All Manufacturing engineering articles – Page 9
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ArticleNissan shakes up North America management
US – The vehicle-maker announced a series of appointments across the US, Mexico and Canada as it enters the final year of its ‘Power 88’ mid-term business plan. The new postings are effective from April 1.“Today, we're announcing changes to our North American leadership team that will ensure our region's ...
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ArticleRussian reckoning
Of the several contenders for world’s toughest car market in 2016, Russia surely takes the prizeThe sinking rouble, western sanctions and collapsing oil prices conspired to pummel consumer purchasing power and confidence in Russia over the last year. Sales have declined by a massive 36%. Back in 2012, when sales ...
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ArticleIPS milestone at Mercedes-Benz Kassel
Germany – The plant has now produced 100,000 truck axles using induction pressure welding (IPS in abbreviated German). The technology enables the joining of steel and cast parts with any contours, says parent company Daimler, claiming it is “unique in the world”.In IPS, the main body or housing of the ...
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ArticleRenault and Nissan strengthen convergence
France – The Alliance partners will progress their collaboration in four key areas: Engineering; Manufacturing Engineering and Supply Chain Management; Purchasing; and Human Resources. New convergence projects will also be launched, starting with Quality and Costing.The four key functions were converged in 2014 and are now managed by Alliance executives. ...
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ArticleNissan announces Brexit opposition
UK – In a statement, the company said it “will not be pro-actively supporting any political campaign” before the country’s referendum on EU membership, but quoted CEO Carlos Ghosn making his views clear.“Our preference as a business is, of course, that the UK stays within Europe – it makes the ...
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ArticleNeighbour moves into Ford Dagenham
UK – Replacing Martin Everitt, who becomes director of Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Paul Neighbour is now confirmed as plant manager of Ford Dagenham Engine Plant. He has already served the vehicle-maker for 38 years.Neighbour’s previous roles include vice-president of Manufacturing for Getrag Ford ...
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ArticleBarra becomes GM’s chairman
US – Alongside her role as CEO, Mary Barra will succeed Theodore Solso in heading up the vehicle-maker’s board of directors. Solso will serve as lead independent director.“At a time of unprecedented industry change, the board concluded it is in the best interests of the company to combine the roles ...
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ArticleRobot reckoning
ABB Robotics first established itself in China over 30 years ago and has since manufactured over 30,000 robots in applications serving the entire vehicle production process.The range of ABB’s business activities in China stretches from R&D and manufacturing to sales and services. In the fold are 19,000 employees, 36 local ...
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ArticleStamp of approval
Chang Tiejun, body area manager at Changan Mazda's Nanjing facility, discusses the challenges of keeping pace with demand, handling changing materials and vehicle architectures, and planning for the futureAMS: Do you have both blanking and stamping operations here at Nanjing?Chang Tiejun (CT): We only have stamping operations at this location; ...
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ArticleOlive takes new role at Renault-Nissan
France – The OEM has appointed Jérôme Olive as executive vice-president, Alliance Manufacturing Engineering and Supply Chain Management, effective August 1.Olive, who is currently senior vice-president, Manufacturing and Logistics Europe at Renault, replaces Shohei Kimura, who moves to a new leadership position in manufacturing within the Nissan group. Kimura has ...
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ArticleGM: Chasing Chinese capacity
Phil Kienle, vice-president of Manufacturing for GM International Operations (GMIO and GM China) discusses the production challenges of meeting rising demand in ChinaAMS: How has GM standardised its manufacturing operations globally and is China now operating at a level comparable with GM’s other high-volume production regions?Phil Kienle (PK): When you ...
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ArticleWelding for lightweights
With the automotive industry’s shift toward lighter materials, demands on welding technology are changingThe reasons behind the increasing demand for aluminium within the automotive industry are well documented: the material is around one-third the weight of steel, which in turn leads to fuel consumption advantages and, hopefully, higher sales at ...
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ArticleRemote control: Laser welding
A €3.9m, pan-European project is developing solutions to widen the application of lasers in weldingAn alternative to the proven and reliable technique of resistance spot welding (RSW) is remote laser welding (RLW). It offers a number of advantages such as creating joints in different locations on the product through simple ...
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ArticleMulti-model management
The senior GM – Manufacturing at Chakan Plant discusses the challenges of producing a diverse range of vehicles at a single location, plus plans for expansionAMS: Can you provide some background on Chakan Plant?Sairan Vedapudi (SV): We acquired this site in 2007, and although at that time the economic conditions ...
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ArticleTom Chackalackal, Ford India
The vice-president for Manufacturing discusses operations at Chennai, which was the pioneer plant for the OEM's three-wet, high-solids paint processAMS: With the start of production of the EcoSport last year, it was reported that capacity here would be increased to 200,000 units per annum. Has this happened?Tom Chackalackal (TC): The ...
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ArticleInterview: Dileep Naik, Tata Motors
The head of auto projects and production engineering discusses the manufacture of CVs, passenger cars and powertrains at the company's plant in Maharastra, plus its in-house production engineering capabilityAMS: Which vehicles are you currently producing at Pimpri?Dileep Naik (DN): Here we manufacture both commercial vehicles [CVs] and passenger vehicles. The ...
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ArticleMaking more with less
As the drive for energy efficiency increases, auto manufacturers are scrutinising every shopfloor processThe automotive manufacturing industry is a massive user of energy. The US industry alone consumes 800 trillion Btus per year, according to estimates by the US Department of Energy (DOE). In its ‘Energy Use Benchmarking in the ...
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WebinarHexagon Metrology: Fast, rich and actionable 3D process control
Global automotive manufacturers are aiming to improve mechanical and visual assembly quality and reduce rework while accelerating new vehicle launches. 3D Metrology and In-line process control technologies are important contributors for achieving higher quality products, more stable process and faster ramp up for new vehicle programs. The introduction of fast ...
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_Hexagon Metrology: Fast, rich and actionable 3D process control
Global automotive manufacturers are aiming to improve mechanical and visual assembly quality and reduce rework while accelerating new vehicle launches. 3D Metrology and In-line process control technologies are important contributors for achieving higher quality products, more stable process and faster ramp up for new vehicle programs. The introduction of fast ...
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WebinarWEBINAR: Hexagon Metrology
Global automotive manufacturers are aiming to improve mechanical and visual assembly quality and reduce rework while accelerating new vehicle launches. 3D Metrology and in-line process control technologies are important contributors for achieving higher-quality products, more stable process and faster ramp-up for new vehicle programmes.The introduction of fast area measurement and ...