With feedback from load cells, encoders and other sensors, today’s microprocessor-controlled plastic welders offer extraordinary command over every aspect of the joining process.
ST. CHARLES, IL—To shorten lead times and increase design flexibility, Dukane has installed five new HAAS CNC machines at its headquarters facility here.
Many automotive engineers have nightmares about noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) issues. Ironically, one of those pests, vibration, is widely used to assemble many types of plastic auto parts.
Not every technological advancement in automotive assembly gets adequate recognition. Consider, for example, how much has been written about the use of aluminum in the redesigned 2019 Dodge RAM 1500 and 2500 trucks, vs. that of ultrasonic welding.
In January 2017, students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands unveiled the world’s first car made almost entirely from bio-based materials.
Plastics and polymer composites are essential to a wide range of safety and performance parts in cars today. In fact, the use of plastic and polymer composites in light vehicles has increased from less than 20 pounds per vehicle in 1960 to 334 pounds per car in 2015.
In 1998, the odelo Group developed and began production of the world’s first full-LED rear light for automobiles. Although noteworthy, this achievement is but one of many for the company, which has manufactured rear and tail lights for all German premium-vehicle OEMs since 1935.
No matter which method you use to assemble plastic parts, you would have found the latest technologies at The ASSEMBLY Show. There were at least 10 suppliers of plastics joining equipment on the show floor, including first-time exhibitors Rinco Ultrasonics and Thermal Press International Inc.