All Powertrain articles – Page 18
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Toyota 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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Seeing things clearly
AMS reports on the most recent developments in the use of machine vision technology for quality control applications in automotive manufacturingIn response to rapid and sustained improvements in machine vision technologies, a growing number of automotive manufacturing OEMs and suppliers are now deploying such systems in a wider range of ...
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Not too posh to push
Porsche has been expanding its production and achieving record results – with some assistance from Volkswagen Group facilitiesBoth an iconic name in the automotive industry and a core part of the Volkswagen Group, Porsche has been facilitating its rising production in recent years by relying heavily on Group resources while ...
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Audi to build electric SUVs at Ingolstadt
Germany – The model allocation was announced by CEO Rupert Stadler alongside confirmation of job security for all Audi AG employees until 2025. In total, the ‘Audi. Future’ agreement will see the OEM produce 20 electrified models by 2025, including more than ten pure electric vehicles (EVs).“Building up manufacturing capacity ...
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AGVs set in motion
As Industry 4.0 kicks into even higher gear, AGV technology is helping to make it a smoother and more responsive upshiftEarlier this year, we discussed how automated guided vehicles, AGVs, are becoming fixtures of the automotive industry and how enterprise approaches and deployments were beginning to gain traction. A year ...
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Photonic precision
Light is a fascinating manufacturing tool enabling laser technologies and applications for materials processing tasks of all scales and sizesSystems for industrial laser applications like cutting, welding and surface processing are well established, reliable and cost efficient production tools with clear technical advantages due to their wear-free highly localised material ...
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Parts of the process
Tenneco CTO Ben Patel talks to AMS about the company’s approach to perfecting process, sharing best practice and mastering materialsSpinning off from a multi-sector conglomerate enterprise in the 1990s, the Tenneco of today takes it manufacturing focus along two distinct component groups. The clean air line features exhaust systems, catalytic ...
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The 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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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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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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Polymeric coated engine bearings
IROX 2 is a new range of polymeric coated crankshaft bearings from Federal-Mogul Powertrain. The company says it has developed this technology to reduce friction and improve the wear resistance and fatigue limit of the bearings used in downsized engines.The bearings have an overlay that is a PAI (Polyamide-imide) polymer ...
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Off the grid
By convention, single-seater cars are machines for the racing circuit but one family business is striving to create and manufacture the exceptionSingle seater cars are usually machines for the race track only but there can be exceptions. One of them is the BAC Mono, made by small UK company Briggs ...
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Renault evolves its Drive strategy
Having driven the change, Renault is now driving into the future – according to its new strategic strapline. Just a few days after Ford announced its latest corporate strategy under new CEO Jim Hackett, Renault’s long-standing leader, Carlos Ghosn, announced its own strategic plan. According to the CEO, Renault had ...
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Novares opens Mioveni plant
Romania – Until recently known as Mecaplast-Key Plastics, the company said it has established itself in the country in order to be close to its main customer, Dacia. The factory near Piteşti is Novares’ first in the country.According to Novares, the objective of the new facility is to “support the ...
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Body conscious
The growing trend for OEMs opting for AHSS components has surpassed the expectations of steelmakersAudi’s decision to use a mass-produced carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) part in the body structure of its A8 may have secured many headlines, but the company’s extensive use of steel rather than aluminium in this model may ...
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JLR to electrify all models from 2020
UK – The company made the announcement at its inaugural Tech Fest focusing on the future of mobility, with CEO Ralf Speth saying it will be “embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles”. JLR’s first fully electric SUV, the I-PACE, will go on sale next year.With the I-PACE, ...
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Williams unveils lightweight EV platform
UK – The FW-EVX concept features innovations in the battery pack, cooling systems and lightweight structures which are integrated into a scalable platform, says the company. A near zero-waste process and the forming of high-strength 3D structures from 2D materials are used for parts of its construction.The near zero-waste process, ...
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Troubled times
New global politics and difficulties at home threaten the production and export hubs of Japan and Korea Nissan reforming Mitsubishi Production is laboured in Korea Motorcycle decline slowing Suppliers finding new partnersThreats from the US to tear up free-trade agreements and impose tariffs on imported vehicles is causing fear in ...
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Capital gains
Having made more than 1m Mercedes-Benz cars at its Beijing factory, BBAC is proud of its place in the Daimler portfolio. AMS travelled to China in order to tour the largest Mercedes-Benz car factory in the worldMade in China, for China: that has been the Mercedes-Benz strategy for more than ...
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Interview: Bill Russo, Ford
AMS met Ford’s vice-president for manufacturing in Asia-Pacific at its Shanghai headquarters to discuss the challenges the OEM is tackling in the region, especially through its JMC and Changan JVs in ChinaBill Russo has been in China full time for a little over 18 months but in the automotive and ...