All Press and stamping articles – Page 21
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ArticleProduction systems return competitive edge
Virtual assemblyFord plans for global modelLean machine: GMS propels the new GMFord’s flexible bodyshopNissan flexes in TennesseeChrysler goes commonJapanese firms build on past successFlexible plants across the USFlexible production now lies at the heart of global automotive manufacturing. Using reprogrammable tooling in bodyshops, standardized equipment in paintshops and common build ...
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ArticlePushing boundaries at Ford India
Part deliverySignal interferenceIncreased automationA better body shopPioneering paint shop technologyAll in one placePreparing for exportsWhile car sales in China have tended to grab the recent headlines, sales in India – and particularly small car sales - continue to increase at a break-neck pace, with market leader Maruti Suzuki posting record ...
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ArticleAutoForm launches new hot-forming simulation software
Hot forming has become an important tool for the automotive industry, the technique being used to meet specifi c requirements in crash safety and vehicle weight reductions. Many automotive manufacturers use these processes to produce body structure components such as A- and B-pillars, tunnels, front and rear bumper beams and ...
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ArticleThe dragon defies the downturn
GM China - common practices and global systemsUpper segment boomLabour laws – improving but still restrictiveProduction equipment – German versus localGreat Wall - a domestic tigerHigh strength from hand-welding and finishingLabour and skill setsHyundai - dealing with demandNew technologies increase speedQuality by numbersIn April 2009, the general consensus was that ...
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ArticlePart perfect for BWI
Mount technologyVariations on a themeBraking groundTest for successDesign for EnvironmentThe latest part of Delphi to be sold to a private firm was its Ride Dynamics and Brakes unit, which has become Beijing West Industries (BWI) Group. Under GM, Delphi was of the world’s largest automotive part manufacturers. After being made ...
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ArticleAutoform
AutoForm Engineering, software supplier for the sheet metal forming industry, has developed a new function for progressive die stamping. AutoFormplus R1 provides a physical model for strip positioning in progressive die stamping, predicting the need for material pilots.Pilots play an important role in progressive die stamping as they fix the ...
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ArticleGermany plans for success
Numbers fall but strengths emergeExports and emissionsTruck and bus – how fast is the barometer falling?Suppliers under pressureBMW – quiet confidence behind cost cutsMercedes-Benz – sharing the painThe German car industry’s workforce has been dealt a bad hand by the global downturn; jobs that were almost guaranteed for life have ...
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ArticleInvest to impress for R-R's new baby
Press sharingGoodwood reworkPersonal touchRemote suppliersWhen BMW took full control of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in 1998, it was quick to launch the first new model, the Phantom, just five years later. Since then, Rolls-Royce has expanded the Phantom range to include the standard car – if a Rolls-Royce can ever be ...
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ArticleSurviving the storm at JLR
Body shop – robot re-useCelebrity squaresSealing out the elementsPaintshop and final assembly – raising the quality barINTERVIEW Michael StraughanThe Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant at Halewood, UK, occupies a 300-acre site and provides capacity for the Jaguar X-Type and Freelander models. It is equipped for up to 100,00 cars per ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Digital manufacturing
Getting the full pictureVirtual part and plant developmentFull circleLegacy creates problemsThe first issue of AMS noted that General Motors had, in 2000, already been using simulation tools for over a decade. At plants around the world the company had put various software packages into widespread use in applications ranging from ...
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ArticleAMS 10th Anniversary: Automation systems
Market saturationTouch sensitiveFull automationProtecting the peopleIn 2000, AMS reported BMW as having a total of 1,275 bodyin- white robots in total at its Dingolfing, Regensburg and Munich plants. The Regensburg equipment alone, totalling 475 units, represented an investment of $320 million. Meanwhile, GM had installed 500 Fanuc robots at its ...
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ArticleRobots extend their reach
With production levels under close scrutiny in the current credit squeeze, OEMs that have already invested in automation are well placed to manage the challenges ahead.Flexible vehicle assembly‘Welds’ apartReasons to be cheerfulThe automotive industry is the world’s biggest user of industrial robot technology. The automation of such operations as welding, ...
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ArticleSpeeding up during global slowdown
Theoretical analysisHandling a bonnet on a stamping lineStep 1Step 2Conclusions after Step 1 and Step 2Step 3Conclusions after Step 3Friction cups - crucial components in high-speed sheet metal fabricationChoose the correct friction cupIn many cases, metal fabrication involves a process of station-to-station handling of oily or slippery blanks. The most ...
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ArticleHannover Fair 2009 - an automatic choice
A look at what is sure to interest carmakers at the upcoming Hannover FairSiemensABBFronius InternationalArcelorMittalDespite the recession, the Hannover Fair 2009 international trade exposition, taking place 20-24 April, looks set for a bumper year. This year’s show sees the regular portfolio of annually-held trade fairs —INTERKAMA+, Factory Automation, Industrial Building ...
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ArticleStaying on top at Maruti
Maruti Suzuki has topped India’s JD Power customer satisfaction survey for the ninth year in a row. AMS visits the company’s Gurgaon plant to talk with the company’s manufacturing guru, M.M. Singh, about this, the largest Suzuki manufacturing facility outside Japan.The importance of defining rolesHarmonizing labour and automationFactory layoutIn-house production ...
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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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ArticleEasyBlank enhanced with feasibility assessment
AutoForm Engineering, a leading supplier of software solutions for the sheet metal forming industry, has announced an enhanced version of EasyBlank. This version provides a quick feasibility evaluation of the part that also includes a forming limit diagram (FLD). Users of EasyBlank can now check their product for stamping concerns ...
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ArticleSimultaneous engineering at AES
Combining the advanced engineering expertise of CATIA and DELMIA is yielding impressive results for AESUtilising 3D models and robot simulations in key processesModel simulations with fewer steps and greater accuracyProspects for the futureBuilding on its core competence in automotive plant engineering, AES has set up overseas bases in Thailand, China, ...
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ArticleThe steel age for ArcelorMittal
The search for new marketsProducing lighter, stronger steelTailor-made steel solutionsThe coating process – a challenge for the futureArcelorMittal is continuing to develop stronger, lighter steels for use in the automotive industry. A looks at the latest materials, and seeing what the future holds for steel"The three most important factors in ...
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ArticleGoing in the white direction
Splitting, thinning and wrinklingPressing mattersMoving things alongLaser-based welding controls the heatExtending the focusing lengthTechnology streaks aheadTests show positive resultsAdjustable system is requiredThe need for speedAdding a dimensionEnhanced inspection measurementsAs a vehicle’s largest structure, the body-in-white is deserving of the attention it receives from a process optimisation perspective. AMS looks at ...