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The process of assembling the bearing and crimp ring to the steering pinion shaft is intricate. The bearing is pressed into its position via the crimp ring, which is tipped inward and fully fitted into a groove on the pinion shaft. Only when the bearing is pressed to a low surface on the pinion shaft, the caulking force for the crimp ring is achieved. The final caulking distance for the crimp ring confirms the proper bearing position. Simulating this transient fitting process using CAE is a challenging topic. Key factors include controlling applied force, defining contact between bearing and pinion surface, and defining contact between crimp ring and bearing surface from full close to half open transition. The overall CAE process is validated through correlation with testing.

The vehicle instrument panel (IP) system has several interactions with the surrounding components such as the Dash, Cowl, Cross Car Beam (CCB), Floor, Body Side etc. With such interactions comes different loadings, usage scenarios, interfaces and design challenges to overcome. For the specific case of the IP to Cowl & Dash interfaces, the position and performance in different load cases, such as, but not limited to, vibration and heat expansion loading as well as the assembly process. A design solution is required to enhance the performance in all these scenarios while maintaining the cost, weight & complexity as low as possible. This paper describes the development process of an optimized solution with a multi-disciplinary approach using advanced computer aided engineering (CAE) optimization tools, which involved performance in multiple virtual evaluations and mass.

Electrical connectors and terminals are widely used in the automotive industry. It is desirable to mate the electrical connections using materials or coatings with low friction force to improve the ergonomics of the assembly process while maintaining good electrical conduction over the lifetime of the vehicle. We have previously shown that plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of graphene on gold (Au) and silver (Ag) terminals can significantly reduce the insertion force (friction force during the terminal insertion process). However, the cost of this deposition method is rather high, and its high temperature process (> 400 oC) makes it impractical for materials with low melting temperatures. For example, tin (Sn) coating with a melting temperature of 232 oC is commonly used in electrical connectors, which cannot sustain the high temperature process. In this study, reduced graphene oxide was prepared using a low-cost solution process and applied onto metallic terminals.

Sunroof is placed in certain high-end vehicles to give user a better driving experience. All automakers are searching alternatives to reduce weight and cost in the vehicle, in which sunroofs are also impacted. Some alternatives are already applied, as a honeycomb paper used in some sunshades that presents benefits, as less weight and with a good cost reduction. Although, due the reduced weight for this part produced in this material, it shows more susceptibility to reproduce the vibration that vehicle propagates in movement, especially in bad condition roads. The sunroof assembly is dependent of the roof reinforcement and roof skin, but in this special case, the validation could be done in the components itself because the interaction of the sunshades is directly dependent of the other sunroof parts, as rails and front frame.

Warpage is the distortion induced by inhomogeneous shrinkage during injection molding of plastic parts. Uncontrolled warpage will result in dimensional instability and bring a lot of challenges to the mold design and part assembly. Current commercial simulation software for injection molding cannot provide consistently accurate warpage prediction, especially for semi-crystalline thermoplastics. In this study, the root cause of inconsistency in warpage prediction has been investigated by using injection molded polypropylene plaques with a wide range of process conditions. The warpage of injection molded plaques are measured and compared to the numerical predictions from Moldex3D. The study shows that with considering cooling rate effect on crystallization kinetics and using of the improved material model for residual stress calculations, good agreements are obtained between experiment and simulation results.

Friction reduction in lubricated components through engine oil formulations has been investigated in the present work. Three different DI packages in combination with one friction modifier were blended in SAE 5 W-20 and SAE 0 W-16 viscosity grades. The friction performance of these oils was compared with GF-5 SAE 5 W-20 oil. A motored cranktrain assembly has been used to evaluate these, in which friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) as a function of engine speeds at different lubricant temperatures is measured. Results show that the choice of DI package plays a significant role in friction reduction. Results obtained from the mini-traction machine (MTM2) provide detailed information on traction coefficient in boundary, mixed and elastohydrodynamic (EHD) lubrication regimes. It has been shown that the results from the cranktrain rig are fairly consistent with those found in MTM2 tests for all the lubricants tested.

During the assembly process of planetary gears, the pinion shaft is initially pressed in to the planetary carrier and then staking is performed to fix the pinion shaft to the carrier. The main purpose of the staking process is to prevent the movement of the pinion shaft during transmission operation. During assembly there should be minimal distortion of the assembly. The press-in process, pinion shaft and carrier are subjected to extremely high frictional loading due to the interference fit. The staking process permanently deforms the pinion shaft top and bottom ends, forming a protrusion that holds the shaft in position. The pinion shaft needs to sustain operational loads exerted by helical planetary gears, which tend to push the carrier flange out of position during operation. Staking length, staking force and interference between shaft and carrier hole are the critical parameters, which determine the maximum axial force that the pinion shaft can withstand.

