Even though statistics on electric mobility show only moderate growth in automotive markets, the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) predicts a significant upswing in market dynamics from 2020. For Germany and the EU, this means an exponential increase in electric car sales and a fundamental change in drive technologies.
Category:
Technologies
Mass customization – mass producing customer-specific products – is one of the mega trends impacting industrial production today. Automobile manufacturers became early adopters as well as experts of this practice because they quickly realized that buyers want customizable options. A study by puls market research on the significance of customization found that 28 percent of car buyers feel that it is important or very important that a new car differs from standard vehicles and equipment. Now, sophisticated, online software allows buyers to build a custom, dream model with a few clicks, choosing motor specifications, transmission types, assistance systems and countless interior equipment details. Catering to the desires of car buyers and allowing thousands of combinations of options for each model complicates manufacturing because cars have become unique items. Suppliers must produce certain components and parts in many more variants than they did just a few years ago. Furthermore, the life cycle of parts is ever shorter, because technological development is advancing at such a fast pace.
Effective and resource-saving: Targeted heating and joining of modern material combinations
by Markus Isgro
The academic department of Forming and Joining at TU Chemnitz is expanding its systems technologies for research into complex welding, heat treatment, and forming tasks
Since 29 June 2018, the academic department of Forming and Joining at TU Chemnitz has been using a new induction generator that enables the heating of semi-finished goods consisting of several layers of different materials by applying different frequencies in a targeted manner. This may be useful in particular for the production of plated pipes in the chemical industry or in power plants. 62,000 tons of pipes are produced for these sectors per year in Germany alone.
Which sector of industry is the most innovative in Germany? A very comprehensive answer to this question has been provided in the report entitled “Innovation in the German Economy” issued by the Center for European Economic Research (Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH, ZEW). The current issue rewards automotive manufacturing, among others, with a good score. According to the report, the automotive industry has the highest amount of innovation in its production (48.3%). Innovation is fundamental to the automotive industry’s economic success. Additionally, the industry’s “innovation expenditure” identified by the ZEW is increasing. In 2016, this was valued at 47 billion euros and, according to estimates; it should increase to nearly 55 billion euros by the end of this year.
Exactly 1,223 innovations saw the light of day in the automotive industry last year—at least that’s according to a count conducted by the Center of Automotive Management and the consultancy firm PwC. About 27 percent of these innovations pertain to driver assistance and safety systems—one in five belongs to the field of engine construction. Considering the corresponding automotive production, one trend that has been going on for years still holds true: The pace of change is always increasing as the requirement for more flexible production continues to increase. It is important that new parts and components can be produced efficiently, and defect free using existing product solutions.
Electric power steering has become standard in the manufacturing of automobiles. The technology guarantees very precise steering support for every type of vehicle, high-end driving comfort, and lower energy consumption in the steering system, which has a positive effect on the car’s CO2 consumption.
The revolution in car manufacture is happening subtly: Our cars are mastering an increasing number of situations without driver intervention. There is a large number of assistance systems which keep the vehicle on track or avoid obstacles. Recent models even park independently or drive into the garage. This requires the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel entirely. Experts divide the current development into phases: The assistance systems described above have already become a reality. As a partially automated system, parking assistance belongs to phase two. In a few years, fully automatic, driverless operation will follow as the last phase.
A continued rise in the demand for customized systems and integrated solutions was predicted back in 2014 by a survey of German manufacturers of plant and machinery, in a study on the future perspectives for the industry in Germany. This is not surprising given the huge “Industry 4.0” trend, as extensive automation in the form of customer-specific system solutions is a fundamental prerequisite for the digitalization of production facilities. The machines used then form an integrated system that production planners can control from a central point. Moreover, many companies need to respond ever more quickly and flexibly to technological developments. Numerous different versions of parts and fluctuating unit volumes are typical for small and medium-sized production companies in the automotive industry.
Cylindrical grinding on driveshafts and transmission shafts has always been particularly demanding, as the parts feature a wide range of geometric details that are machined with high precision in the grinding machine. With the rapid pace of technological development in the automotive industry, which keeps increasing the functional density of many components, there are more demands than ever on the design of grinding machines today. Users require highly customized machines that can perform multiple grinding operations, including combined internal and external grinding.
Maximum flexibility is required for gear production. EPS steering is a good example: Production planners for this application are looking for machines that can efficiently and completely cut an EPS steering gear including steering pinion, worm gears, and screws. The HLC 150 H horizontal gear cutting machine from EMAG KOEPFER is the perfect solution for this.