As automakers switched from heavy-duty sleeve linings in aluminum engine blocks to thin layers of sprayed metal, Jenoptik Automotive North America advanced optical scanning technology to ensure quality.
Coating a thin layer of iron or steel on aluminum cylinders, spray lining systems that do not require cylinder liners, have been popular in low-capacity performance cars for the past ten years. Automakers and machine tool suppliers expect that the technology will move from the professional market to the mass market in the next few years because it reduces engine size and reduces engine friction—increasing fuel economy and engine power.
Applying a thin coating requires higher precision than inserting a sleeve liner, and requires inspection and process monitoring in multiple stages. Jenoptik Automotive North America product manager Chris Vroman said that the optical scanning system developed by his company measures engines in three stages during the production process to ensure high-quality, durable coatings.
At IMTS 2016-International Manufacturing Technology Exhibition, Keith Vandenkieboom, President and CEO of Heller Machine Tools USA, said that the cylinder bore coating (CBC) system developed by his company will be commercially installed and high-volume applications this year. In the past three years, Today's Motor Vehicles has highlighted technologies from Heller, robot and machine tool manufacturer Comau, and tool company Walter USA, which are used in coating or surface treatment. Vroman said that as technology jumps from niche applications to the mass market, quality engineers are researching new technologies to speed up inspections.
"When you are making spray holes, it is more important to have high-quality castings. You have to apply such a thin layer of material, so if you have any voids or voids, you will fail in the process," Vroman said.
Jenoptik’s main cylinder inspection system, IPS 100, uses extreme fisheye lenses to provide data to complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) ring sensors. Normally, the machine tool inserts the scanner into the cylinder bore, where it will take uninterrupted, high-resolution 360° surface images.
"We get data from multiple angles at the same time. It is directly against the cylinder wall in one area. Then the CMOS sensor, a little lower, gives you a different angle," Vroman explained. "This helps us process data."
The system scans with a resolution of 37μm, searching for defects that are usually about 100μm or larger. He said that by taking angled overlapping images, the system can detect defects that are hardly larger than the system's resolution.
"A small hole may fall in the center of a pixel or at the intersection of four pixels. That's why you can't let a single pixel detect a defect. You need more things to detect it. If you have a 40 micron You may not be able to capture it with one pixel. But once you have two or three pixels, if your optics match your sensor, it will be clear enough that you can easily detect it," Vroman said.
It takes about 20 seconds to scan each hole—about half is used to scan, and the other half processes the collected 1.5GB of data into a manageable file—so it takes about three minutes to scan each cylinder in the V-8 engine. Automakers can speed up inspection time by scanning multiple holes at the same time. BMW's V-6 engine has a system with six scanners.
"Manufacturers have been conducting cost-benefit studies. The cost of having eight sensors is high, and they don't think there is much demand because the production volume of this technology is not very high," Vroman said. He added that as the company increases the productivity of engines with spray linings, he expects the popularity of multi-sensor scanners to increase.
For previous reports on the cylinder coating system in "Car Today", please link to:
Once the quality engineer signs the castings and declares that they have no porosity issues, the manufacturer can prepare the surface for spraying. Coating is best for rough surfaces, so manufacturers use different techniques to create rough surfaces on aluminum engine blocks. Cylinder pretreatment strategies include:
Jenoptik scanners can use any of these treatment methods to measure the surface quality after activation, but Vroman says that mechanical activation has the fastest growth and requires the most accurate measurement.
"If the tool starts to wear out instead of cutting the dovetail, it will tear the aluminum. If it touches a large hole or something similar, it may also tear the aluminum," Vroman explained. Engineers can use the IPS system to detect these problems and quickly correct/control them. Another system developed by Jenoptik for this process stage is the CCS-C100 system.
“This is a production measuring tool, so you can measure your activation process and detect any problems with the tool before the engine malfunction starts,” explained Vroman, adding that Jenoptik delivered the first detection system in early 2016. To verify the quality of the dovetail cut. "We will measure the dovetail-angle and structure. We operate optically, so we can gain insight into the angle of the dovetail without damaging the engine block."
