Advanced Assembly and Materials for Transportation Applications
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Regardless of their location or industry, manufacturers are demanding more from leak test equipment than ever before. Tough economic times and increased competition require companies to use equipment that not only provides accuracy and repeatability, but accommodates a wider variety of parts.

Parts bins have been synonymous with assembly lines ever since the mass-production process was pioneered by Ford Motor Co. engineers 100 years ago.

Vision systems can help manufacturers reduce scrap, increase yield and discover better ways to assemble products.

Batteries are an environmentally friendly form of energy with fewer pollution and disposal issues than other green technologies.

NEWARK, DE—GE Aviation will invest $27 million to expand its assembly plant here to boost production of ceramic matrix composites, which are used to make advanced aircraft engine components. The move will create 70 jobs.

OAK RIDGE, TN—Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are studying ways to reuse electric vehicle batteries after they are spent.

LANSING, MI—GM plans to spend $44.5 million to open a new logistics center at its Lansing Grand River assembly plant, creating 200 jobs.

EAST HARTFORD, CT—Pratt & Whitney has flight-tested jet engine components made from metal additive manufacturing processes.

A recent wordworking project has given me a greater appreciation of assembly line challenges. Has a home project ever informed your work in the assembly plant?

Color affects mood and perception. It’s amazing how a slight change in color can alter the look and feel of a room. I found this out first-hand recently after doing a little painting at home. Whenever I step into an assembly plant, I always try to take a quick look at the color of its floor, walls and equipment. Usually, it’s nothing to get too excited about.

A good partnership between customers and suppliers leads to optimal solutions and long-term prosperity all around.

A growing number of manufacturers are moving from air tools to electric tools and from corded electric tools to cordless tools.

Carbon-fiber composites offer numerous benefits to automotive manufacturers, such as weight reduction. However, they pose a wide variety of joining challenges to engineers, who must choose between adhesive bonding or mechanical fastening. Each assembly process has many pros and cons.

Carbon-fiber composites offer numerous benefits to automotive manufacturers, such as weight reduction. However, they pose a wide variety of joining challenges to engineers, who must choose between mechanical fastening or adhesive bonding. Each assembly process has many pros and cons that must be evaluated.

Traditionally, it has been difficult to manufacture large quantities of carbon-fiber composites. That drawback has hindered widescale use of the lightweight material in the mainstream auto industry. However, engineers in Germany have developed a new process that makes it possible to use injection-molding technology.

A European consortium called ACOMPLICE (Affordable Composites for Lightweight Car Structures) recently embarked on a two-year program to develop low-cost materials for mainstream automotive applications.