Automotive Design & Production back issues from September 2007:
Facing reality: he may not be a "car guy." Which may be an illuminating thing.(Marginal)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Alan Mulally had them from the start. The president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, speaking to a packed house at the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars (www.cargroup.org), couldn't have had a more receptive audience even if the venue was in Dearborn, not Traverse ...
The Nardelli factor: the ink on the divorce papers was barely dry when Cerberus Capital Management installed a new CEO at Chrysler.(Insider)
Sep 01, 2007; ... The arrival of Bob Nardelli as chairman and CEO of "the new" Chrysler sent shockwaves through Detroit. The hard-charging executive known as "Little Jack," a nickname given for his diehard loyalty to former boss and GE chairman Jack Welch, has what some would say is an overly aggressive ...
Generating interest in engineering & manufacturing; A recent study indicates that a key way to generate interest among students in engineering and manufacturing is by proving that it isn't dull and boring. One solution: developing race karts.(Euro Auto)
Sep 01, 2007; ... One of the big problems about encouraging students into engineering is the perception that it is dull and boring. This has led to a dramatic fall off in the number who want to take it up as a profession. One of the solutions, says a recent report developed by Ricardo and Skills4Auto called ...
Renewed commitment to Mexico.(Insight)
Sep 01, 2007; ... The recent coverage of the debate about immigration legislation brought to mind the interest and concerns about low-cost labor that were much in the news back in 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect. The concern then was the potential for a wholesale ...
The big three & the UAW: will this year's labor negotiations really make the OEMs profitable again? Well, they'll help, but ...(Original equipment manufacturers)
Sep 01, 2007; ... The critical labor negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the domestic OEMs are underway. These talks have been billed as the "most important" negotiations the two sides have faced in the history of the automotive industry. Funny though, that same claim is made every year ...
Meeting the C[O.sub.2] challenge: there is plenty OEMs--especially those in the West--must do as regards rethinking powertrain development for a greener future.(On Strategy)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Triggered by increasing pollution and expected climate change, automotive OEMs face intense pressure to develop more environmentally friendly vehicles. So far, Western OEMs have failed to find a trade-off between fuel consumption, emissions, brand values, and customer expectations. With ...
Something cool from Canada: powersport equipment design requires flowing, edgy forms, an understanding of the role of the rider, and a multi-disciplinary team, says BRP's Etienne Guay.(Profiles)
Sep 01, 2007; ... The overall design of a piece of powersport equipment--whether a personal watercraft, snowmobile, or ATV--depends on attention to detail. Etienne Guay, Design Director, Roadster and Snowmobile, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP; www.brp.com; Valcourt, Quebec) never worked in the auto ...
PT Cruiser rolls on. And on.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... The Woodward Dream Cruise has become an August tradition on the street that drag racing made famous in the northern Detroit suburbs back when cars had carburetors and the only kind of airbags were the hot air bags that were throwing down lame claims about their rides. What is also becoming ...
Hyundai goes Euro style.(NOTABLE)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Hyundai will be launching a new European-inspired vehicle in the U.S. market in the spring of '08 that is named the "Elantra Touring." The vehicle, a compact five-door hatch, will be available in Europe as the i30. According to John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America's vp of Product ...
Better broaching through (steel) processing.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Although the changes made to the steel are said to be small, the benefits of "Advanced Final Cooling" steel, developed by The Timken Co. (www.timken.com) are rather significant. "We have made subtle changes to the steel manufacturing process to enhance the broachability of the steel," ...
Mercedes tweaks SUV range.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... At a time when most SUV purveyors are considering downsizing displacement of their V8 engines to improve fuel economy, Mercedes-Benz is putting bigger engines under the hoods of its ML- and GL-Class SUVs. The mid-size ML says farewell to the venerable 5.0-liter V8 engine and replaces it ...