The mechanism is similar to the casting qualification inspection system, but the pre-processing inspector uses a confocal color sensor to scan the hole twice-once to measure one half of the dovetail at a clockwise angle, and then pass counterclockwise to obtain the other half. The software combines the scan to create a 2D image of the groove. He added that with multiple scans, the scan speed is slower than the qualification system, but manufacturers can make up for this through other processes.
The system can effectively measure the performance of the tool, so there is no need for 100% inspection. Scanning the last cylinder on each engine should show whether the tool is still cutting properly. If the tool is worn or damaged, the failure will be obvious in the scan from one engine to the next, and the technician is notified that it is time to replace the tool when the first failure occurs.
"What you are doing is verifying the entire process and making sure it still runs as expected," Vroman added.
After checking the activated cylinder, the manufacturer sprayed a thin layer of steel or iron to provide the required smooth surface for the engine block (aluminum is too abrasive to work without a coating or sleeve), and will The surface of the coating is processed into an appropriate ID. The Jenoptik cylinder sensor enters the hole again to verify the process.
They are still looking for porosity, as they did to verify aluminum castings, but this time the engineers wanted to see small holes.
"Macroporosity is a failure, but engine manufacturers intentionally incorporate microporosity into the surface of the finished product," Vroman explained. "This is where you get oil retention. With the correct porosity, you can reduce spring tension and reduce friction."
By using flame spray lubrication characteristics, a supplier claims that friction is reduced by 30% at low engine speeds, thereby improving fuel efficiency.
As with any quality system in the process, the post-injection inspection system will look for defects-areas where the cylinder wall may have been damaged during post-injection processing. Vroman noticed that the torch that melts the wire to spray the coating would wear out like any machine tool. Therefore, the detection system monitors the process to determine when to replace consumables.
The latest trend in power system design is to change the characteristics of the piston and cylinder according to the position during the combustion process. For example, Toyota announced its engine design in 2014 to concentrate water jacket cooling on the top and bottom of the cylinder, keeping the middle hotter, thereby improving thermal efficiency. Spraying technology allows engineers to change the lubricity by controlling the coating thickness and surface finish of different positions in the abrasive tool, thereby further promoting the trend of customization.
"Where your piston rises to the top of the cylinder, you have a reversal zone, the piston goes from its upstroke to its downstroke," Vroman said. "The engineer wants more pores there to get more lubrication."
Vroman explained that manufacturers are already controlling the characteristics of cylinder coatings to achieve uniform thickness. The air flow in the cylinder varies from top to bottom, so when the spray gun applies materials, the machine tool must manage the gas flow, torch temperature, and wire feed speed to obtain consistent results. The process of controlling different levels of coverage requires some research, but nothing can stop it in the process.
With multiple machine tool companies investing in cylinder spray technology, mass-market automakers are studying its use in niche vehicles (Ford’s GT350 Shelby Mustang uses it). Engineers say it’s a matter of time, not whether spray systems will begin to appear. Vehicles in the mainstream.
To this end, applications and inspection systems must become faster and cheaper-Jenoptik officials and several machine tool manufacturers say this has already happened. Vroman compares it to the mainstream adoption of aluminum engine blocks. In the early days, the engine leaked, the production cost was much higher than that of cast iron, and the performance was poor. Within ten years, these problems have disappeared, and aluminum has become the main bulk material for gasoline-powered cars (diesel engines still use cast iron).
"This will eventually replace the lining on most engines. I think this will be the mainstream in the near future, especially in terms of emissions and fuel economy requirements," Vroman said. "As the technology matures, it becomes cheaper and more efficient. When manufacturers put it into mass production, we will be ready."
About the author: Robert Schoenberger is the editor of TMV and can be reached at 216.393.0271 or rschoenberger@gie.net.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have issued a formal policy outlining safety testing requirements and general guidelines for autonomous vehicles.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Fox said: “Autonomous vehicles have the potential to save thousands of lives and promote our country’s biggest leap in road safety in history.” “This policy is an unprecedented step for the federal government. It provides A framework to safely use the benefits of transformative technology."
