Double disc grinding in automotive parts manufacturing John R. Doubman In concept, not much has changed in double disc grinding since the invention of the machine in the 1890s. For years, little was done to improve machine tolerance and throughput abilities. In recent years, however, automotive parts manufacturers have realized better part quality and productivity […]
Category: Automotive Manufacturing & Production
Software facilitates fixture-free measuring at Chrysler Belvidere Checking and holding fixtures are not always available for parts. So the quality personnel at this Chrysler assembly plant discovered a software-based solution. “There were perhaps 20 to 25% of the parts and assemblies that we might want to have measurement data on that we were not able […]
Patches give way to polyurethane in B-I-W development – bodies-in-white According to Giuliano Zuccato, a man who spent more than 30 years with Ford at its Design Center and who is now at Concepts International (Northville, MI), the traditional method for building prototype bodies-in-white – using a combination of sheet metal, machinable board, and carbon […]
Shine On Brightly – Alcoa is inventing new solutions for the automotive industry without insisting on aluminum intensive vehicles Christopher A. Sawyer Forget the aluminum-intensive vehicle for now. Until they arrive, Alcoa is inventing new solutions that provide the benefits of lighter weight structures to existing designs without insisting on an all-or-nothing use of the […]
The Asian Outlook – Light vehicle production – Brief Article – Statistical Data Included Michael Robinet With brisk domestic sales and strong export demand from the U.S. and Asian countries, total light vehicle production in 2000CY rose 1.3% year-on-year to 9.26 million units in Japan–the first increase since 1997. Aggregated Japanese domestic sales, which includes […]
Time Is Money – To Market – Ford And The Ups Logistics Group – Brief Article FOUR DAYS MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, BUT FOR THE ONE-YEAR-OLD ALLIANCE BETWEEN FORD AND THE UPS LOGISTICS GROUP, FOUR DAYS IS A VAST AMOUNT OF TIME. THIS IS BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS A […]
Aqueous Industrial Cleaning Equipment – Brief Article – Statistical Data Included The company will exhibit the latest advances in aqueous industrial cleaning equipment. On display will be a 23″ rotary drum cleaning and drying system with wash/rinse/rust inhibit/dry cycles; a vertical agitation with a rotation cleaning and drying system that processes baskets or racked components […]
Route to the Top: Seek Out Responsibility – management technique Ted Pollock The average reaction to a new assignment is: “Why me?” Fear of failure temporarily paralyzes initiative; self-doubt sets in. But why be average? Seek out responsibility and you immediately do three things. You announce your self-confidence. You create an opportunity to show what […]
Learning from Mickey – joint venture between General Motors and Walt Disney Brett C. Smith The General is going back to school to take communications 101. General Motors is introducing a new joint venture project for the spring of 1997, and it is not a new sports car, or even a flashy new sport utility […]
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Leather! – Avery Dennison, Soft-Touch formable film laminate – Brief Article Who: Avery Dennison (Troy, MI) What: Soft-Touch formable film laminate for use in automotive interiors Why you should care: Soft-Touch film bonds well to thermoplastic olefins (TPO) and can be processed to create looks like woodgrains, metallics and both […]