The initiative of this paper is focused on improving the heat dissipation from the pressure wheel of a laser welding assembly in order to achieve a longer period of use. The work examines the effects of different geometrical designs on the thermal performance of pressure wheel assembly during a period of cooling time. Three disc designs were manufactured for testing: Design 1 – a plain wheel, Design 2 – a pierced wheel, and Design 3 – a wheel with ventilating vanes. All of the wheels were made of carbon steel. The transient thermal reaction were compared. The experimental results indicate that the ventilated wheel cools down faster with the convection in the ventilated channels, while the solid plain wheel continues to possess higher temperatures. A comparison among the three different designs indicates that the Design 3 has the best cooling performance.

Commercial vehicles are being developed for long decades in Brazil creating a deep background on manufacturing process. With the current scenario a variety of different vehicles specifications (weight capacity, load distribution, torque, size, etc.) are being required by the market. Joints with bolts and nuts are the engineering solution for the most of the problems found in automotive engineering regarding commercial vehicles. Screw processes were made during the last 150 years. Nowadays current frame modifications on aftermarket are made with arc weld process that affects directly the material properties and the process needs to be performed by critical personal with training and capacity. In addition cost and timing does not fit for the best equation on how to proceed with the modifications. The solution proposed brings more flexibility on frame assemblies that can be extended to other products.

Ford Motor Company’s assembly plants build vehicles in a certain sequence. The planned sequence for the plant’s trim and final assembly area is developed centrally and is sent to the plant several days in advance. In this work we present the study of two cases where the plant changes the planned sequence to cope with production constraints. In one case, a plant pulls ahead two-tone orders that require two passes through the paint shop. This is further complicated by presence in the body shop area of a unidirectional rotating tool that allows efficient build of a sequence “A-B-C” but heavily penalizes a sequence “C-B-A”. The plant changes the original planned sequence in the body shop area to the one that satisfies both pull-ahead and rotating tool requirements. In the other case, a plant runs on lean inventories. Material consumption is tightly controlled down to the hour to match with planned material deliveries.

When sealing an application with a radial O-ring system design there is a balance that must be struck between O-ring function and the ease of assembly. If design parameters are not properly controlled or considered it is possible to design an O-ring seal that would require assembly insertion forces that exceed acceptable ergonomic practices from a manufacturing standpoint. If designs are released into production with these high insertion forces manufacturing operators will struggle to assemble parts, creating opportunity for potential operator injury due to repetitive strain or CTD. In this study several variables impacting O-ring system insertion forces were tested to quantify the effects. Results were analyzed to identify design controls that could be implemented from an early design phase to optimize both functionality and ease of assembly.

In the shop floor, cracking issue was noticed during assembly of valve seat and valve guide in the engine cylinder head, especially near the valve seating area. This paper reveals a non- linear finite element methodology to verify the structural integrity of a cylinder head during valve seat and valve guide assembly press-in operation under the maximum material condition, i.e., smallest hole size on cylinder head for valve seat and guide and largest diameter of valve seat and guide. Material and geometrical nonlinearities, and contact are included in this method to replicate the actual seat and guide press-in operation which is being carried out in shop floor. The press-in force required for each valve seat and valve guide assembly is extracted from simulation results to find out the tonnage capacity of pressing machine for cylinder head assembly line. Stress and plastic deformation due to assembly load are the criteria checked against the respective material yield.

Modularity in product architecture and its significance in product development have become an important product design topics in the last few decades. Several Product Modularity definitions and methodologies were developed by many researchers; however, most of the definitions and concepts have proliferated to the extent that it is difficult to apply one universal definition for modular product architecture and in product development. Automotive seat modular strategy and key factors for consideration towards modular seat design and assemblies are the main focus of this work. The primary objectives are focused on the most “natural segmentation” of the seat elements (i.e., cushions, backs, trims, plastics, head restraints, etc.) to enable the greatest ease of final assembly and greatest flexibility for scalable feature offerings around common assembly “hard-points.”