New Mag process for cost-effective components.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007 ... "With T-Mag you can make a magnesium alloy engine block that is two-thirds the weight on an aluminum alloy engine block," claims Sam Tartaglia, business development manager at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (www.csiro.au). What's ...
Mazda2: light and "speedy".(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Mazda engineers took their weight savings goal on the new Mazda2 very seriously, lowering the weight of the new car by 220 lb. when compared to its 2,300-lb. Ford Fiesta-based predecessor. (In an ironic twist the Mazda2 will replace the Fiesta at a later date.) To retain rigidity, the ...
Optimized front end module.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... HBPO, the joint venture between Hella, Behr, and Plastic Omnium (HBPO; www.hbpo-group.com), continues to develop its front end modules for tighter gaps, smaller cross sections, and greater parts consolidation. Its latest version eliminates the gap between the fascia and headlamps, ...
Magnetic pulse welding: ready for prime time?(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Development of magnetic pulse welding systems have been relegated to research & development groups at major OEM and Tier 1 suppliers (see: http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/089906.html), but Hirotec America (www.hirotecamerica.com) says it is ready to move the technology from the lab ...
Get the drift? Small cars go rear-drive.(NOTABLE)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Wonder what the hottest powertrain layout in the world is right now? It's rear-wheel drive. Despite the plethora of front- and all-wheel drive powertrains, the number of front-engine/rear-drive chassis is about to explode for two reasons. First, this orientation has greater credibility for ...
Apples & action.(Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership)(Book review)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership By Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski Kaplan Publishing; $25 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The title of the book, Apples Are Square, has nothing to do with a company of that name nor the saw about pegs and ...
Errata.(Correction notice)
Sep 01, 2007 ... * The street price for the Panasonic Toughbook 52 indicated in the August issue is missing a decimal point. It is on the order of $2,500 (more specifically, an average price ...
'08 Honda Accord: continuous improvement in action; They've come a long way in eight generations. A remarkably long way. And while they're touting safety and fuel efficiency, style and comfort, Honda designers and engineers haven't forgotten one factor: fun.
Sep 01, 2007; ... When you think about diminutive Hondas, the 2007 Fit fits the bill. It has an overall length of 157.4 in. and a 96.5-in. wheelbase. Tiny, right? Well, consider these numbers: overall length 162.8 in.; wheelbase, 93.7 in. Pretty much in the same ballpark. But those are figures not for some ...
Interplanetary chassis technology: the vehicles currently driving across the surface of Mars couldn't accomplish their mission without the chassis that holds them together.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Consider what the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) design team was up against: two missions each launching a 384-lb vehicle toward Mars. Each vehicle spending months traveling aboard a "cruise stage" (a trip of some 303 million miles), before separating from this lifeboat and entering the ...
Along came a Spyder: Canada's Bombardier Recreational Products questioned what a power sport product for the road might look like. This was the answer.
Sep 01, 2007; ... There are vehicles that travel to Mars, and vehicles that look like they belong there. The Can Am Spyder from Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP; www.brp.com; Valcourt, Quebec) is one of them. This somewhat extraterrestrial three-wheeled vehicle arose out of a challenge given at a ...
Engineering a serious chassis: when you're developing a chassis for a vehicle that weighs 63,300 lb. and that not only has to travel on land and water, but must deal with people shooting at it, you do it very, very seriously.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Product development for the U.S. military isn't what it is in the auto industry. Consider this: General Dynamics Land Systems (www.gdls.com) obtained the development contract for the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in 2000. The Marines had decided in 1994 that it ...
Chrysler's '08 minivans: raising the bar; Are minivans going away? Not according to the sales numbers. And the rise of "crossovers" notwithstanding, Chrysler is bullish on the future of the vehicle architecture, and has improved on its vehicles for the segment it pioneered.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Every vehicle manufacturer has a signature vehicle. In the case of Chrysler-things like the 300C or Viper notwithstanding-the signature vehicle is the minivan, a vehicle that it brought to the market in a notable way in 1983. Since then, Chrysler has built more than 12 million of them. In ...
