All articles by Mike Farish – Page 15
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ArticleGaining the edge in hemming
Established techniquesProductivity and flexibilityAdaptable technologyPush and pull Quantitative factorsRegional requirementsAs long as car body panels – specifically closures such as boot and hood lids – are made out of metal, they are likely to continue to be subject to hemming as a means of joining different panels together. The basic ...
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ArticleIn the comfort zone for assembly
Full scale testsComplete measurementErgonomic pitfallParts presentationReducing non-value-adding timeSupply chain focusHuman modelling moduleOne of the persistent bugbears of the automotive manufacturing industry, most obviously in actual vehicle assembly operations, is the incidence of musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) – in layman’s terms, pulled muscles and twisted joints – among assembly workers.Someone who confirms ...
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ArticleInkjet interiors
Multi-material mixingStreetScooter project3D printing has been much mooted as a consumer tool for creating objects in the office or home. Mike Farish reports on a company taking this remarkable technology one step further.An exciting new rapid prototyping tool for automotive designers has been shown off recently at a number of ...
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ArticleEfficiency as standard
Efficiency of function as well as formNatural selectionInside innovationSetting standardsProcess of changePlant comes cleanBeing seen to be greenManufacturers can make significant cost and energy savings by building-in efficiencies at plant design stage. And if there is a single automotive manufacturing plant anywhere in the world that can claim to be ...
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ArticleDirty work in the clean-up
PCB sludgeTaking chargeActioning clean upVisible improvementTypical problemsOne of the biggest clean-up projects involving a redundant automotive manufacturing site in the United States – at least as far as its $120 million predicted cost is concerned – is currently taking place at the former General Motors Massena aluminium diecasting plant in ...
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ArticleAluminium gets tough
Research into steel substitutionRecycling aluminium for automotive usageStadco predicts increased aluminium usageTesting to continueAMC takes shapeBreakthrough weight savingsThe advantages to be gained from using aluminium to build cars – whether as body panels, chassis solutions or powertrains – are now widely recognised. The material is significantly lighter than sheet steel, ...
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ArticlePrecision movement
The new Rite-Link product from DE-STA-CO is a ready-made solution for users looking for precision positioning in a conveyor system, says the companyAluminium linksCustom by natureBuilt to lastFor companies making relatively lightweight components or assemblies – particularly in highly-automated environments – a new precision link system, introduced in June this ...
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ArticleResponsible energy
Reduce energy usage and it follows that emissions will fall too. Two new processes can reduce energy consumption and emissions, while there are benefits in self-generated energyA better wayRubber processSelf-generationWhere is no doubt that the paintshop offers the best ROI in terms of time and money spent when attempting to ...
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ArticleOpportunity knocks
Toyota and Ford have put in place energy usage teams to analyze where savings can be made in their respective production processes, while McLaren makes best use of the benefits offered by its new production centreOrganizational arrangementSpecific successEfficiency goes globalApplication matttersSubterranean supercar productionCutting energy costs, but no tiles“Twenty-five thousand pounds ...
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ArticleThe cost of downsizing
How the remediation of former manufacturing facilities belonging to GM, Ford and Chrysler is – and is not – being carried out, where the money comes from, and who is ultimately responsible for doing the workGM and Motors Liquid CorporationMichigan state of mindFord outlines site cleanup criteriaMore trouble for KenoshaThe ...
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ArticleWaste not, want not
Meeting internal targetsRecycling tire componentsA cost-neutral initiativePeople powerAcademic analysisHow GM and Michelin are achieving the goal of zero waste-to-landfill, what is required to set up the internal processes, and whether there is any money to be made from programmes such as theseAt the Flint South plant of General Motors in ...
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ArticleChoosing the perfect plot
Country experience makes the differenceAttracting new interestNew manufacturing modelsVehicle manufacturers must consider a wide variety of factors when choosing new sites. MAN and Ford reveal the criteria each company considered before starting construction, with a wholly-new production modelBy the middle of this year, truck and bus manufacturer MAN will likely ...
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ArticleFast finish
Anything’s possibleReturn to racingThe term ‘rapid prototyping’ is not popular among the companies that provide the relevant technologies, for two basic reasons: its association with the sophisticated but expensive techniques involving laser curing of resin materials that predominated when the concept first appeared a couple of decades ago; and the ...
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ArticleWhen a gap should not be seen as a gap
Contradiction in termsCar of the YearPerceived quality is an expression now widely used in the measurement of deviations from tolerances for seemingly minor build details. Too great, and these variances can negate whatever excellence has been achieved in the vehicle’s underlying engineering.The expression also sums up a part of the ...
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ArticleJoined at the edge
The growing domination of roller hemming in automotive production, its advantages and drawbacks in comparison with other hemming techniquesDefining roller hemmingAdvancing tool technologiesThe case for clinchingImproved strength characteristicsIn of itself, hemming as a joining technique is unexceptional. The basic concept involves folding the overlapping edge of an outer panel over ...
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ArticleTailor made by laser
New laser joining techniques, steel grades, and how laser ablation can improve welded joinsLaser dominationFull process cost is keyPreparing to weldAchieving parity of speedThe concept of the tailored blank is generally acknowledged to have its origins back in the 1980s in the German automotive sector. Its central idea is extremely ...
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ArticlePressing ahead at Volvo
Volvo Car’s new transfer line is the latest interpretation of so-called classical manufacturing. AMS talks with Jonas Knutsson about the technologies that make it possibleNew take on an old ideaHaste makes no wasteAlist of the attributes of a classical manufacturing ‘transfer line’ reads like a litany of everything that modern ...
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ArticleFit for automated purpose
Greater product varietyDevelopments in weldingReprogrammable robotic devicesClose co-operation between user and supplierThere was a time when ‘hard’ automation – tailor-made, dedicated installations – was the trend, but things are moving to a more flexible approachIt appears that the use of robots in the automotive manufacturing sector is entering an unpredictable ...
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ArticleKeep on rolling
Conveyors should be seen as fixturesCapacity issues caused problemsSkid system used as a bufferHigh flexibility and rapid cycle timesConveyors can seem a humdrum type of factory equipment - a moving track transporting a load from one place to another within a production environment. The operational variables also seem straightforward – ...
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ArticleMakers mark
Automated identificationAesthetic applicationFlexible installationDesktop systemsMarked improvementLight applications for lasersSMD applicationsPotential drawbacksWhile manufacturers have long seen the light when it comes to lasers, some are still in the dark when it comes to their use in parts identification. AMS finds an industry hiding its light under a bushelFeatured in all digital ...