All Interiors articles – Page 3
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ArticleReadying your cutting room for Industry 4.0
Widespread digitalisation within automotive manufacturing is providing the opportunity for seating and interiors suppliers to move up the value chainWith the Fourth Industrial Revolution well underway, automotive suppliers need to assess their Industry 4.0 readiness across all operations. The car of the future will be highly connected, electric and autonomous. ...
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Article
A cut above the rest
A new digital approach to leather cutting is establishing greater levels of equipment reliability and material throughput making it a more viable option for the volume production of car interior elementsNormally any visible blemish on an automotive component is a reason for instant rejection. But there is one circumstance in ...
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ArticleA cut above the rest
A new digital approach to leather cutting is establishing greater levels of equipment reliability and material throughput making it a more viable option for the volume production of car interior elementsNormally any visible blemish on an automotive component is a reason for instant rejection. But there is one circumstance in ...
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ArticleGM to build supplier park at Arlington
US – The new park in Texas will consist of two manufacturing and warehouse buildings covering 1.2m sq.ft and will require up to 1,250 workers, including 850 in newly created positions. The park will begin supporting the Arlington Assembly plant in 2018.“Through strong supplier and community relations, we’re able create ...
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ArticleOpen-door opportunity
Much R&D work has been done to reduce the weight of vehicle structures, but closures still represent a significant opportunity for weight savingsClosures are mounted after body assembly and can be built up off-line, meaning that they can be made of entirely different materials, such as aluminium, to the vehicle’s ...
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ArticleBeaming with benefits
Clean, flexible and able to provide quality assurance data, laser technology is now proving effective in welding plasticsA recent report released by Credence Research suggests that the US welding equipment industry for plastics is undergoing a period of explosive growth. The industry was valued at $595.3m in 2015, and the ...
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ArticlePSA to modernise European paint lines
Spain – Paintshop supplier Sames Kremlin has announced that in March it won the contract to update lines one and two at PSA’s Vigo factory. Over the coming months, the company will install a total of 51 robots at PSA facilities in Trnava (Slovakia), Poissy and Rennes (France), plus the ...
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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 ...
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ArticleParts makers in the driver's seat
Using ABB robots, an IAC Group facility in Sweden has streamlined its production of interior plastic components for VolvoThe town of Skara in south-western Sweden is home to a manufacturing plant that has produced plastic goods since the mid-1930s. “In the beginning, the plant produced household goods, before shifting its ...
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ArticleInjecting a dash of insulation
Automotive interiors specialist International Automotive Components (IAC) has further expanded its operations in EuropeIAC's newest production facility, at Prestice in the Czech Republic, will initially be producing the company’s injection moulded inner dash, acoustical insulation product for two major vehicle OEM customers – including trunk trim and dash insulation components ...
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ArticleOperation and cooperation
The working relationship between design and manufacturing departments can optimise processes, reduce costs and make the most of the best ideasGenuine leather, synthetic leather, thermoplastic polyolefins and slush skins have become standard surface materials in cockpit production. These various surface concepts usually call for multiple-stage production processes, requiring specific tools. ...
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Article
Zero tolerance for error
If a single word can sum up the key challenge involved in the manufacture of injector valves for diesel engines it is very likely ‘tolerances’Summing up the high-precision machining operations at Delphi’s Storehouse plant, chief manufacturing engineer for commercial vehicle fuel injection systems Dave Jewell says: “We have got to ...
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WebinarLectra: An interactive roundtable on Operational Excellence in the Cutting Value Chain
As the foremost authority on cutting room automation and digitalisation, Lectra has brought together a panel of lean-production experts to discuss best practice enabling suppliers to better cope with changing market demand while also containing costs.Register for our digital event today to watch video highlights and gain insight into ...
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ArticleHonda releases environmental report
US – The 2016 North American Environmental Report (NAER), Honda’s 12th such publication, states that the CO2 emissions intensity of its vehicle production dropped by 10% compared with the previous year despite a record output. In fiscal year 2016, energy per vehicle also decreased by 6.7%, the most energy-efficient level ...
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ArticleGetting down to refined auto parts
ABB robots help HIB Trim Part Solutions produce a wide variety of vehicle interior parts from instrumental panels and centre consoles to door trimHIB Trim Part Solutions, a member of the NBHX Trim Group, is a technology partner for the premium sector of the automotive industry. The company develops and ...
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ArticleColour code
The north corner of Audi’s vast Ingolstadt plant has been transformed into a three-storey, environmental and ergonomic exemplar of the automotive paintshopHandling more than 650 car bodies a day, operations at Audi’s new paintshop at Ingolstadt, Germany, are shared across approximately 200 employees in a three-shift rotation, supported by 54 ...
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ArticleThe cutting room
Bringing in Lectra’s expertise, suppliers are finding more ways to streamline their production of fabric and trim for automotive seatingMature and dynamic, Mexico is an especially attractive location for companies aiming to establish or maintain a North American manufacturing footprint. Drawn by the appeal of Mexico’s low wages and improved ...
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ArticleRevitalising a veteran
VW has been making vehicles at Puebla in Mexico since 1967, but a $1.7 billion investment has added new facilities for the Golf 7 and long-wheelbase Tiguan. AMS takes a look at a vast but still expanding footprintThe automotive industry is a prime example of globalisation; major manufacturers span the ...
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ArticleRecycle route for carbon fibre
The use of carbon fibre in automotive manufacturing is in its infancy but with £316m worth of the material sent to landfill in 2015 it is imperative the industry explores more ways of recycling European Union (EU) end-of-life vehicle directives prescribe that 85% of the materials used in a new ...
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Article
Creating kerb appeal
Optare build bespoke buses, but the firm faces similar challenges to high volume car manufacturersBespoke isn’t necessarily the term you would associate with mass market public transport, but according to Optare president, Graham Belgum, it’s a key USP for the company’s work with public transport providers. Criteria such as low ...