Designing things right: here are three new CAD tools. One focuses on part assemblies. Another focuses on displaying CAD models. The last focuses on making CAD available everywhere for everybody.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Every manufactured part is not produced the same. There are slight deviations from the nominal design. Software can account for these deviations, even simulate the buildup of these deviations that lie within the tolerances inherent in the assembly process and in the piece parts themselves ....
Flexible, capable, production machining: if you're looking at running medium to high-volumes of powertrain components and don't want to be stuck with an expensive monument when part requirements change, you might consider this new approach to flexible systems engineered by Heller.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Although one might think that the ModuleLineSystem (MLS) developed by Gebr. Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH (Nurtingen, Germany; in the U.S.: Troy, MI; www.heller-us.com) is simply another flexible production system for prismatic parts, the man who is responsible for developing it, Bernd Zapf, ...
LED-based inspection system.(Schott Process Systems Inc. introduces Surface Mounted Display )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... SCHOTT's (www.us.schott.com) Surface Mounted Display uses high-brightness LEDs for high-volume web scanning and diffuse surface inspection for part quality and defects. Available in lengths ranging from 300-1,000 mm, the system enables manufacturers to ...
Signal control module.(WAGO Corp. introduces 857 series Jumpflex )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... The 857 series Jumpflex relay modules and signal controllers from WAGO (www.wago.us) offer a systems approach to signal switching and conditioning in a compact 6 mm wide package. Designed with a jumper slot ...
Five-axis milling CAM.(Delcam PLC introduces PowerMill 8.0 software )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Delcam's (www.delcam.com) PowerMill 8.0 software features a new tool-axis editing function for five-axis machining, allowing the user to select any region of the tool path and redefine the vectors within that region, optimizing cutting conditions and improving performance ....
Screwdriver with torque readout.(PB Swiss Tools Inc. introduces DigiTorque v2.0 screwdriver )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... PB Swiss Tools' (www.pbtools.us) DigiTorque v2.0 screwdriver provides a digital torque readout in either Nm or ft.-lb. increments via an LED display positioned at the end of the handle, which is switched on by ...
Robotic welding system.(OBJECTS OF INTEREST)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Motoman's (www.motoman.com) ArcWorld C-500 workcell features an integrated cylindrical robot safety enclosure that allows the operator to work safely in direct proximity to the work area; the robot can access parts through an opening in the front of the enclosure ....
Right-angle gear reducer.(Alpha Gear Drives Corp. introduces LPK+ right-angle gear reducers)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Alpha Gear Drives (www.alphagear.com) says its new LPK+ right-angle gear reducers provide high power density and improved operating efficiency for robotic loading/unloading and ...
Indexing units and rotary tables.(OBJECTS OF INTEREST)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Indexing Technologies (www.indexingtechnologies.com) ITI Exact indexing units and rotary tables improve productivity by reducing the load/unload time and the ability to exchange two or more piece parts each time the machining cycle ...
Five-axis machining center.(OBJECTS OF INTEREST)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Mikron HPM 1850U traveling table-type machining center provides five-axis machining for pieces up to 56.5 [ft.sup.3] in volume. Its pallet size is 49.2 x 39.4-in. A direct-drive milling head is fitted with a high torque motor producing 35-kW spindle ...
Accurate, affordable tooling setup.(Lyndex-Nikken Corp. introduces E123 Presetter )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2007 ... Lyndex-Nikken's (www.lyndex-nikken.com) E123 Presetter is an economical and capable system for tooling measurement and inspection. Features a granite base and column construction. A fixed rotating spindle incorporates six ...
The All-American: heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but none come better than this.(Dudder)(Biography)
Sep 01, 2007; ... Unfortunately, there are few people any of us can say we truly admire during our lifetimes. Thankfully, the same was not true 40 years ago. True, it was the year Lorenzo Bandini was fatally injured at Monaco, and a year before the legendary Jim Clark died in a meaningless race in Germany ....