The policy framework sets four goals for automakers and regulators-automakers design and implement autonomous technology rules; encourage state regulators to formulate national standards instead of developing different rules across states; about NHTSA Legal interpretations of how its existing regulatory authority will be applied; and require legislators to update NHTSA's regulatory authority to include new autonomous driving.
For the complete policy text, videos showing regulators’ announcements of self-driving policies, and resources describing various issues with self-driving cars, please visit www.transportation.gov/av.
The Ministry of Transportation’s guidelines use SAE International’s six-level definition of autonomous vehicles—from cars without autonomous driving functions to cars that can drive autonomously without control. For detailed information graphs describing these levels of autonomy, see Today's Motor Vehicle Information Graph on page 22.
A lot of policy attention is focused on the first area-the design and implementation of guidelines for self-driving cars and trucks. The vehicle performance guidelines use 15-point safety assessments to set clear expectations for manufacturers developing and deploying autonomous vehicle technology.
"94% of all car accidents on American highways are caused by human choice or error," said Dr. Mark Rosekind, Director of NHTSA. "We are advancing the safe deployment of automation technologies because they have great potential in solving the vast majority of accidents and saving lives."
Current federal motor vehicle safety standards do not directly involve autonomous vehicle technology. Such standards usually take several years to develop and will only take effect after the new technology has achieved significant market penetration. In contrast, the autonomous vehicle policy envisages greater transparency, as DoT works with manufacturers to ensure that safety issues are properly addressed at the front end of development.
"New technologies developed in the 20th century, such as seat belts and airbags, have caused controversy, but have now saved hundreds of thousands of American lives," Fox said (pictured above). "This is the first in a series of proactive approaches, including the issuance of rules on car-to-car communication, which will bring life-saving technology to the road safely and quickly, while allowing innovators to dream of new safety solutions."
The main focus of the policy is highly automated vehicles (HAV)-vehicles that can fully control driving tasks at least in some cases. Some policies also apply to lower levels of automation, including some driver assistance systems that are already in use.
In parallel with this policy, NHTSA is issuing a final enforcement guidance announcement clarifying how its recall authorization will apply to autonomous vehicle technology. In particular, it emphasizes that the semi-autonomous driving system fails to fully consider the possibility that a distracted or inattentive driver may not be able to regain control of the vehicle in a safety critical situation, which may be defined as an unreasonable safety risk and be recalled. www.transportation.gov
Regulators require automakers to record:
Following Donald Trump's election as president in November, the Reshoring Initiative recommends a robust national strategy to achieve goals of returning millions of US manufacturing jobs. Candidate Trump focuses on seemingly simple actions, such as imposing 35% on Mexican and Chinese goods To 45% tariffs, renegotiate trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and reduce the corporate tax rate to 15%. Executives of the Reshoring Initiative said that President Trump will need to take a broader set of actions, especially those that have been proven to be unilaterally implemented by the United States and passed by Congress.
Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, stated that the Trump administration should consider:
“The country has a unique opportunity to solve a wide range of economic and social problems. Although the US manufacturing industry is facing headwinds, in the past six years, the return has successfully brought back hundreds of thousands of jobs, which proves that when the headwinds are eliminated, millions People can and will be brought back," Moser said. www.reshorenow.org
Phoenix Contact is expanding its electric drive business in North America, appointing Vince Carioti as the North American Electric Vehicle Director. Phoenix Contact E-Mobility GmbH was established in 2013 and is located in Schieder-Schwalenberg, Germany, dedicated to the emerging electric vehicle industry. The company provides charging interfaces, electronic components for charging stations, and hardware for charging infrastructure for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Oliver Stoeckl, Executive Vice President of Phoenix Contact E-Mobility GmbH, said: "Phoenix Contact is in a unique position to perfectly meet the needs of the automotive industry and the rapidly evolving charging infrastructure network.
In the United States, Carioti has established a partnership to provide technical knowledge for electric vehicle project start-ups. Phoenix Contact's customer technology center in Ann Arbor, Michigan will house E-Mobility North America.
