Production Systems

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 13: Manufacturing for Automotive Parts

Jenna M. Eason

 

Summarize this lecture.

Today’s lecture was presented by Furuhashi-san and Kodama-san of DENSO’s Production Engineering.  DENSO is a global supplier of automotive technology, systems, and components.  They operate in 32 countries and regions with approximately 119,000 associates.  Global consolidation sales totaled US$40.2 billion for fiscal year ended March 31.2008.  DENSO aims to “make things that last”- monozukuri (art of making things), pursue innovation and quality (focusing on the environment, safety, comfort, and convenience), and “contribute to a better world”. [1]

During the lecture, the History of the Production System was outlined.  This began as “Point” in 1950, and then became “Line”, followed by “Area”, then “Cube”.  The latest system employed, as of 2000 is known as “Network”.  The goal is to have an automated production system with high flexibility for volume fluxuation.  [2]

The final portion of the lecture introduced the newest form of production system.  This is known as the “Protean Production System” (PPS).  Under the keen competition between industry worldwide, the products’ improvement cycle and the model-change cycle become shorter and shorter.  In such circumstances, the facility life cycle also becomes shorter in automated production lines.  In consequence, the facility life cycle cost increases.  To cope with that, DENSO has developed this process, which can have longer life, and lower facility life cycle cost than existing production systems.  The PPS is attributed by several unique features such as “Lot Circulation Flow System”, “Function Divided Modules” and “Plug and Play techniques”, and has been applied to the DENSO plant since 1998. [3]

Sources

(1) “About DENSON”, Copyright 2008 DENSO CORPORATIONS, www.globaldenso.com, July 8, 2008.

(2) Furuhashi, H., Kodama, K., (DENSO Corp.) ,“Manufacturing for Automotive Parts”, presentation for Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering course at Nagoya University, July 4, 2008.

(3) Katsuhiko, S., et.al. (DENSO Corp.), “The Protean Production System as a Method for Improving Production System Responsiveness” (Abstract Only), 2004

Car and Recycling

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 12: Cars and Recycling

Jenna M. Eason

Current state of recycling of scrap aluminum and the recycling technologies.

In 2005 North America’s passenger cars contained an average of 170kg of aluminum [2].  With this number growing, it is necessary to find new developments in recycling technologies in order to decrease wastes.

US Patent: 4282044

Method of Recycling Aluminum Scarp into Sheet Metal for Aluminum Containers. [1]

This patent describes a method where scrap (including consumer, plant, and can) is melted in a heated furnace with minimum adjustment to create an alloy composition of silicon, iron, manganese, magnesium, copper and titanium.  The composition is then cast and fabricated into sheets with strength and formability properties, which make it suitable for container manufacture.  The sheet fabrication includes direct chill casting, scalping, preheating, hot breakdown rolling, continuous hot rolling, annealling, cold rolling, and shearing.  The sheet manufacture may be drawn-and-ironed, easy-opening, continuous strip casting, and/or solution heat treatment.

Recycling Light Metals from End-of-Life Vehicles [2]

Using aluminum drastically reduces weight, which translates into improved fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas and polluting emissions, while offering the same or better stiffness and crashworthiness.  However, using a recycled aluminum can reduce energy required to produce.  Remelting of recycled metal saves almost 95% of the energy needed to produce prime aluminum from ore, and, thus triggers associated reductions in pollution and greenhouse emissions from mining, ore refining, and melting.  Already in 2001, more than half the aluminum content in cars and light trucks is from recycled material. 

The metal recycling system in North America (2001) includes approximately 6000 scrap collection and dismantling yards, 200 scrapshredders, ten sink-float plants and – one sole metal sorter separating wrought from cast aluminum.  An ELV traveling through this system is first dismantled for parts for reuse and rebuild.  Parts that are not in demand retain on the hulk, which is flattened and bailed with other hulks for reduction of transportation costs to the scrap shredder.  The entire hulk then has its 45 seconds in the shredder, where it is reduced to 0.10 diameter.  The pieces then undergo a variety of separation processes for material recovery at the shredder facility and are magnetically separated, then separated by air suction.  What is left is NMSF.  That concentrate is sold for farther separation at sink-float plants (separated by specific gravity).  Aluminum particles are present in both of the larger separations.  Metal particles are separated again from non-metallics by ECS, yielding a mixed-alloy aluminum product and an aluminum-magnesium mix.

