News

The Ohio State University wins EcoCAR 3 Year One competition

The Ohio State University (OSU) won the first year of the EcoCAR 3 competition, an engineering program that gives students the chance to design, build, and demonstrate eco-friendly technologies in the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.

Sixteen North American teams competed in Seattle for several days and were judged based on mechanical, electrical, control strategies, project initiation approval, outreach, project management, trade show display, and innovation topics.

With mature software development, a strong target market for vehicle branding strategy, using the Classic.Recharged tagline, The OSU students defended their EcoCAR 2 title by earning a total of 937 out of 1,000 points, $10,000, and first place in the communications and project management categories.

During a visit with TMV earlier this year, former EcoCAR3 team leader M.J. Yatsko joked that her team’s win of the EcoCAR2 program was a bigger deal than the Buckeye football team’s win of the College Football Playoffs in January.

“Everyone’s making a big deal about how the football team gets to meet the president in the White House. During the EcoCAR 2 competition, President Obama came to us,” Yatsko says, referring to a 2012 Obama visit to the team’s workshop.

Math-based design tools and simulation techniques, to show a vehicle that reduces energy consumption and emissions, defined EcoCAR 3 in year one. Teams will receive their 2016 Camaros this fall to rebuild based on new architecture and continue to refine, test, and improve the vehicle’s operation throughout the next three years of the competition.

Established by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co., and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, EcoCAR 3 is the latest Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition aimed at developing the next generation of automotive leaders. www.ecocar3.org

TWB announces new Tennessee facility

Worthington Industries’ tailor welding blanking joint venture, TWB Co. LLC, is opening a new facility in Nashville, Tennessee, that will include next generation fiber lasers and curvilinear welding technology.

The use of tailor welded blanks in vehicles has grown as automakers use lightweighting to improve fuel economy. Laser welded blanks - made from welding steel blanks of various thicknesses and grades together to form a tailored blank - are then stamped into automotive body panels.

TWB’s ninth facility in North America is a 120,000ft2 plant with 45 employees. It will begin production for General Motors, Nissan, and several Tier 1 automotive suppliers by October 2015. TWB Co. is a joint venture of Worthington Industries (55%) and Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (45%). www.twbcompany.com

Fagor offering Renishaw probe and software interface

Fagor Automation Corp. has the ability to interface with Renishaw Inspection Plus Software for machining centers, an integrated package of software that includes vector and angle measure options, print options, and a range of cycles including an SP cycle, 1- or 2-touch probing option, tool offset compensation by percentage of error, and output data stored in a variable stack.

Suitable for use by an operator or part programmer, the inspection/job set-up software contains the ability to set work offsets, update tool offsets, and print inspection results. The program provides measured feature dimensions, indicates whether these features are in or out of tolerance, and gives a go/no-go decision. The software allows collection of data from more than 250 parts within the same file and enables customization of the report template to suit your application needs. The reports are configurable in a Microsoft Excel environment. www.fagorautomation.com

Sandvik Coromant, Hanna Tools partner

A partnership with Hanna Tools will allow Sandvik Coromant to strengthen its position within the automotive segment and introduce its tool portfolio to a wider customer base.

The goal of the partnership is to continue to develop and offer engineered solutions to the global automotive industry – mainly for machining aluminum and cast iron – and offer specific solutions that involve advanced engineered precision tools and require specific engineering competence for machining key component features. www.sandvik.coromant.com

PPG Industries to acquire Cuming Microwave

PPG Industries has agreed to buy Cuming Microwave Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Cuming-Lehman Chambers Inc. in the third quarter of 2015.

Cuming Microwave is a global supplier of specialty coatings and materials that absorb microwaves and radio waves, for electronics, telecommunications, medical, and automotive applications.

Automotive products include coatings that shield electronic components such as radar systems in adaptive cruise-control units. The company employs about 160 people and operates three manufacturing facilities in Avon, Massachusetts, with an office in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. www.ppgaerospace.com