"Although electric cars still account for a small percentage of vehicles on the road, the market is growing rapidly," said Jack Nehlig, president of Phoenix Contact America. "Vince's extensive knowledge and close relationships in the U.S. automotive industry are the key to establishing and establishing this business in the U.S." www.phoenixcontact.com
Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT) and Materion Corp. collaborated with industry experts and university researchers on a two-year project to develop a more cost-effective way to manufacture lightweight aluminum metal bases for large cars and automobiles Composite materials (MMC). Aerospace platform. The program will study the consolidation and metal processing methods required to manufacture advanced mechanical alloy powder metal-derived MMC.
The project team will explore alternatives to the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) manufacturing process, in which the powder is compressed into a solid material by applying isostatic high pressure and high temperature. The team hopes that alternative processes can reduce production time and cost, while meeting high specific modulus and strength-to-weight ratio. An integral part of the project will be the study of several product formats, including extrusions, 3D near-net shape HIPs, pressed and sintered parts, and thin plates.
Keith Smith, vice president of technology and government business development at Materion, said: "We think that the production process that can be improved takes too much time and money. "We will explore and improve these new methods to not only benefit our work, but also the entire industry. . "
LIFT is a founding member of Manufacturing USA, a public-private partnership based in Detroit, Michigan, dedicated to the development and deployment of advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technology, and will manage the project.
At the end of the project, which will last until 2018, the team will verify the new manufacturing process by conducting a series of production tests on components defined by industry partners. The plan will also focus on developing high-volume production capabilities to meet the needs of the automotive and aerospace materials market. www.lift.technology, www.materion.com
Donald Trump's advantage in the presidential election comes from the auto-producing states. Major victories at the electoral colleges in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania (Barack Obama won all states in 2012) cemented the victories of candidates who directly appealed to manufacturing workers.
Wisconsin has not selected the Republican presidential candidate since 1984. The last time Michigan was nominated for the Republican presidential nomination was in 1988, and Pennsylvania became a credible Democrat in 1992. Among the Midwest manufacturing states that chose Trump, only Ohio chose Republicans. For the past 20 years-choose George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, then support Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Obviously, Trump's propaganda to the working people in the manufacturing industry in the Midwest has worked. In these states, strong union membership can reliably win Democratic votes for many years, and it is in these states that Democratic candidates have lost the election.
If Hillary Clinton has been counting on the unified voice of the Labor Party to win the Midwest, she and others have not paid attention to modern history. In the past ten years, union members’ dissatisfaction with their leadership has been the same as that of ordinary Republican voters.
Trump categorically rejected the Republican Party's decades of free trade policy, and because of this, he was supported by millions of voters. Primary voters rejected candidates who adhered to more traditional conservative principles, such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. The message is clear-the policy that the party has been promoting is not an important issue for voters.
The same is true for the relationship between UAW members and leaders. When members’ main concerns were wages and job security, union leaders continued to promote Democratic candidates. In 2009, when Ford workers flatly rejected the revised contract negotiated by union leaders, the first crack in this solidarity became clear. Many workers said they felt they had paid enough to ensure the company's success, and criticized union leaders for demanding more rewards from ordinary members.
Following the federal rescue by General Motors and Chrysler in 2009, workers of these companies agreed not to strike during the contract negotiations in 2011. Four years later, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles workers rejected the contract their leaders had signed with the automaker. Ford employees also almost rejected their contract in 2015.
Throughout the 2016 general election, a hot story was that working-class voters in many parts of the country felt left behind by their leaders. Although most of the discussion has focused on Republican voters, this sentiment has been evident in the labor movement (one of the pillars of Democratic election support) for many years.
Trump's election leads to an era of uncertainty for the industry. Will President Trump stick to the aggressive fuel economy standards advocated by Presidents Bush and Obama? Will the research support and manufacturing investment tax relief for electric vehicles continue? Will changing trade agreements force companies to move jobs out of Mexico and Asia?
For now, workers and automakers must wait and see.
The 31st International Manufacturing Technology Exhibition (IMTS) did not disappoint visitors who expected cutting-edge technology and new equipment to improve quality, productivity and cost competitiveness.