The aluminum industry must work with alloys designated for high recycled content to further improve metal-treatment methods, forming and fabrication processes to match the formability and product properties of the current prime-sourced products, and, if possible, to further relax the limits on the content of impurity elements in these alloys.  Current developments include tinting the sheet/extrusion aluminum using an Alcoa-patented etching process and color-sorting the aluminum into tighter family groupings, and chemically analyzing each shred particle and piece-by-piece batch automotive aluminum sheet/extrusion alloys from the analyzed shred- a technology that also has promising future applications in the separation of MgAlZn alloys from MgAlMn alloys in batching magnesium-alloy compositions.

One goal is to be able to take scrap metal from one market segment (building demolition, shredded machinery, etc.) and use it in another for long-term sustainability and best economics of the overall light-metal recycling system.  The challenge for the recycling industry will be to industrially implement the new recycling technologies fast enough to match the growing flow of light-metal scrap from ELV. 

Sources:

1) United States Patent: 4282044: Method of Recycling Aluminum Scarp into Sheet Metal for Aluminum Containers.

2) Gesing, A., and Wolanski, R., “Recycling Light Materials from End-of-Life Vehicles”, pp. 21-23, November 2001

Environment Friendly Fuels and Catalysts

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 11: Fuels and Automobile Catalysts for Environmental Friendly Cars

Jenna M. Eason

1) Both fuel economy and clean exhaust are serious subjects of automobiles in near future.  How do you solve this problem? 

Below I have suggested alternative sources including processing wastes to create fuels, and using wind or solar power.  A third more creative solution may be reverting to human-powered vehicles.  I would like to see the Flintstone’s car come to life.  There must be a simple mechanical way to convert simple motions into high power.  Instead of foot power, maybe finger power is all that is necessary: the vibrations of a steady tap will be converted into mechanical energy in order to initiate rotary motion of the wheels. 

This thinking may be a little far out, especially for an engineer or fuel chemist, but I believe it is the role of a designer to suggest the “impossible” in order to encourage new ideas.

2) Do you think what is the most appropriate energy source in

(1) near future?

One thing I have certainly learned from this lecture series is that alternative energy sources and options are plentiful, but not perfected.  Throughout the series we have been introduced to hybrid technology, fuel cells, catalytic and even atomic reactions.  The key is to make the technology simple, efficient, and affordable.  I don’t think there is a correct answer in the near future, but the effort is certainly developing and growing.  I was particularly interested in today’s introduction into biomass fuel sources.  Perhaps this technology will lead to options in fuel sources from waste, solving two problems at once towards sustainability.

(2) 100 years later

The future has so much in store, and so many ideas exist, but technology must play catch-up.  The amazing part is that as technology improves, so do our ideas…maybe all cars will fly.  One solution that interest me the most is using natural energy sources such as solar and wind energy.  A common issue in maintaining an automobile is to limit exposure to the harsh and damaging conditions of nature and weather: wind, rain, snow, UV light, etc…  I propose harnessing these elements and storing their energy to power the automobile.  I am confident that in 100 years, these technologies can be improved to the point that this can easily be accomplished with limited effort.

Energy Saving Technologies

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 10: Energy-saving Technologies for Automobiles

Jenna M. Eason

 

1) Describe your impression and opinion for “Energy-saving Automobiles” in this class.

Energy-saving automobiles are a relatively new concept in the 100 years of automotive history.  The world has been aware of the effects of automotive production and emissions on the environment, but only recently have the full devastation of these effects been realized, and only recently have automotive manufactures acknowledge the dire need to change the trend.  It is up to the manufacturers to develop solutions, but the customers must support their efforts and be socially responsible by accepting necessary innovations. 

Throughout this course we have been introduced to many new energy-saving and sustainable fuel and production solutions.  They all have advantages as well as disadvantages.  In many cases, the idealistic thoughts have been proposed although the technology has yet to be developed.  Often, one solution creates an additional difficulty.  For example, adding safety features to vehicles improve customer satisfaction but also create excess vehicle weight.  Heavier vehicles require more energy to power, using more fuel and creating more emissions. 

 

2) Describe your opinion or concrete action against “Environment Issues and Energy Issues” for sustainable society in the future.

 Toyota Motor Corporation has the right idea: “Zeronize and Maximize”.  This concept addresses their current approach to automotive development and focuses on “Today for Tomorrow- Think to the Future and Take Action Right Now”.  Zeronize refers to minimizing and eliminating the negative aspects vehicles have such as environmental impact, traffic congestion and traffic accidents.  Maximize symbolizes Toyota’s efforts to focus on the positive: fun, delight, excitement, and comfort.  Vehicles such as the Prius are being developed with these ideals in mind. 

