Latest News & Features – Page 89
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ArticleSEAT appoints new production head
Spain - The OEM has made Christian Vollmer its new Vice President for production and logistics. He was previously the technical executive Vice President of Saic Volkswagen - a joint venture that was formed by the two companies back in 1984, and which now operates one of the largest vehicle ...
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ArticleAluminium allegiance
Industry analysts are predicting a growth phase for aluminium content in the vehicle material mix. AMS reports on the new grades and applications that underpin this claim
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Articlethyssenkrupp opens production facility
Hungary - The material and component supplier has spent around €100m (US$123.12m) on the construction of a new production site for chassis and powertrain components. Situated in Jászfényszaru, Hungary, the plant will serve both German and international vehicle manufacturers, and is expected to employ around 500 people."In recent years Hungary ...
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Articlei8 Roadster enters production at Leipzig
Germany - BMW has started the production of its i8 Roadster two months ahead of market launch. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is being made at the company's Leipzig plant in Germany, which also produces the BMW 1 and 2 Series as well as the i3. The updated i8 ...
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ArticleJoined-up thinking
The welding of plastics and other non-metallic materials is now well established as a fabrication technique for automotive componentsThe welding of non-metallic materials is frequently used to create parts such as cabin consoles, lights and mirror assemblies, intake manifolds and fluid reservoirs, including fuel tanks. However, despite being a common ...
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ArticleA race for third place
India’s vehicle sales are booming to the benefit of a handful of established manufacturers, but it’s still a tricky market for those on the sidelinesLast year, India’s passenger vehicle market cracked 3m units for the first time, up 9% on 2016, according to data from Swedish analyst firm AID. That ...
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ArticleHonda marks production milestone
US - It was the first Japanese OEM to make cars in the US when production began at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio back in 1982. Since then, Honda has established four other plants across the country, and has recently recorded its best ever annual sales figure at 1,641,429 ...
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ArticleToyota announces Auris production
UK - The third generation Auris will be built at Toyota Manufacturing UK's (TMUK) plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. Established in 1989, the facility was recently upgraded with a £240m (US$330m) investment to house the production of vehicles based on the OEM's new global architecture (TNGA) platform."Producing TNGA-based vehicles locally is ...
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ArticleLightweighting with laser-welded blanks
The latest generation of steels brings new opportunities for OEMs Laser-welded blanks (LWB) give automotive engineers the chance to design lightweight parts that ensure the right steel is in the right place for safety and performance. Combining LWBs with new hot-stamping grades, such as Usibor 2000 and Ductibor ...
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ArticleSteel going strong
ArcelorMittal provides an insight into how the trend of electrification will impact steel demand in vehicle design Last year marked the first on in which global sales of electrified vehicles exceeded one million units. Although the numbers are still a long way behind sales volumes of conventional internal combustion ...
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ArticleFord boosts SUV production by 25%
Dubai - The OEM has announced that it is increasing the production of two SUVs - the Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition - by 25% to meet "surging demand for both all-new models ahead of their arrival in the Middle East." The models are built at its Kentucky Truck Plant, ...
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Article
Premium surface finish
Tata Steel says it has expanded its Serica premium surface finish portfolio for automotive exposed panels. With Serica 29 (0.29µm after forming), Serica 32 (0.32µm after forming) and Serica 35 (0.35µm after forming) the company claims carmakers can tune the required waviness level of their outer panels to minimise the ...
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ArticleOpen architecture industrial computers
The Allen-Bradley VersaView 5000 portfolio includes five products: VersaView 5400 display and non-display computers; VersaView 5200 display and non-display thin clients; and VersaView 5100 monitors, says Rockwell Automation.The company claims that when combined with FactoryTalk View Site Edition software in distributed applications, the VersaView 5400 industrial computers can provide cost-effective ...
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ArticlePredictive maintenance for robots
Mitsubishi Electric says it has developed a cloud-based predictive maintenance solution for robots that utilises the AI platform within IBM Watson. The platform uses predictive maintenance models, digital simulation and extrapolation of trends to provide maintenance information based on actual usage and wear characteristics.Communications between the robot and the user ...
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ArticleDaimler expands China production
Beijing - An investment of over 11.9 billion yuan (US$1.89 billion) will be used to expand Mercedes-Benz vehicle production in the country. A BAIC production facility located in the city's Shunyi district will be transferred to Beijing Benz Automotive Co. (BBAC), which is a joint venture (JV) between Daimler and ...
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ArticleGroupe PSA to share ASEAN plant
Malaysia - The French carmaker has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Naza Corporation Holdings - a Malaysian business conglomerate that operates in a variety of industries, from education to automotive. As part of this, the two companies will work together to operate the Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) plant ...
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ArticleNew welding technology
According to NIMAK its new generation of robot welding guns are designed to meet the requirements of multi-material mix and use in large-scale production for conventional steel applications. The company points out that these are based on a centralised motor and gear unit that reduces weight and lowers interference contours ...
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ArticleMini Electric to be built in China
Munich - The BMW Group has confirmed that the battery-electric Mini will be made in China as part of a new collaboration with Great Wall Motor. The news comes soon after the OEMs revealed that they were in talks regarding the formation of a partnership back in 2017."Next steps will ...
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ArticleKodiaq production starts in Russia
Russia - Volkswagen Group Rus recently announced the start of local Skoda Kodiaq production. The model is being made at the Gaz Group plant in Nizhny Novgorod, marking the next stage in a long-standing partnership between the two companies."We are proud that our partner has chosen GAZ production facility for ...
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ArticleAutomated steering technology
Nexteer Automotive says it has introduced two steering technologies that enable advanced safety and functions for Level 2-5 automated driving. The company claims its high availability Electric Power Steering (EPS) is designed for resilient operational availability and is optimised through additional redundancies in torque and position sensors, electronic control units, ...