visits the firm’s manufacturing facilities at Mattighofen, Austria Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has ambitious plans to increase output from its current 160,000 units to 200,000 units per year by 2020. As such, the vehicle-maker is adding ...
-
ArticleGW’s cylinder-block process for JLR
UK – In collaboration with the OEM and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), casting specialist Grainger & Worrall is working on a type of cylinder block with plasma coatings to reduce the size and weight of engines. The production process involves spraying an aluminum block with a low-friction, plasma metal ...
-
ArticleMagneti celebrates 40 years at Sanford
US – The plant in North Carolina was inaugurated in 1976 and initially made carburettors; it now focuses on modern powertrain technologies including intake manifolds, electronic throttle bodies and engine control systems for cars, motorcycles, powersports and industrial engines. The 90,000 sq.m factory currently employs 400 individuals.Key operations at Sanford ...
-
ArticleGM's energy efficiency to save $73m
US – The vehicle-maker estimates that it will make this saving in 2016 through sustainability measures including the installation of 186,000 light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and fixtures. GM is aiming to use renewable energy to meet 100% of its electrical needs worldwide by 2050.“Energy efficiency can reduce electricity loads, which ...
-
ArticleInfinite possibilities
Mexico’s firm footing in the automotive industry makes it an ideal market for additive manufacturing technology Additive manufacturing, sometimes known as 3D printing, is a revolutionary technology able to produce complex shapes which cannot be produced by traditional techniques such as casting, forging and machining; expanding the possibilities of ...
-
ArticleFeeding the machine
Mexico's strong growth in vehicle production is requiring suppliers to invest in their own manufacturing facilities in the country. AMS takes a look at some of the key developments over the past few years A global supply point A regional supply point A key cog in global production A source ...
-
ArticleSurface and geometry inspection
Camera-based machine vision systems enable more consistent detection of defects during the surface and contour inspection for components produced from all kinds of materialsIn industries such as automotive manufacturing and the supply sector, final inspections are often done by the naked eye. This brings problems such as fatigue in the ...
-
Article
Toyota aims for top slot
Toyota is by some distance the largest Japanese vehicle company but on the global stage it is engaged in a battle for primacy, alongside GM and the VW GroupGlobal production in 2015 totalled nearly 8.7m vehicles under the Toyota name, a fall of just over 290,000 units, damaging its attempt ...
-
ArticleToyota aims for top slot
Toyota is by some distance the largest Japanese vehicle company but on the global stage it is engaged in a battle for primacy, alongside GM and the VW GroupGlobal production in 2015 totalled nearly 8.7m vehicles under the Toyota name, a fall of just over 290,000 units, damaging its attempt ...
-
Article
Real recycling
An innovative, closed-loop, aluminium recycling project for series vehicle production continues to developThe RealCar (short for: REcycled ALuminium CAR) programme has aimed to address two major challenges currently facing the automotive industry, namely sustainability and weight reduction. The project is a collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover, Innovate UK, Novelis, Zyomax, ...
-
ArticleReal recycling
An innovative, closed-loop, aluminium recycling project for series vehicle production continues to developThe RealCar (short for: REcycled ALuminium CAR) programme has aimed to address two major challenges currently facing the automotive industry, namely sustainability and weight reduction. The project is a collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover, Innovate UK, Novelis, Zyomax, ...
-
ArticlePrinting the future
Additive manufacturing offers many benefits and the technology is seeing wider application in the automotive industryAmong the most recent additive manufacturing (AM) trends are the advantages it can bring to mould-making processes. The quality of plastic components in modern cars has increased greatly over the years in terms of precision, ...
-
ArticleBoosting production
Turbochargers are a key technology in the drive to cut emissions and boost fuel efficiencyEurope has the highest fitment rates for turbochargers, but other major markets, such as North America and China, are catching up. They are standard on diesel engines in Europe and North America, where diesels cannot to ...