For Americans and American automotive manufacturers, the efforts towards answering vital environmental and energy sustaining issues are not as concrete.  US auto manufacturers are facing difficult times and are trying to survive in the American market, which is the primary objective over sustainability.  Because of this, they also do not have the funding to develop as extensive research in these areas as Japanese automakers, creating a vicious cycle.  The companies, however, are not to blame.  American customers have not yet fully realized the negative effects their vehicles are having on the environment and how crucial it is to find solutions.  As an affluent society where almost everyone of driving age has a personal vehicle (or more than one), Americans can still buy whatever vehicles they desire, which are often overweight, over-seized fuel hogs.  In order to create a sustainable society in the future of America, sustainable vehicles must become a high-class and desirable trend.  This trend is slowly stepping forward and Americans are catching on, but the effort must grow immensely if Americans do not want to lose their auto companies to foreign competition.

Sources:

www.Toyota.com, “Toyota’s Its Vision”

Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 9: Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development

Jenna M. Eason

1) State the features of the finite element method:

            Finite Element Method (FEM) is a general, yet the most powerful method used for finding approximate solutions of partial differential equations as well as integral equations.  Around 1982, FEM application became popular in the automotive industry and is an excellent way to conduct impact/crash analysis.  This weak form make it easy to create a mesh from arbitrary and complex shaped geometries and can be understood within about 3 months.  A major advantage of FEM is the ability for fast computation at a low storage rate.  Disadvantages are that FEM is intractable in handling an open space and that mesh generations for very complicated structures still remain costly.

And the boundary element method:

            Boundary Element Method (BEM) is the most difficult method to approximate equations and takes about 3 years to understand.  Once BEM is understood, however, mesh generation is easy.  BEM involves a small number of DoFs (Degrees of Freedom) and treats open space rigorously.  The solutions for gradient quantities are accurate.  BEM is suitable for shape optimization problems and complicated mathematical treatments.  This method of course has its pros and cons.  The storage rate is high, but so is the computation cost.

2) Pick up your most interesting topic and state your idea about it.

            I personally found the topics in CAE very interesting as it related to my CAD (Computer-Aided Design) background.  CAD does not work as directly with mathematical equation in order to develop a product.  I have experience in Autodesk Maya, which is a software that integrates 3D modeling, animation, effects and rendering solution based on open architecture.  The software reviewed in the lecture was similar and I enjoyed seeing how these software function mathematically.

            I was also interested in Okamoto-san’s, of Toyota Motor Corporation, introduction into the current status of CAE.  He reviewed the new (current) versus the old flow of vehicle development.  This flow used to be very linear and one process had to be completed before moving to the next, taking 4-6 years.  The flow now only takes 1 year to complete and is as follows:

(NOT INCLUDED FOR BLOG)

Sources

(1) Matsumoto, Toshiro, Nagoya University Dept. of Mechanical Science and Engineering, “Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development”, Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering course at Nagoya University, June 18, 2008.

(2) “FEM in Automotive Body Structures”,

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kikuchi/GMcontents/fem1.pdf, June 25, 2008

Movement and Control of Car Vehicle Dynamic

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 8: Movement and Control of Car Vehicle Dynamic and Control

Jenna M. Eason

 

1) Derive an equation, which relates q with T from the model of “Sensation”.

(I have not included this answer because composing the html was too difficult for an equation)

2) Describe other examples of human centered design with a method devised by you. (What kind of characteristics of human should be examined for your example?)

Human centered design focuses on maximizing the driver’s impression.  As a textile major, it is vital to consider the driver during the design process.  The driver interacts daily with the vehicle’s interior more than any other part of the car.  The interior becomes the “living” space and must directly reflect the wants and needs of the driver and passengers.  Automotive fabrics that are human centered must be comfortable, soft, stain resistant, static-free, and breathable in addition to performing well and withstanding abrasion, UV light and degradation.  They must also convey an image that reflects the driver’s desires.  If the driver chooses a practical minivan, the fabric must be durable and hide stains tracked in from the kids’ soccer team.  If the vehicle is as customized as the Volkwagen Beetle, the driver most likely wants an interior that can be customized to meet their personal taste. 

Many other interior decisions should be made with the driver in mind.  These include lighting options, and placement of controls.  Human centered design will ensure that the vehicle is as ergonomic as possible and should adjust to a variety of drivers.  Ergonomics and ease of use are keys to enjoying the driving experience, which is the ultimate goal of human centered design.

A Change in Thinking

This post serves more as a notification: 

After 3 weeks of thinking like an engineer, and an amazing weekend surrounded by the arts and culture of Kyoto, I have decided that it was time to switch my thinking to that of a designer.  I think the answers will be unexpected for the Japanese Engineering professors, but I hope to entertain new ideas amidst a world of rational.

Enjoy!