Manufacturing & Materials

Welcome to the Automotive Manufacturing and Materials section, where we explore the latest trends, innovations, and advancements in vehicle production. Discover how cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes are enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and performance in the automotive industry. Stay informed with expert insights, detailed articles, and the latest news on technologies shaping the future of automotive manufacturing. Join us as we delve into the dynamic world of automotive materials and production techniques that drive innovation and excellence.

Latest Stories

News

Unmanned Systems

NXP Processors Evolve to Enable Software-Defined Vehicles

As efforts to develop software-defined vehicles (SDVs) intensify, the technology that powers vehicles loaded with increasingly sophisticated computing, networks, connectivity,...

Technology Report

Regulations/Standards

SAE to Standardize Tesla NACS Charging Connector

SAE International confirmed today that it will standardize the Tesla-developed North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector for EVs. The global engineering organization that...

Articles

Automotive

A Formula for Real-World Experience

On a hazy, cool day in late May, a massive throng of thousands of collegiate engineers and hundreds of volunteers descended on Michigan International Speedway to put the teams’ engineering, wrenching...

News

Design

Advanced Electrical Architectures Demand New Developmental Strategies

A few days after speaking with Danny Shapiro, vice president, automotive at NVIDIA, a developer of systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) with performances measured in trillions of...

Technology Report

Automotive

Study: Information Desert Leaves Many Suppliers in EV Dust Bowl

Inadequate information about domestic and Japanese automakers’ product timelines and strategic plans relating to the transition from ICE-powered vehicles to EVs has emerged...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

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

Photonics/Optics

Making Sense of Next-Gen ADAS Sensing

“I don’t expect [SAE] Level 3-capable vehicles to ship in significant numbers until 2030,” asserted Rudy Burger, of Woodside Capital Partners, during May’s AutoSens 2023 conference in Detroit....

News

Transportation

Volkswagen Plants Autonomous-Testing Flag in Austin

Volkswagen Group of America announced on July 6 that it would launch an autonomous test fleet of ID.Buzz EVs in Austin, Texas. The company said that the three-year program would...

News

Power

GM Follows Ford to Adopt Tesla EV Charging Connector, Join Supercharger Network

Just a fortnight after Ford issued the surprising news that it will adopt the Tesla-designed “North American Charging Standard” (NACS) charging connector...

Articles

Automotive

Infineon Semiconductor Technology Helps Makes Electrified Vehicles Greener, Smarter and More Secure

Electrified vehicles are growing in popularity exponentially. For this Expert Insight interview, SAE’s Automotive Engineering spoke with Bill Stewart of Infineon on how his company helps automakers meet climate and government pressures.

Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

A Connected Approach to Auxiliary Battery Control

As vehicles become electrified and more “intelligent,” the energy consumption of the auxiliary system increases rapidly. The auxiliary battery, typically a 12V unit, acts as the...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Electrification Brings Supplier Value Closer to Home

Various aspects of life and business come full circle. While I’m not waiting for bell bottoms from the 1970s to make a triumphant return, the automotive industry is quickly returning...

Articles

Energy

Battle for the Box

Whether you call them packs, boxes, or trays, the structures that envelop and protect EV battery cells and their supporting electrical and thermal-management hardware are among the industry's top subsystem priorities.

Briefs

Materials

New Polymer Coating Could Boost EV Batteries

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a conductive polymer coating – called HOS-PFM – that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

Briefs

Materials

Oxygen-Ion Battery: A Solution for Large Energy Storage Systems

TU Wien has developed an oxygen-ion battery that has some important advantages. Although it does not allow for quite as high energy densities as the Li-ion battery, its storage capacity does not decrease irrevocably over time.

Briefs

Materials

Increased Storage Capacity in Water-Based Batteries

Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered a 1,000 percent difference in the storage capacity of metal-free, water-based battery electrodes.

Briefs

Energy

Controlling Electric Double Layer Dynamics for All-Solid-State Batteries

Researchers have employed a novel technique to investigate and modulate electric double layer dynamics at the solid/solid electrolyte interface.

Articles

Design

Key Design Considerations for Automated Production of EV Batteries

Examining an EV battery degassing automated cell that is widely installed across the industry exemplifies many design features.

Articles

Energy

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.

News

AR/AI

The Challenging Legal Environment of AI

“Holy cats. What happens when this stuff goes wrong?”

News

Transportation

Hydrogen Storage in a Box!

Until recently, there was only one practical solution for storing gaseous hydrogen for onboard vehicle use: the cylindrical storage tank. Spiral-wound, carbon fiber cylinders are the proven form factor for...

News

Energy

Ford Stuns Industry with Move to Join Tesla’s EV Charging Network, Adopt Connector

Ford revealed on May 25 that it made a deal with EV maker Tesla for Ford EV owners to use Tesla’s seminal Supercharger charging network beginning in...

News

Design

Hyundai’s Fuel-Cell Dreams Remain Xcient

Hyundai’s fuel-cell truck fleet is growing. The company is about to bring a fleet of hydrogen-powered 6x4 Xcient Fuel Cell Class 8 tractors to the U.S. It displayed one of the large cabs at this...

Articles

Test & Measurement

Engineering at the New NVH Frontier

The complex science of analyzing and abating noise, vibration, and harshness has entered a “new frontier” as the industry transitions to electrified vehicles, experts in the NVH field tell SAE Media....

News

Software

Defrosting Tech Saves EV Battery Energy

Turning on the heater in most EVs can be a range-killing decision due to the power draw of the vehicle’s HVAC. But while cold feet reluctantly is a better option than not arriving at your...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

2025 Ram 1500 REV Driving Range Would Jump to Head of Class

Stellantis’ Ram brand introduced more details about the 2025 Ram 1500 REV electric pickup at the New York International Auto Show in early April, and one option is an enormous...

News

AR/AI

Honda Expands Its Virtual Development

Honda’s 2024 Prologue is the automaker’s first battery-electric SUV and its first vehicle of any kind designed primarily through virtual reality (VR). Honda has been building its VR resources...

Editorial

Energy

Engineering the ‘Sustainability Thing’

Sustainable and sustainability are words that are fast becoming industry vernacular. They’re woven into executive speeches, press releases, marketing, and engineers’ messaging.

Supplier Eye

Power

The Four Strategic Choices Facing Suppliers

Suppliers in the BEV-negative (adversely affected by battery electric propulsion) sectors essentially have four strategic choices going forward. Find out what they are.