All Ford articles – Page 35
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Article
Binger is named as Plant Manager at Ford's site
Detroit, MI. – Charles Binger has been named Plant Manager of Ford’s Cleveland engine production site, which includes Engine Plants No. 1 and No. 2 and Cleveland Casting.A 19-year veteran with the company, Binger replaces Jan Allman, who was named plant manager at the Chicago Assembly Plant.Most recently Binger served ...
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ArticleColour it green in construction
Green and leanTurning paint fumes into electricityWaste gas used to power BMW paintshopThe ‘living’ car factoryGreening the distribution chainGreen smartOEMs and Tier suppliers derive not only good public relations from minimising environmental damage in the vehicle manufacturing process, but may also realize significant cost savings.One area that has seen a ...
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ArticleMaterial of choice
Plastics offer a clear alternativeFuture battery powerFIM cuts production timeGood times for Chinese plastics Injection Moulding innovationsNatural composites or high-gloss plastics‘Ecological’ plasticAlmost a year since the financial crisis began, Tier suppliers continue to face major challenges in key markets. Against that backdrop, a temptation to drastically cut R&D investment is ...
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Article
Painting the world as we see and feel it
Colours can have a profound influence on people and subtly influence their car buying decisions; two young designers talk about their view of the changing demographics of colour The new eco-drivers: Guardians of the earthTime for something new, or the joy of experimentingTurning old into new, or: Beyond silverTurbulence, crisis, ...
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ArticleHard act to follow
Tools of the tradeTurning to hard turningInserts shape the futureWet or dry?Many automotive parts require hardening to provide the long service lives demanded by consumers. The challenge for manufacturing engineers is how to finish-machine such parts to final geometric form after hardening. Until recently, grinding has prevailed as the most ...
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ArticleQuality kept under wraps
A revolutionary paint protection system may have come at just the right time for OEMs, as WGI’s Ronald Green explainsDemand and developmentWhy post-paintshop?The solution – ‘cover in a can’Applying the film – how much for the paintshop?Density and curingRemoving the filmThe time is right to wrapWalker Group Incorporated (WGI) is ...
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ArticleLightweight vehicles mean longlife conveyors
Need for flex – small platform sharingGM’s commodity approachMasters of global material movementConsider the changes in vehicle sizes and weights over the last few years. The Mercedes-Benz W140 (1991-1998) S-Class saloon weighed approximately 2,000kg, depending on specification; the W220 (1999-2006) around 1,800kg, and the latest model, the W221, has remained ...
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ArticleIts all over for overspray – and the solution is positively charged
Intelligent use of electrostatic separation means no more wet scrubbing or filtration to recover overspray, saving energy and ‘greening’ the paint process furtherThe basic principles of E-scrubEnergy-efficient and environmentally beneficialQuality and reliability in productionSimple retrofit, rapid amortizationNational and International AwardsA network of excellenceBoost efficiency, save energy, avoid CO2 emissions – ...
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ArticleRemote handling by radio control
Fixed routes and flexibilityControl systems – the devil is in the digitalIf there was ever a ‘Cinderella’ technology that has suffered at the hands of tough economic times, it is the automated guided vehicle (AGV). Unmanned, remote-controlled material handling by AGV was mooted by many as the answer to speeding ...
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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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ArticleVolkswagen opts for sustainable dry separation
The German carmaker and its supplier partner drive their green manufacturing message abroad by opting for Dürr’s EcoDryScrubber systemSupplier partner lead the wayUp to 150,000 vehicles a year will roll off the production line at Volkswagen AG’s new plant at Chattanooga in the state of Tennessee, US from 2011. EcoDryScrubber, ...
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ArticleRobots flex their muscles to multi-task
Softly, softlyWelding – man or machine?Robots have traditionally been a single-task tool; in the earliest days of robot usage, engineers designed tasks and tooling for one robot carrying out one operation, be it welding, heavy (and light) lifting, machine tool changing, etc. Empowered by increasingly sophisticated control systems, time and ...
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ArticleEco-efficient and agile
Geico's Ali Reza Arabnia explains how it is working to revolutionise its customers’ paintshop operations and of his dream of total plant energy self-sufficiencyGlobal expertise, local contentConcentrating on core competenceBalancing business with energy savingDr. Arabnia manages to combine the zeal of an ecowarrior with the sharp business sense of a ...
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ArticleView from the top at GM
Following on from his interview in our 10th Anniversary issue, AMSwent back to GM’s Gary Cowger for more on how the auto manufacturing landscape has changed and what the future holds for General Motors ManufacturingAMS - What changes in manufacturing technology have had the most impact?GC - One of the ...
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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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ArticleA green and better paint finish at Mazda
Reducing VOCs and CO2 emissions have been contradictory aims in paintshop for many years, but Mazda has come up with a revolutionary solutionCleaner plant and brighter finishesEnergy saving flash off processMazda Motor Corporation recently announced the successful launch of the newly developed Aqua-tech Paint System for vehicle body painting at ...
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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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ArticleSpecial customers, special cars, special coatings
Audi uses a mix of robot and manual spraying, matching and inspection on mixed material substrates to give its customers a range of colours and effects, as two of its heads of paint operations explainSelling cars in the ‘mid-premium-sports’ sector of the market combines the challenges of satisfying increasingly sophisticated ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: A theory on Opel’s future
While China’s Sichuan Tengzhong and GM have signed a memorandum of understanding as to the estimated $200 million deal to buy Hummer, the Chinese government appears to be rightly wary over the proposed purchase. After all, a failed car company is just that; a company that, given the best opportunity ...