Link-up
Racecar specialist Lola Cars International has joined forces with Mayflower Vehicle Systems (MVS) and plans to concentrate on specialist niche vehicles. The companies will share resources, including Lola's wind tunnel.
According to Lola, it is at the forefront of body-in-black manufacturing (designing and building racecars using carbon fiber body structures), while MVS is the UK's leading designer and manufacturer of automotive body-in-white (working with sheet metal body structures in steel or aluminum). The partnership's aim is to develop special body programs using either technique or mixed-material technology as well as work on complete special vehicle projects involving powertrain, suspension, and trim, in addition to bodywork.
Stuart Birch
Increasing overheads?
Despite significant savings in terms of floor space, some automotive manufacturers
regard overhead chain conveyor systems as expensive, inflexible, noisy, power-hungry,
and susceptible to chain-stretch and rapid wear. As a result, 
hand
trucks, forklifts, and floor-based conveyor systems have predominated. But a
new type of overhead conveyor system from Swedish company OCS employs a "rotating
tube system" designed to overcome these problems. Both Volvo and Saab use
the system, and it has also been installed at Dunlop and Lear Seating. OCS's
UK representative, Intern Transport System (ITS), is confident that other European
automotive companies will also adopt what it regards as a highly flexible system.
Schematic of the OCS overhead conveyor system.
That flexibility is attributable to what ITS terms a "power and free" system. Two conveyor tracks are employed, one powered and another underneath unpowered, to provide a buffer area, allowing queues at workstations until goods are needed. Rotating aluminum tubes drive trolleys suspended from carriages that run freely along a supporting rail. Each trolley has four wheels, mount-ed at an angle, which make contact with the rotating tube. Unlike chain systems, a return loop is often not needed since the track is divided into short sections with dedicated motors that can power trolleys in either direction.
The trolleys, which are independently driven, can easily be directed to individual bays and can wait while parts are assembled. Another significant advantage, according to OCS, is that different parts of the production line can be operated at different speeds; if one section needs to be halted or fails, the rest of the line can remain in operation for an extended period. Additionally, it is possible to change frequently from one model of vehicle to another, reducing inventory and work in progress. Goods can be transported from ground level to a higher level and moved without conflicting with machinery or forklift trucks. Automatic buffering helps balance different work outputs from linked processes.
According to ITS, another advantage over the chain system, particularly for the automotive industry, is that without chain to stretch trolleys, up to 500 kg (1100 lb) carrying capacity are available. Major items like engines and gearboxes can be handled without over-burdening the whole conveyor system.
The system also offers significant benefits over the conventional chain system in terms of running, maintenance, replacement, and re-tasking costs, claims ITS. The system has fewer moving parts and does not require oiling, ensuring no "drips" on products and less cleaning. It is said to be less prone to breakdown and impossible for carriages to drop if a fault occurs, ensuring a safer workplace. It is also "virtually silent."
Full "track and trace" software is available. By attaching electronic tags or barcodes to each trolley, they can be tracked through the system. Scanning stations monitor what components are on each trolley and relay the information to a central computer. The computer can tell the trolley where to go next, facilitating "build to order" flexibility.
Stuart Birch
Future car-technology combinations via Toyota
With
more than 1 billion cars expected to be on the road by 2020, a top Toyota engineer
says advanced technologies are needed for the automobile to remain an effective
means of transportation.
The Toyota Prius is the first
mass-produced hybrid vehicle
powered by both a conventional four-
cylinder engine and an electric motor.
Hiroyuki Watanabe, Managing Director and a member of the board for Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), said at the Society of Automotive Engineers' 2000 Future Car Congress in April that the concern is not only in developing new technologies, but also improving technologies that already exist.
"I believe the opinion that the internal-combustion-engine era will end, that it will be replaced by the fuel-cell era, and that hybrids will be used as an interim measure is not correct," said Watanabe, who is responsible for hybrid and fuel-cell development for TMC. "Rather, I believe that there will be a time when various engines and power sources will exist simultaneously."
For an environmentally friendly vehicle to have a genuine impact on the automotive world and society, it needs to be accepted by consumers. For this to happen, the vehicle must be user-friendly, powered by a fuel that is readily available, and sold at an affordable price, according to Watanabe. He stated that consumers should not have to put up with reduced performance in return for environmentally friendly automobiles. "It is our firm belief that the hybrid vehicle offers many benefits to consumers and will become the turning point in environmentally conscious technology for the future."
According to Watanabe, one vehicle that meets these criteria is the Toyota Prius, a roomy, five-passenger hybrid family sedan that went on sale in the U.S. this summer. The Prius is the first mass-produced gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle powered by both a conventional four-cylinder engine and a clean, quiet electric motor. The Japanese-market Prius has sold more than 34,000 units since December 1997. In contrast, the number of pure-electric vehicles sold worldwide since their introduction 30 years ago has reached just under 30,000 units.
Watanabe sees potential in another type of hybrid that uses fuel-cell technology. He expects that in the future, there will be new energy-storage and drive-system technology that will foster a variety of new hybrids. An important challenge to future hybrid advancements is worldwide commonality and compatibility of fuel choice. "It will require the teamwork of manufacturers, government, and industry to determine a standard for both fuel and infrastructure," he said.
Watanabe also stated that excessive CO2 emissions is a global problem that must be addressed by all industries. "Toyota understands the importance of developing new technologies, but at the same time recognizes the need to work within an existing infrastructure that does not readily support the use of alternative fuels."
Jean L. Broge
