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Technical Paper

Bus Body Modularity - Design and Manufacturing

2014-04-01
2014-01-0356
‘To achieve more from less’ has been the oft-quoted phrase in auto industry for quite some time. This philosophy has many analogies like fuel efficiency, modularity, weight reduction, alternative fuels etc. Of these ‘modularity’ is seen as an effective tool, especially for automotive OEMs catering to a wide portfolio of similar products. This paper discusses the implications of modularization on a passenger bus OEM, by taking the ‘bus super structure’ as a test case. The modularized bus structure is compared with the conventional structure for design strength, safety, weight and more importantly manufacturing flexibility. The challenges faced in each of these aspects are discussed. From the study it was understood that the task of manufacturing body modules and interfaces is complex and it calls for a complete revamp of existing fixtures, material handling equipment and even the prescribed tolerances.
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