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LIGHTWEIGHTING VEHICLES “Diesels run with higher combustion pressure and get


hotter,” said Joachim Wagenblast, Mahle’s director of North American product development for engine systems and components. “If you have too high temperatures, you get oxidation. Oxidation can lead to cracks in the surface.”


Cast iron also has a role to play in lightweighting, along


with more exotic materials, Solomond said. “The customer is asking what would we do differently,” he said. “Nobody is asking us about materials.” “We are running design projects for 2019, 2020,” Solo- mond added. “It requires collaboration with customers.”


Mahle, a maker of pistons, reduced weight by coming up with a smaller steel piston head for high-speed diesel engines.


“Our weight savings are rather small compared to the entire engine weight,” Wagenblast said. But he said lighter pistons with reduced compression height enable “weight savings for the entire engine” by permitting design changes in engine blocks. “In the conversations I’ve had with OEMs, they’re looking at taking weight out of the engines, too,” said Hugh Blaxill, general manager of Mahle Powertrain LLC. He said he ex- pects more parts will be made out of lighter materials, such as plastics. Southfi eld, MI-based Grede Holdings LLC, a supplier of


cast iron automotive parts is looking to develop iron alloys to produce thinner, lighter parts. In July, Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT), part of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation created by the 2014 Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innova- tion Act, awarded $1.34 million for a project where Grede is one of the lead partners. One of the project’s targets is to make lighter differential cases by making such cases with thinner metal walls. Jay Solomond, Grede’s vice president of engineering and technology, said the company will be making small pre- production runs of parts soon. “We’re looking at trials in the third quarter and fourth quarter.” The parts will be produced at the company’s St. Cloud, MN, plant, he said. Grede, he added, is using “a signifi cant amount of computer modeling” for the project.


74 AdvancedManufacturing.org | September 2015


‘Short of Magic’ Grede’s other lead partner is in the LIFT-funded project is Michigan Technological University. Eaton Corp. is also one of the participants. Larry Brown, LIFT’s executive director, said his group expects to fund a variety of lightweighting projects. “I’d say automobile makers have done a great job of accepting the challenge but there are many challenges still in front of them. They’re trying everything short of magic to meet that [regulatory] goal.” Consultant Sandy Munro said his fi rm was employed by the US Environmental Protection Agency when the 2025 regulations were being drafted. His fi rm studied Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles and concluded the 2025 target was achiev- able. “When we analyzed Toyota, we looked at the power train they had and how it could be lightened up” utilizing “us- able, off-the-shelf technology.” With BMW’s development of carbon fi ber and other devel- opments, the consultant said he is “very, very positive” that automakers can meet the 2025 standards. He predicted, however, engine changes are likely, includ- ing fewer cylinders, such as three cylinders or even two. Also likely, he said, are using turbochargers and superchargers to force more air through engines to maintain performance. Automakers say they’ll do it, but the task will take a lot of


effort. “We will fi nd a way,” said Cairns of Fiat Chrysler. “Do we know how today? No. Can we do it in an economical way? That’s the challenge.”


?


Center for Automotive Research 734-662-1287 / cargroup.org


Grede Holdings LLC 248-440-9500 / grede.com


Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow 313-309-9003 / lift.technology


Mahle Inc.


423-581-6603 / us.mahle.com NanoSteel


401-270-3549 / nanosteelco.com


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