"Craft shop" approach of low-volume, all-aluminum, high-end makes is too restrictive for America's best-selling vehicle. SEMA Show training classes by I-CAR demonstrate special techniques necessary and the learning curve for mainstream body shop technicians.
With the world's first pickup featuring an all-aluminum body and cargo box and full LED lighting, Ford leapfrogs its domestic and Japanese competition in the highly profitable full-size truck segment. The structures feature 5xxx- and 6xxx-series alloy sheet, the latter with a T4 temper.
The 2016 Honda Civic features selectively-tempered “soft zone” technology in the B-pillars and rear frame rails, allowing zones within a single frame piece to have more ductile properties than the surrounding ultra-high-strength hot-stamped steel. The technology minimizes parts count and saves 15.6 lb (7 kg) compared to the previous-generation Civic.
Designed in Japan with exterior surfacing finalized at Honda’s California studio, the 2018 Accord is up to 176 lb (89 kg) lighter than the outgoing model, depending on trim level. Key technical features include two new turbocharged gasoline engines, the first use of a 10-speed automatic transaxle (Honda’s own 10AT) in front-drive sedan, and the return to the low-cowl/thin pillar body architecture.
The search for ever-lower emission technology for future generations of aircraft engines is actively progressing on both sides of the Atlantic. Tucked away on a modest-size stand at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow was a highly varied collection of unconventional engine technology displays – a clear indication of radical innovation already being investigated as a part of Ultimate, the European Horizon 2020 research and innovation project.
In part two of a two-part series, Richard Gardner discusses various aerospace propulsion innovations and continued work by aerospace engineers and scientists to advance aircraft engine technologies to increase efficiency and lower emissions.
Car put on display is based on electrical and mechanical components from a Renault electric vehicle "city car" simply as a proof of process. Much testing and refinement remain. Help is being provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SABIC.
At Envisage, traditional coachbuilding skills blend with 3D printing and other digital tools to create concept/show vehicles and individual bespoke solutions.
Current products from 3M can be used to repair aluminum- and carbon fiber-intensive vehicles, but the company is working with OEMs such as General Motors to develop optimized solutions for multi-material structural applications.
On Sept. 12, NASA will conduct the first test flight of its latest heatshield, the Adaptable Deployable Entry Placement Technology (ADEPT) mechanically deployable semi-rigid aeroshell entry system.
Aerodynamic experts are cautiously optimistic that a long-awaited leap in vehicle fuel efficiency is advancing toward near-term production: the replacement of the two exterior mirrors with camera-based streaming-vision technology—at no overall cost penalty.