On Jan. 11, 2010—exactly
three years to the day that the Chevrolet Volt concept car debuted—General
Motors manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for the Volt at its
Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant in Brownstown Township, MI.
In late 2009, the NASA
Engineering and Safety Center completed a series of critical, full-scale,
physical tests to help predict how the Composite Crew Module would
perform under simulated flight conditions. Performed at Langley Research
Center, the tests focused on material tradeoffs between metals and composites
in space structures.
Crash
dummies are crucial in evaluating the performance of side curtain air bags in a
rollover. First Technology Safety Systems Inc. manufactures crash test
dummies and computer crash simulation models for automotive, military and
aerospace applications. To confirm that the new design matched dummies
built from the original mold, FTSS used a hand held laser scanner.
For many years, OEM Sunnen has designed
customized, high-end bore sizing and finishing systems. In 2008, the company
decided to expand its platform to include honing equipment for resurfacing and
repairing hydraulic cylinders.
Manufacturers
are always looking for ways to maximize their skilled employees. One way is to
free them from lower-valued tasks—such as pulling carts and delivering palletized
materials. Daimler Trucks NA LLC is one such manufacturer
that has found a more cost-effective way to complete these tasks: use the GT3
tugger, a vision-guided industrial mobile robot.
The growing desire to reduce fuel consumption has caused manufacturers of all modes of transportation to be more willing to implement the use of light-weight materials, even where there is a cost penalty. However, use of new materials in a given application always carries some risk that must be mitigated through analysis and testing.
ArvinMeritor has opened a new 100,000-square-foot facility in Canada to remanufacture transmissions, axle carriers and steering gears for heavy trucks.
July 26 marked the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The law has changed our physical and social landscape, but we still have work to do.
