Latest News & Features – Page 70
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ArticleGetting beneath the skin
Specialists in automotive interiors have long been at the sharp end of sustainability issue. Gareth Price looks at the controls and techniques that are helping IAC Group improve process control and lower energy consumption Ever since environmental impact became a hot topic for discussion and action within the automotive manufacturing ...
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ArticlePower from plastics
James Bakewell speaks to thermoset plastics specialists Pieter Vanderstraeten and Hendrik De Keyser about the increasing scope for composite powertrain components While the use of advanced composites in structural applications has hogged the limelight in recent years, these lightweight materials also have many advantages for the manufacture of components for ...
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ArticleTo gauge the new age
Mike Farish visits a new facility operated by Mahle designed to help OEMs transition to the updated compulsory emissions testing regime, WLTP From the 1st September 2018 it became compulsory for all new cars registered withinthe area of the European Union to comply with a strict new vehicle fuel consumption ...
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ArticleAcademic circles
Mike Farish visits Oxford-based start-up YASA, a special electric motor company sprung from academia that’s now attracting the attention of premium OEMsEarly this year a bland-looking industrial estate a few miles to the north of Oxford officially became the manufacturing site for what one of its residents believes to be ...
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ArticleVan production boost at Renault plant
France - The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has revealed new plans for the production of vans in the country. Specifically, €450m (US$393m) is being spent over the next five years to make the next-generation Renault Kangoo family at the Renault Maubeuge plant, where the Mercedes Citan van is currently built. The new ...
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WebinarArcelorMittal S-in motion® Chassis solutions
The webinar will explore some examples of best-in-class steel grades for chassis applications and cover ArcelorMittal’s S-in motion® Chassis study which identifies potential savings in mass of up to 20%. As part of the study, specific assessments have been conducted on formability, weldability, and fatigue. The study ...
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ArticleSchaeffler to shut two UK plants
UK - Global automotive supplier Schaeffler has announced the closure of two plants. The first is located in Llanelli, Wales, and houses the production of mechanical tappets and bearings for car makers. The other is in Plymouth, England, where spindle bearings and machine parts for the company’s industrial division are ...
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ArticleFord automates hot-forming process
Germany - Ford has integrated a automated hot-forming line at its Saarlouis plant, which is located two hours south west of Frankfurt, where it makes the Focus. The company says it is the first time this process has been automated.It works by subjecting boron steel to temperatures of up to ...
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ArticleNissan makes X-Trail in St. Petersburg
Russia - The new Nissan X-Trail is now being produced at the company's St. Petersburg plant, joining the Qashqai and Murano. This follows on from a small rise in the brand's sales in the country from 9,049 to 10,134 units between August and September 2018."We are very pleased to announce ...
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ArticleTata starts making Harrier in Pune
India - Tata Motors has started making its Harrier SUV on a new assembly line in Chakan - a town situated in the northern part of Pune. This comes ahead of the market launch of the model in early 2019."We have been receiving a tremendous response from the customers ever ...
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ArticleOpportunity 4.0
Nick Gibbs travels to Barcelona to discover how Gestamp’s own digital revolution is driving efficiency improvements in its energy-hungry hot-stamping operations When your company has expanded to more than 100 production plants, you want to keep a close watch on the production lines in those plants. Especially when you require ...
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ArticleBMW Dingolfing to make Mini batteries
Germany - BMW is investing an undisclosed amount in its Dingolfing plant in order to house the production of batteries for the all-electric Mini. The 'mid-double-digit-million-euro' amount will be used to construct a new assembly line and to implement 'extensive remodelling' measures."With the launch of new models and growing demand ...
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ArticleSet the controls
Expertise in plastic component manufacturing will be in ever greater demand during the emobility age. In preparation, global supplier Novares has taken on a new form Following a period of reorganisation and rebranding, the Mecaplast-Key Plastics group spent 2018 settling in to its new identity – Novares The chosen name ...
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ArticlePiecing it all together
Ian Henry identifies six themes from the moves, mergers and makeovers underway in the global automotive tier supply sector Six themes characterise the automotive supply sector at present, namely: ongoing M&A, the financial challenges faced by the supply base, restructuring and realignment of product portfolios, investment in new facilities, the ...
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WebinarHow 3D data is driving new levels of automotive productivity and efficiency
In this webinar, we’ll discuss how world’s leading OEMs are leveraging FARO 3D data capture technology to boost productivity and efficiency across the whole supply chain and automotive manufacturing lifecycle. The presentation will set out the key benefits of using this 3D data, from prototyping and industrial styling to ...
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ArticleToyota makes hybrid transaxles
Poland - The OEM has started production of its hybrid electric transaxles at its plant in Wałbrzych, situated in the south west of the country. They will be fitted to the new Corolla Hybrid, which is being built at Toyota's Burnaston factory in the UK, and the C-HR Hybrid, which ...
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ArticleJLR opens Nitra plant
Slovakia - Jaguar Land Rover has opened its manufacturing facility in Nitra, which is located in the west of the country, an hour’s drive from the capital Bratislava. It cost the company €1.4bn (US$1.59bn) to build, covers an area of 300,000 sq.m, and has an annual output of 150,000 vehicles. ...
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ArticleWhite light
Michael Nash visits Constellium’s new plant in White, Georgia, from where it supplies BMW with aluminium crash management systemsThe rise of electrification is having a huge impact on vehicle manufacturers and their product portfolios, with many promising to launch a wide variety of new battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid ...
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ArticleFord Bridgend makes petrol engines
UK - The OEM has started production of its new three-cylinder 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engines at the Bridgend plant in South Wales. This follows on from an investment of £100m (US$128m) in the facility. “I’m personally very proud to see production start of this all-new engine, here in Bridgend,” commented ...
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ArticleUniti announces production plans
UK - The Swedish start-up has revealed its intension to build a "pilot production plant" at Silverstone Park in the UK. It will be used to make the Uniti One - a small pure electric car designed for city driving."The UK’s approach to vehicle production, with its focus on light-weighting ...