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Technology Report

Power

BMW Brings EV Motor Production to Steyr in Austria

In August, the BMW Group's Plant Steyr in Austria started producing the electric motors for its Neue Klasse EVs. The sixth-generation BMW eDrive is the first all-electric drivetrain that...

Technology Report

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Ford Unveils Its Universal EV Platform

In a briefing ahead of today's announcement, Ford's chief EV, digital and design chief Doug Field used the C word: China. Field said that the company's Universal EV Platform would through, "really...

Technology Report

Power

Inside Slate's Warsaw Factory

Slate bought a factory. The 1.4 million sq. ft. (130,000 m3) facility was formerly a printing company. Sears, JCPenny, and Radio Shack catalogs emerged from the RR Donnelley & Sons printing plant for...

Articles

Power

Moving Targets: How Improvements to SiC, GaN Power Electronics Will Redefine EV

Better power electronics are on the way, thanks to private-public efforts that go back years.

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Sourcing Re-Evaluation Underway

The events of the last few months (re: tariff structures) underscore that the world is becoming more insular. Last month’s column (on re-regionalization) outlined that major markets like China, the U.S. and the EU already have or are increasingly building a moat around their markets. Read on for this month's column.

Application Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

6.8 MM Ammunition Production Facility

The U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, along with the Joint Munitions Command, officially broke ground on a new 6.8 mm ammunition production facility in support of the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri. Read on to learn more about the 6.8 mm family of ammunition, set to be produced at the new facility.

Application Briefs

Unmanned Systems

Autonomous Air Defense Production

Anduril Industries has been awarded a $249,978,466 contract to deliver advanced air defense capabilities across services for the Department of Defense (DoD). This contract will deliver more than 500 Roadrunner-Ms and additional Pulsar electronic warfare capabilities, addressing the growing threat of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) attacks against U.S. forces. Read on to learn more.

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Honda Unveils Solid-State Battery Demonstration Production Line

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is taking the next step in bringing its proprietary solid-state batteries to production. The automaker unveiled its demonstration production line for...

Technical Innovation

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Bemis, BASF Develop Lightweight Hydraulic Tank for Compact Excavators

Bemis Manufacturing and BASF collaborated to develop a lighter-weight and lower-cost hydraulic tank for compact excavators that was recognized with a lightweighting...

Technology Report

Electronics & Computers

Coherix’s Laser-Based Computer-Vision Improves Electronics Manufacturing

An industry-first 3D laser-based, computer-vision system can monitor and control the application of adhesive beads as tiny in width as two human hairs. This unique...

Articles

Design

Aitiip Integrates Freeform Injection Molding to Lower Weight and Reduce Production Costs

Aitiip is a leading Spanish research and development institute and serves companies in the aeronautics, automation, industrial, and packaging sectors. The institute possesses strong platforms for the characterization of materials and processes and is known as a powerful integrator of technologies, which is constantly on the lookout for the next transformative technology.

Application Briefs

Manned Systems

Lilium Starts Production of eVTOL Jet Batteries

The company describes its battery back as comprised of lithium-ion cells with silicon-dominant anodes that will allow for higher energy, power, and fast-charging capabilities than graphite anode cells. The battery packs are being designed to meet EASA’s aircraft safety requirements.

Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Aerospace Production: Overcoming Challenges in Composite Machining

Composite materials play an important role in aerospace manufacturing. The light weight, durability and ability to create complex shapes from molds make these materials ideal for frames and structural components that enable lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Ultrahard Steels

Recent advances in both alloy development and additive manufacturing have enabled the production of ultrahigh-strength steels in near net shape parts.

News

Connectivity

We've Been Here Before

For a couple of decades, virtually every global original equipment manufacturer spent significant capital and attention raising their sales/production profile in China. It became the world’s largest light vehicle...

News

Connectivity

Porsche Study: Europe Missing out on Tooling Battery Gigafactories

A study examining the prospects for supplying manufacturing tooling for the scores of EV battery “gigafactories” scheduled to be built worldwide found there are...

News

Materials

New Keys to Success

Much has been written about the extraordinary vehicle production and market environment of the past four years in North America and beyond. The plethora of negative impacts from COVID, chip availability, scarcity of...

Briefs

Power

Improving Battery Performance with More Efficient Electrodes

To improve battery performance and production, Penn State researchers and collaborators have developed a new fabrication approach that could make for more efficient batteries that maintain energy and power levels.

Articles

Software

Top Productivity Improvement Tips for Manufacturing Turbine Discs

Aerospace manufacturers have no shortage of challenges when it comes to machining turbine discs, but they don’t have to face those challenges alone. Partnering with a tool provider can lead to benefits that extend far beyond tools.

Editorial

Power

Smart Engineering for Sustainability

Sustainability extends beyond just decarbonization. A term popping up more and more in executive and engineering-focused presentations is “circular economy,” referring to a closed-loop production...

INSIDER

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Getting EV Battery Gigafactories Up to Speed

The term “gigafactory” has become common lexicon for a manufacturing facility constructed to produce the almost incalculable number of individual battery cells required for the millions of...

News

Software

Tenneco Opens Engineering, Simulation Center in Poland

Suspension- and powertrain-components specialist Tenneco recently opened a new 9,600 sq.m (103,334-sq.ft.) European engineering center at Gliwice in Poland to serve its European...

Supplier Eye

Propulsion

Moons Aligning

So far this decade, our industry has been heavily impacted by an endless stream of calamities. When impacted in isolation, dealing with a pandemic, weather disasters, supply- chain disruptions, ICE-to-BEV transition risks,...

News

Connectivity

Mercedes-Benz Details All-New Platform for EV Vans

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its electrification strategy for its commercial and private van lineup. SAE Media was in attendance for the company’s online presentation in May that outlined...

Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Test Methods for Measuring High Temperature Tensile Properties of Subscale Specimen Geometries for Additively Manufactured Metallic Materials

With the rise of additive manufacturing for metallic materials, concerted efforts are underway to integrate the technology into present and future aerospace systems to enhance performance capability, reduce cost, and minimize production lead-times.

News

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

3D, No Waiting!

Few will dispute that additive manufacturing — commonly called 3D printing — has endured a development path of fits and starts. But as niche applications, an ever-increasing array of material choices — and the...

News

Connectivity

Mercedes-Benz Goes Long with EActros 600 Electric Truck

Mercedes-Benz has revealed new details about its eActros 600 long-distance electric truck. The eActros 600 is intended specifically for long-haul use and will serve as the eventual...

News

Manned Systems

Why Agriculture Will Automate Before On-Highway

A World Wildlife Fund report estimates that global food waste on farms amounts to 1.2 billion tonnes per year – about 15.3% of the world’s annual food production. Total value of that...

Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Enabling Ambitious Battery Production at Scale

The battery industry is forecasted to grow tenfold by the end of the decade. This growth is driven by increasing demand for Li-ion cell batteries, predominantly for electrified transportation and energy storage.