Latest News & Features – Page 95
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ArticlePolestar starts building Chengdu plant
China – The company is following a nine-month construction plan, with the aim of beginning tooling installation and pre-production testing halfway through next year. The facility will produce the brand’s first model, Polestar 1.“Following the successful launch of the new Polestar brand in October, construction of the new Polestar Production ...
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Article
A winning formula?
Like all new strategic plans announced by vehicle companies from time to time, the new Opel PACE! plan leaves many questions unanswered. It’s not clear yet what will happen to the enlarged manufacturing network which PSA-Opel/Vauxhall now has; by common consent, the group has too many plants, but CEO Carlos ...
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ArticleEditor's note: High anxiety
We live in anxious times, if the headlines are to be believed. In the UK, Brexit has seemed to be less of a concern to the consuming public than it does to a nervous business community. But worries regarding what the future holds for the millions of diesel and petrol ...
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WebinarLightweighting with laser welded blanks and the latest generation of steel grades
In this webinar, we illustrate the benefits of combining laser welded blank technology and solutions with the latest advanced high strength steel grades, including the new generation of press hardenable steels – Usibor® 2000 and Ductibor® 1000. This webinar was recorded on ...
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ArticleCAD collision testing
CoreTechnologies says it has developed a new digital-mock-up (DMU) tool for machine and plant engineering. This module for the 3D_Evolution series for collision testing is specifically tailored to machine and plant engineering needs, claims the company.The collision calculation takes place on the exact B-Rep descriptions, so that a precise distinction ...
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ArticleOpel’s ambitious future
After losing around US$16 billion in Europe, GM decided to sell Opel/Vauxhall to PSA. The French company had been transformed from near bankruptcy to profitability under Carlos Tavares’ shrewd stewardship. Tavares was looking for ways to grow PSA; with joint vehicle programmes between GM and PSA already under way, he ...
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ArticleAdded value
Although additive manufacturing is not new, the latest techniques are offering OEMs more options for its useThe use of additively manufactured parts in vehicles is now unexceptional, if not yet pervasive, at least at the high end of the market characterised by low volume and high purchase price. But there ...
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ArticleCylindrical gear machining
Klingelnberg says its Speed Viper platform machines feature a revised, ergonomic design and a simplified operating system. The company says this removes the need for any modifications or corrections to be entered manually, as theses are now automatically loaded using GearPro Operator. A touch screen display provides operator guidance.Other new ...
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ArticleFibre space
The recycling of carbon fibres presents a real challenge for the industry but, with interest being shown by the makers of electric vehicles and sportscars, opportunities are emergingIf the automotive industry’s use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) is to increase significantly, then efficient methods for recycling these materials must be ...
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ArticleFibre space
The recycling of carbon fibres presents a real challenge for the industry but with interest being shown by the makers of electric vehicles and sportscars, opportunities are emergingIf the automotive industry’s use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) is to increase significantly, then efficient methods for recycling these materials must be ...
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ArticleCleaning and machining
The Bonderite duaLCys process has been used in a precision tool, machining project at German customer Mapal, claims Henkel. The company says the process can be tailored to the customer’s needs across their value chain from casting and machining to assembly. One of the stated benefits is the recycling of ...
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ArticleNew stamping ground
Gestamp chairman and CEO Francisco Riberas tells AMS about the growth in outsourcing of press shop operationsSpanish metal parts supplier Gestamp has grown to the point it is now the go-to company for European makers wanting to outsource body-in-white and chassis parts, particularly stronger hot-stamped steel parts.It has leveraged this ...
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ArticleMotor reflex
Brose’s Bernd Kaufer tells AMS how engineering instincts helps him to run the company’s Würzburg plantAt 7:00am each working morning, Bernd Kaufer begins his day by consulting his smartphone. As general manager of Brose’s Würzburg plant, his first task is to check on the status of operations there. Thanks to ...
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ArticleThe stage to engage
The continually restructuring tier supply environment is witnessing record M&A activity amid rapid technological changeTier one suppliers currently face a bewildering mix of challenges, some long-term and some short-term in impact. This has always been the case, but the pace of change and the scale of adjustment required now are ...
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Article
The stage to engage
The continually restructuring tier supply environment is witnessing record M&A activity amid rapid technological change Tier one suppliers currently face a bewildering mix of challenges, some long-term and some short-term in impact. This has always been the case, but the pace of change and the scale of adjustment required now ...
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ArticleMAN to invest €2.4 billion by 2020
Germany – The funds, equivalent to $2.8 billion, will go towards modernising the company’s sites and improving efficiency across all divisions, and will include a €1.1 billion upgrade at its main plant in Munich between 2015 and 2020. In Munich, MAN is opening a new paintshop, expanded bodyshop, a combined ...
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ArticleSteel town
ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor steel mill has needed to change with the times. AMS paid a visitArcelorMittal employs over 4,200 people at its Indiana Harbor facility, which has been the site of steel making for over 100 years. According to Wendell Carter, long-serving steel man, vice-president and general manager: “Indiana Harbor ...
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Article
Building for the future
Subaru has spent $1.3bn at its US plant to increase its capacity and is now preparing to produce a new SUVSubaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) reports that it has invested $1.3 billion at its 832-acre site in Lafayette, Indiana, over the last four years. This has increased both powertrain and ...
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ArticleVW invests €560m at Pacheco for new SUV
Argentina – The OEM said the plant would undergo “modernisation measures” costing the equivalent of $660m to optimise the production process, enhancing quality and sustainability while enabling it to make the new SUV by 2020. The introduction of the model, based on Volkswagen’s Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, will create ...
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ArticleSouthern powerhouse
South Africa's automotive industry has emerged onto the world stage after increased investment from the likes of BMW, Mercedes and VW. Moreover, the country has now attracted the attentions of a Chinese OEM The automotive industry has played a central role in the economic and industrial strategies of successive South ...