Manufacturing & Materials

Welcome to the Manufacturing & Materials section for Commercial Vehicles, your essential resource for the latest innovations in vehicle production. Explore advancements in materials and manufacturing processes that enhance efficiency, sustainability, and performance in commercial vehicles. Stay informed with expert insights, detailed articles, and the latest news on cutting-edge techniques and technologies transforming the commercial vehicle industry. Join us as we delve into the world of manufacturing and materials driving the future of commercial transportation.

Latest Stories

News

Electronics & Computers

Breakthroughs in 3D-Printing Give Way for Promising Textile Lithium Battery Technology

At the convergence of 3D-printing and lithium battery technology, Hong Kong researchers develop a promising textile-based, foldable battery that may find...

News

Connectivity

United Ups Commitment to Sustainable Aviation Biofuel, Extends Contract with World Energy

United Airlines officials in Chicago have strengthened their commitment to ensuring United is an environmentally conscious carrier by expanding its...

News

AR/AI

USPS Tests Autonomous Semi-Trailers for Long-Haul Mail Logistics

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has partnered with San Diego-based TuSimple, Inc. to test the feasibility of using self-driving trucks to haul mail-laden USPS...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

NASA High-Temp Materials, Coatings Enhance Commercial Products

NASA officials are announcing the availability of eight disruptive NASA materials and coatings technologies ready for commercialization.

News

Materials

NASA Highlights Material and Coating Technology Ready for Commercial Applications

Innovations in materials and coatings have enabled countless NASA missions since the agency’s inception. The research that goes into developing these...

News

Robotics, Automation & Control

Forward-Looking Lidar Can Revolutionize Driver-Assistance Systems

Part I of this multipart series cast a spotlight on vehicle crashes, a majority of which are forward-facing and result from driver error. Automakers are striving to develop...

News

Manned Systems

Security, Bandwidth Drive Over-The-Air Development

Over-the-air (OTA) updating has evolved rapidly from a limited function to a wide-ranging technology for keeping vehicle software up to date. As OTA moves deeper into the mainstream,...

News

Imaging

How Can Engineers Help Ensure the Safety, Reliability of Automated Vehicles?

Safety presents a pressing concern to automated vehicle (AV) design engineers and manufacturers. Technical challenges of automated system operation have influenced...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Approved Vendor List Supplier Reduction: Everyone Is Doing It

Every quality-run organization has a supplier vetting process. The one common denominator always heard in supplier audits is: "We simply must reduce our list of suppliers."

News

Materials

Goodfellow Corporation Offers Graphene Variant Produced Through a New “Metal-Free” Methane Process

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based Goodfellow Corporation (Goodfellow) is taking graphene and going “green,” offering an ultra-pure,...

News

Imaging

WCX 2019: IAMTS Association Will Establish Standardization and Testing for Connected Vehicles

In pursuit of developing and growing an international portfolio of advanced mobility testbeds that meet the highest quality implementation and...

Articles

Electronics & Computers

Advancing Aftertreatment

Regulations in North America and Europe may have settled for the moment, but the pressure is still on for development in aftertreatment.

News

Manned Systems

Developing for Defense

Engineering drivetrain and propulsion solutions for military vehicles can require a different approach and unique considerations compared with developing for the commercial vehicle (CV) sector.

News

Energy

Going Digital & Electric @ Bauma 2019

Digitalization, efficiency and sustainability are three megatrends that off-highway OEMs and suppliers touted this month at the triennial bauma trade fair in Munich, when they revealed their...

Articles

Software

Connections Dig Deeper

Equipment suppliers aren’t waiting until the advent of 5G cellular links to improve their offerings. Existing cellular systems are being used to improve operations by using data collected from vehicle networks.

Technical Innovation

Manned Systems

Streamlined HMIs Do More with Less

The phrase “less is more” has been a major part of human-machine interface (HMI) designs for several years as developers traded multiple knobs and buttons for cleaner input techniques. However, the...

Technical Innovation

Materials

MELD Exploits Plastic Deformation of Metals with Non-Melt Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing has been a catalyst in improving speed and efficiency during the product development process. However, the technology has been limited...

Editorial

Power

Bigger Barrier to CBEVs: Batteries or Infrastructure?

Batteries have long been considered the main barrier to deployment of commercial battery-electric vehicles (CBEVs), but many industry insiders now believe charging infrastructure is a...

News

Manned Systems

Ford Debuts F-600 Chassis Truck at Work Truck Show

Ford Motor Co.’s newest commercial truck, the F-600 Super Duty chassis cab, slots between the Ford F-550 and F-650. The new nameplate, which hits a “sweet spot” in the market,...

News

Manned Systems

AI, Standards Are Transforming Military Boards and Modules

Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to impact defense-industry surveillance and analysis systems, prompting a transformation in board and module designs. Suppliers of these...

News

Power

2019 Ram Chassis Cab: More Capability, More Driver-Assist Tech

The 2019 Ram 3500, 4500, and 5500 Chassis Cab commercial trucks herald class-leading capability in towing, payload, and Gross Combined Weight Ratings (GCWR). “We drove our...

News

Unmanned Systems

Freudenberg to Deliver Batteries, Fuel-Cell Stacks

Seals, gaskets, and O-rings are the unsung heroes of the industrial world, especially in commercial vehicles or mobile machinery. In a world dominated by news of autonomous vehicles powered...

Technical Innovation

Manned Systems

Gasoline Fuels Growing Number of Commercial Vehicles

Biodiesel may be the top alternative fuel for work truck fleets, according to the 2019 Fleet Purchasing Outlook Survey conducted by the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA), but...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Filtering out Common Mode Noise with Monolithic EMI Filters

Strong electromagnetic waves can create unwanted electrical currents in electronic devices. Sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI), also known as radio-frequency...

Articles

Unmanned Systems

Deere Touts Software, AI Tech at CES

John Deere highlighted the growing role of digital controls, becoming the first off-highway equipment maker to bring ag equipment to the CES consumer electronics conference early in January. Deere’s...

Articles

Materials

An OBE for the SAE

Perhaps it’s not surprising that someone who joined a professional engineering society at age 16 would eventually lead one. And so, Paul Mascarenas seems an ideal fit as SAE International’s 2019 president. It’s...

Articles

Transportation

Over-The-Air Affair

Vehicle connectivity is no longer an option in a world where the Internet of Things (IoT) continuously casts a broader net on the number and types of devices that interact with each other and exchange data.

Technical Innovation

Energy

Volvo CE, Skanska Demonstrate Concept Electric Site

Volvo Construction Equipment and Swedish construction and mining company Skanska have recorded impressive initial results from an electric quarry research project. The two companies,...

News

Energy

Caterpillar Ventures Invests in Fisker for Electric Future

As automotive manufacturers compete to produce lower-cost electric vehicles (EVs) with greater ranges than ever, the off-highway construction and mining equipment industry has...