McCormick Place in Chicago weighed 76 million pounds in September after a record 2,407 exhibitors of manufacturing technology moved all their equipment into the four halls of the IMTS 2016 conference center. This does not include 115,612 registered visitors, which is the third largest attendance of the show. exhibit. This number of attendance exceeded the number of performances in 2014 by nearly 1,500.
"IMTS has grown not only in scale, but also in the overall scope of manufacturing," said Peter R. Eelman, vice president of exhibition and business development at AMT (Association of Manufacturing Technology), which owns and manages IMTS. "People have more compelling reasons to participate. Whether they are here to research new technologies, evaluate suppliers before purchasing, find solutions, or establish connections with leaders in the manufacturing industry, participating in IMTS is irreplaceable. "
As attendees order new equipment and technologies, statistics on the true success of the exhibition will be announced throughout the next year. Interestingly, several exhibitors stated that a big difference between the 2014 and 2016 exhibitions is that the people who visited the booths this year did not kick tires. They have specific questions about the capabilities of tools and equipment, and want to know how technology providers can help with specific tasks.
In addition to the technology showcase, the highlights of the show include the expanded Smartforce student summit to train the next generation of manufacturers, the expansion of the Hanover Expo in the United States, the expansion of educational conferences, and the 5k running, engineering and mathematics to raise funds for Chicago science and technology ( STEM) education plan. The following pages include some of the best IMTS 2016 must provide.
The Hannover Fair, USA (HFUSA) has nearly 91,000 square feet of space in the East Hall of McCormick Place. It co-hosted five trade shows at IMTS in 2016. A total of 490 exhibitors from 18 countries participated:
Larry Turner, President and CEO of Chicago-based HFUSA, said: “North American Industrial Automation and MDA North America continue to be welcomed by IMTS attendees. Almost every booth at these two shows showcased industrial objects. Internet of Things (IIoT) and digital factory solutions. The addition of three new industrial technology events allows us to create and showcase a full range of Industry 4.0 solutions at this year’s IMTS."
North American Industrial Automation doubled its exhibition space this year, paying more attention to digital factory systems and smart solutions. Here, Beckhoff Automation of Savage, Minnesota demonstrated its wide range of advanced automation solutions for machine tool, metalworking and additive manufacturing industries. (www.hfusa.com)
Publishers of Aerospace Manufacturing & Design, Today's Energy Solutions, Today's Medical Developments and Today's Motor Vehicles performed well at IMTS 2016. The group organized the Miles For Manufacturing 5k run to raise funds for the manufacturing education program; GIE Media’s manufacturing group, together with the Hannover Expo in the United States, awarded the manufacturer the first annual social media award; and GIE filled with high-tech products realized by advanced manufacturing. Full of booths in Today's Technology Center. It features Airbus helicopters, a light display Cadillac CT6, Ohio State University’s EcoCAR3 Camaro plug-in hybrid muscle car, and a series of medical components. Dennis Kibalama, a member of the EcoCAR3 team, explained the power plant of the car to the IMTS attendees in 2016. For more detailed information about Ecocar, please visit https://goo.gl/xUCaGq.
www.facebook.com/igus.inc
www.linkedin.com/company/festo-usa
For an explanation of the special features of each winner, please visit https://goo.gl/1Uyla5.
Unlike the storms of 2014, IMTS 5k (www.milesformanufacturing.com) is sunny. The sun and the cool breeze brought 340 registered runners, more than double the number in 2014, and the cost of competitions for educational projects alone raised more than $9,000 (and corporate sponsors added more). The proceeds from the operation of Miles For Manufacturing 5k will benefit schools and community STEM organizations, including: Chicago Public Library Foundation and its YouMedia 21st Century Youth Digital Media Learning Space; and George Leland Elementary School and Genevieve Melody of the STEM Program in Chicago Public Schools Elementary School, Langston Hughes Elementary School and Daniel S. Wentworth Elementary School.
The results of the competition can be found at https://goo.gl/hCnrOm.