The perceived quality of automotive closures (flushness and margin) is strongly affected by flanging and hemming of the outer panels and assembly respectively. To improve the quality of closures, the traditional hardware approach needs significant amount of time and costly die re-cuts and trials with prototype panels. Thus, such approach may delay the vehicle program and increase the overall investment cost. The proposed CAE methodology provides upfront design guidance to dies and panels, reduces time and increases cost savings associated with flanging and hemming while improving overall quality of the closures. In this proposed approach, as a first step, analytical formulae and design of experiments (DOE) are followed to estimate magnitude of design parameters of panels and dies as the upfront design guidance.

Owing to decreased development cycle timing, designing components for manufacturability has never been as important. Assessing manufacturing feasibility has therefore become an increasingly important part of new product engineering. This manufacturing feasibility is conventionally assessed based on static stiffness of components and fixture assemblies. However, in many operations, excess vibration represents the actual limitation on processing a workpiece. Limits on how far into components a tool can reach or the amount of processing time required to machine a feature is commonly decreased significantly due to vibration. Critical time is spent resolving these vibration problems during product launches. Depending on the machining configurations these vibrations can be due to the part & work support structure or due to the tooling & spindle assembly. This paper presents approaches for predicting the dynamic flexibility for either of these assemblies using purely analytical approaches.

During the planetary gear assembly, staking is a widely-used method for affixing pinion shafts onto the position. A reliable staking process not only prevents the movement of shaft during transmission operation, but also minimizes the distortion of the assembly due to the staking process. The quality of staking operations is determined by the component designs, the process parameters, and the staking tool geometry. It would be extremely time-consuming and tedious to evaluate these factors empirically; not even mention the requirement of prototypes in the early stage of a new program. A Finite Element methodology is developed to simulate the complete staking process including shaft press in, staking, and after staking tool release. The critical process parameters, such as staking force, staking length, shaft and holes interference amount, etc., are then evaluated systematically.

Today, in order to optimize the resources usage and reduce the air pollution, the automobile industry is facing new challenges, with the necessity to improve engines fuel economy, enhance vehicles autonomy and reduce the CO2 emission. One of the solution, which is being much researched, is the car components weight reduction. There is a range of new materials that have been developed to attend the new weight standards. Together with lightweight these materials must also deliver acceptable mechanical properties, easy to manufacture and to assembly capability, good appearance, high durability, good cost-benefit relation and in some cases also acceptable impact energy absorption. This paper presents a review of some of the lightweight materials that are being applied in automobiles, like Carbon Fiber, Aluminum Alloy, Magnesium Alloy, Hybrid Material and Polymer Composites.

High cycle fatigue material properties are not uniformly distributed on cylinder heads due to the casting process. Virtual Aluminum Casting (VAC) tools have been developed within Ford Motor Company to simulate the effects of the manufacturing process on the mechanical properties of cast components. One of VAC features is the ability to predict the high cycle fatigue strength distribution. Residual stresses also play an important role in cylinder head high cycle fatigue, therefore they are also simulated and used in the head high cycle fatigue analysis. Cylinder head assembly, thermal and operating stresses are simulated with ABAQUS™. The operating stresses are combined with the residual stresses for high cycle fatigue calculations. FEMFAT™ is used for the high cycle fatigue analysis. A user-defined Haigh diagram is built based on the local material properties obtained from the VAC simulation.

Adhesive bonding technology is playing an increasingly important role in automotive industry. Ultrasonic evaluation of adhesive joints of metal sheets is a challenging problem in Non-Destructive Testing due to the large acoustic impedance mismatch between metal and adhesive, variability in the thickness of metal and adhesive layers, as well as variability in joint geometry. In this paper, we present the results from a matrix array of small flat ultrasonic transducers for evaluation of adhesively bonded joints in both laboratory and production environments. The reverberating waveforms recorded by the array elements are processed to obtain an informative parameter, whose two-dimensional distribution can be presented as a C-scan. Energy of the reflected waveform, normalized with respect to the energy obtained from an area with no adhesive, is a robust parameter for discriminating "adhesive/no-adhesive" regions.

Described in this paper is a component test methodology to evaluate the door trim armrest performance in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) side impact test and to predict the SID-IIs abdomen injury metrics (rib deflection, deflection rate and V*C). The test methodology consisted of a sub-assembly of two SID-IIs abdomen ribs with spine box, mounted on a linear bearing and allowed to translate in the direction of impact. The spine box with the assembly of two abdominal ribs was rigidly attached to the sliding test fixture, and is stationary at the start of the test. The door trim armrest was mounted on the impactor, which was prescribed the door velocity profile obtained from full-vehicle test. The location and orientation of the armrest relative to the dummy abdomen ribs was maintained the same as in the full-vehicle test.