All articles by Nick Holt – Page 21
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ArticleVauxhall celebrates two manufacturing milestones
UK – The 250,000th Astra Sports Tourer has been produced at Ellesmere Port and Luton has built its 900,000th Vivaro-type van.Both plants have been allocated new products securing production into the next decade. Ellesmere Port was awarded the accolade of lead European manufacturing plant for the next generation Astra.The Luton ...
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ArticleBig numbers for Skoda engine and car production
Czech Republic – Skoda has built the eleven-millionth engine in its corporate history – an EA211 series 1.4 TSI motor.Currently producing 1.2- and 1.4-litre versions of the EA211 and EA111 engine series, the Mladá Boleslav plant’s 3,600 employees manufacture up to 4,400 units every day.The manufacturer says it will continue ...
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ArticleHigh-speed torque sensor for electric motor and generator testing
Kistler’s type 4503A torque sensor has been designed to provide a flexible instrument for use at rotational speeds of up to 50,000rpm with a choice of fourteen measuring ranges, from 0.2–5,000Nm, says the company.Additional benefits are: two switchable ranges, with the second being either 1:10 or 1:5 of the rated ...
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Porsche hits half-million mark at Leipzig
Germany – The 500,000th Cayenne has rolled off the assembly line at Porsche’s Leipzig plant. “We started with around 70 units a day. Today we produce five times as much, owing to the high market demand.In the past year alone, over 83,000 Cayenne vehicles for customers in more than 125 ...
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ArticleVariety of large parts honed to perfection
The SV-20 honing system is a large-part machine with a true linear, vertical, servo-stroking system to produce precision bore geometries on automotive/truck blocks and similar parts, its maker says.Sunnen Products says the machine is equipped with a variable-speed 15-550rpm, 4.1kW (5.5hp) spindle motor to drive two-stage, metal-bond, diamond abrasives for ...
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ArticleMazda’s Hofu plants celebrate building 10m cars
Japan – Some 30 years after vehicle manufacturing first began at the Hofu Plant No.1, total production has passed 10m vehicles. Full-scale production at Plant No. 1 started in September 1982.Plant No.2 began operating in February 1992 with a flexibleproduction capability for vehicle bodies and modular assembly systems on a ...
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ArticleProductive partnership for Audi in China
Germany/China – As well as delivering its two-millionth car in China (a locally produced Audi A6) Audi has celebrated the 25th jubilee of its partnership with First Automotive Works (FAW).Celebrations took place in the grounds of the future production site for the Audi A3 Sedan and Sportback in Foshan, which ...
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ArticleCompact transfer system allows for space and time savings
Schuler’s new Intra Trans transfer system transports parts by carriages mounted on the transfer rails within the press rather than through the press window, allowing the full width of the window to be used for material feeding so larger parts can be produced on the same press.The Intra Trans can ...
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ArticleRobotic machine tending software solution
The new robotic machine-tending software solutions from ABB are said to deliver flexibility and ease-of-use for applications from die-casting to injection molding and machining. The company says cycle times, postprocessing capabilities and potential risks for collisions can be simulated virtually by the software.The PC-based RobotStudio Machine Tending PowerPac and the ...
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ArticleforceTig offers ‘benefits of plasma and laser welding at lower cost’
EWM claims its forceTig combines all the advantages of the TIG welding process with the benefits of laser or plasma welding. Designed for fully mechanised and automated use, forceTig offers high welding speed and energy density in the weld pool, plus a concentrated, constricted and directionally stable arc for narrow ...
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New Toyota components unit in Thailand
Japan – Toyota Boshoku’s Asian regional management hub, will establish a new automotive interior components production company to supply interior components, filter and powertrain components in Thailand.An investment of approximately $18m has been made to set up the new company to expand production capacity and establish a supply system to ...
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GM expands landfill-free in Asia
USA – GM’s Rayong engine plant in Thailand and its Cheongna proving ground in South Korea are now landfill-free, says the company. This brings the total to 33 sites throughout Asia that recycle, reuse or convert to energy all of their daily waste, says GM.Waste-reduction best practices range from hi-tech ...
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ArticleSkoda’s contract partners to produce Octavia
Czech Republic – Skoda is now producing the new Octavia with local partner companies in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, as well as at GAZ Group’s factory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.In the Ukraine, vehicle production takes place in Solomonovo in partnership with Eurocar. The Fabia, Yeti, Superb and Roomster are also produced ...
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ArticleSpecialist machining of aluminium and titanium
A series of 5-axis HPC horizontal machining centres for high-performance machining of titanium and aluminium has been developed by Handtmann.The machine comes equipped with a suitable spindle for the specific material and machining requirements thanks to the flexible machine design, essential components of twhich were constructed to achieve maximum rigidity ...
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ArticlePrecision data on machined parts
The new Digital LBB (linear ball bearing) system from Measurement Specialties is a high-precision digital gauging probe for measuring manufactured parts during production for automated inspection screening and SPC (statistical process control) data collection.It can accommodate up to 31 daisy-chained probes via an external power source and offers inspection of ...
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Mitsubishi’s Russian SUV production expands
Japan – PCMA Rus in Kaluga, a joint-venture assembly plant owned by PSA Peugeot Citroën and MMC, will produce the Pajero Sport, it has been anounced.Demand for SUVs has been expected to increase in Russia, where Mitsubishi commenced full-scale CKD production of the all-new Outlander SUV at PCMA Rus in ...
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ArticleProduction of new Insignia starts in Rüsselsheim
Germany – Start of series production for the new Opel Insignia has seen the first model for sale roll off the assembly line in the Rüsselsheim plant.“This is a moment that we have all been looking forward to, as the new edition of our flagship that we are officially presenting ...
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ArticleLaser machine for 3D-metal working
The Jenoptik-Votan BIM robotic laser machine promises industrial manufacturers a flexible, fast-working, and cost-effective laser machine solution. The core element is a robot arm with integrated laser beam. The laser coupling is located at the base of the robot so the transport fi bre does not move concurrently with the ...
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ArticleLaser marking workstation
The FOBA M1000 manual laser workstation has been designed for laser marking of small-to-medium size parts, work pieces and batches, says the company. The work space allows for the processing of work pieces up to 450mm wide x 250mm deep x 200mm high.The laser class-one marking station is equipped with ...
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Tesla opens assembly plant in the Netherlands
Netherlands – Tesla’s Tilburg facility will serve as the final assembly and distribution point for Model S vehicles sold in Europe as well as Tesla’s European service and parts headquarters.Covering 18,900 square meters, this new facility is prepared to receive the new Model S, after it has been shipped over ...