From the de-gassing screw to the structurable PA
BASF’s Workshop Meeting held on the eve of the VDI Conference

The annual BASF Workshop - known as the “Atelier Treff” - took place again this year on the evening prior to the VDI Conference. What we would like to do now is show our readers what we came away with in terms of innovations from BASF. ....read more!

A benchmark for the future
Mavels Open House at the new Mavtech benchmarking centre

The grand opening of its new technical centre at its Lyons site, France, on March 15, gave the benchmark specialist Mavel the opportunity to showcase its engineering prowess at a special “Open House” celebration. Numerous experts and decision-makers from the automotive benchmarking sector were welcomed to the Paris-headquartered company’s purpose-built centre. ....read more!

A market with an enormous potential
Automotive industry in India

Compared to the total population, the automotive market in India is still very small. The number of cars on India’s congested roads is a maximum of just 10 million out of the 1 billion inhabitants of which 300 million may be said to belong to the aspiring middle classes. Consequently, the market has enormous potential. The Indian government has announced a US $ 50 billion road building programme over the next ten years. ....read more!

Made in India
One of the most important up and coming automotive markets sets itself up as a component manufacturer

In order to understand the Indian automotive market and to appreciate what is actually meant by “indianising“, we visited the manufacturer of one of the components that has undergone a very high degree of indianisation – the steering mechanism. We were in Chennai for the 50/50 Joint Venture between Rane and TRW. ....read more!

Rigid Shell - Lightweight Core
1 minute cycle time for sandwich components

The key to the successful production of injection moulded sandwich components lies partly in the use of design methods derived from classic lightweight construction and partly in the achievement of a defined degree of adaptation with the special injection moulding process proposed. What this means, therefore, is that the product needs to be designed as a foam injection moulding right from the start, rather than simply as a sandwich component. This is the recipe for achieving the desired combination - the high commercial viability of injection moulding and the major potential of sandwich design in lightweight construction. ....read more!

Advanced Features
Double station machine in a compact design

When it comes to 3D blow moulding machines for minimum-flash production of three-dimensionally curved tubular shapes, Kautex Maschinenbau is continuously improving its systems in response to market demands. One example of the close cooperation between Kautex engineers and their customers are the advanced features that have been included in the double station horizontal machines (K3D-HP). ....read more!

Integration of Functions
New connection processes for air pipes

Many pipes in current automobile models incorporate additional connectors. Clips serve to connect other components to the pipes. Lugs are used to fix pipes to the engine or the car body, thereby eliminating inter alia structure-borne noise vibration that might otherwise lead to very serious component deformation. In the process, contact with other components could cause damage. At the very least, changes in flow properties would result. Built-in lugs rule out all of these complications safely and at a low cost. .....read more!

New Paths with Steel-free Front-end Concept
Front-end carriers in massive plastic?

It seems that standard plastic solutions for front-end carriers are no substitute for steel especially as regards strength. In the E-module, the use of non-reinforced plastic components is less, by a factor of 100, than the corresponding steel construction.. Nevertheless, plastic components are becoming more attractive as applications increase in complexity. The reasons for this lie in low mould costs and the savings in terms of corrosion protection. ....read more!

Sunny side up
Panoramic roof made from polycarbonate for the smart fortwo

There is nothing new about replacing conventional glass by polycarbonate in automotive manufacture.
On the other hand, a PC roof spanning 1.2 square metres is something of a novelty.
The largest polycarbonate roof module to date to feature in a volume production vehicle has been successfully realised in the smart fortwo. ....read more!

Impressively Lightweight
Multifunctional plastic modules

ElringKlinger provide innovative module solutions made of thermoplastics (polyamide) and thermoset. Thanks to the special processing properties of plastic, numerous functions can be integrated very efficiently and economically. For instance, finishing tasks such as burr removal, thread cutting or surface finishing are not required in the production process. The weight reduction potential is another important plus. ....read more!

Bottle in a Car
Hyundai and GE Plastics unveil QarmaQ

At the Geneva International Motor Show, Hyundai Motor Co. and GE Plastics presented QarmaQ, a first in the Crossover Coupe segment. This car is Hyundai’s Advanced Technology Demonstration Vehicle (ATDV) that showcases over 30 different environmentally progressive technologies led by the innovative “Elastic Front”, an innovative solution that can help reduce the risk of severe injuries in Crossover Utility Vehicles (CUV) pedestrian collisions. QarmaQ is 60 kg lighter than a comparable vehicle made with traditional materials. ....read more!

Enjoying a drive with a view

Anyone who has ever been interested in what goes on inside his vehicle should take a good look at the eXasis concept car. This, the latest creation to emerge from the cooperation of the Swiss automotive visionary Rinspeed and Bayer Material
Science, represents a new development that is ready to take to the road and which awakens new insights and awareness. ....read more!

Glazing with drive
Asymmetrical glazing shapes for concept car

The Nissan Bevel Concept, a utility vehicle, features asymmetrical styling, a roof cargo system, and other unique glazing designs that were not possible to achieve with glass. In addition, because the car is designed to be environmentally responsible - for example, it features roof-mounted solar panels - Nissan wanted to find ways to reduce overall vehicle weight for fuel savings. ....read more!

Read more about several products for the automotive industry
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