Polyamide strut mount
A strut mount uses fiberglass-reinforced BASF Ultramid polyamide as the primary structural component, offering 25% weight reduction, enhanced ride, and a longer service life. The strut mount debuts on General Motors’ Cadillac CT6, which is set to be launched this year.
In passenger cars, the spring strut mount is the interface between the spring strut and body. As a chassis component, it is subjected to extreme stress. Spray water, road salt, sand, gravel, and vibrations can cause the spring strut to wear. The two-section, three-path bearing uses fiberglass-reinforced polyamide and aluminum components. This design can withstand shock loading as high as 75kN, equivalent to driving a car along a badly potholed road.
ContiTech North America Inc.
Electronic axle system
The eAxle module enables plug-in hybrid operation options for C-segment vehicles, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 50%. An evolution of the system designed for the Porsche 918 Spyder, the single-speed design minimizes weight to 20.9kg while optimizing efficiency, installation space, and cost.
A two-staged geartrain with a gear ratio of 12.5 provides up to 2,000N-m torque and 65kW power for pure-electric mode, and balanced wheel torques for all-wheel-drive mode. An electromechanically actuated dog clutch disconnects the electric motor at higher vehicle speeds, and an open coupling minimizes rotating losses when disengaged. Precision engineering of the gear teeth and other acoustic measures minimize noise emissions.
Typical C-segment plug-in hybrids could have an engine output of around 100kW, with the eAxle supplying an additional 65kW of electrical power.
GKN Driveline
CNG fuel system
The 160 DGE behind-the-cab compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel system for heavy-duty vehicles can be mounted up to 6" closer to the cab for improved aerodynamics and more available rail space. The compact design weighs 2,150 lb and fills faster than earlier CNG systems.
Agility Fuel Systems
Natural language understanding platform
The Dragon Drive connected car platform and Nuance Mix voice and natural language understanding developer platform gives automakers the ability to create intelligent and conversational voice experiences for cars that talk to consumer electronics and smart devices.
The voice and content platform allows automakers to develop voice-enabled apps and services that let drivers speak to connect with smart devices and systems.
Nuance Mix extends natural language, voice recognition, and text-to-speech to wearables and consumer electronics. People can talk to personal devices to control vehicle systems such as turning on the heat or checking the fuel or charge level.
Nuance Communications Inc.
Digital heat, motor controls
Six intelligent power devices (IPDs) for automotive motor and heater control applications provide higher reliability and performance than mechanical relays that switch the current flow on and off in electronic control units (ECUs). The IPDs are compact, lightweight, power efficient, and not subject to the contact wear and tear that affects mechanical relays.
Renesas Electronics Corp.
Platinum-free soot-sensing element
A sensing element monitors soot filters in diesel engine vehicles, withstanding operating temperatures higher than 500°C without the use of platinum. The base-metal alloy withstands higher temperatures while reducing production costs.
As environmental regulations grow more stringent, soot sensors are expected to become necessary for monitoring diesel engine emissions. Most sensing elements for soot sensors use conductors made of platinum to resist oxidation at high temperatures. However, platinum can cause catalytic reactions with soot, and at very high temperatures can even cause soot to burn.
A durable structure built by laminating and co-firing thin layers of ceramic with the base-metal alloy offers long-term reliability. Sample materials will be available in early 2017.
Kyocera Corp.
Enhanced antenna
Combining a transceiver, tuner, and antenna in a single unit, the smart antenna fulfills the requirements of system architectures, linking services including radio, GPS, mobile communication, eCall, TV, and vehicle-to-vehicle systems in one central point, outside of the head unit.
A standard roof antenna and a control device contain the tuner and the transceiver responsible for demodulating and decoding various radio services. The design reduces the in-car distances traveled by the analog HF signals between the antenna and the receiver, improving signal quality. Direct signal processing and position on the vehicle roof support receiving GHz signals for WLAN and Bluetooth connections. Bundling functions eliminate the need for coaxial cables and unnecessary interfaces in the car.
The smart antenna is controlled from the head unit and connected using a MOST, CAN, or Ethernet digital bus system. A direct connection can be established to smartphones and tablets via WLAN and Bluetooth.
Hirschmann Car Communication GmbH
Cadmium-free contact material
CDF-10, a cadmium-free electrical contact material, offers improved sliding-wear resistance in vehicles. Clad material uses a different high-electrical-conductivity contact metal bonded only to the points of contact on an inexpensive base metal, reducing the contact metal thickness to a few dozen microns at the contact points.
In the contact materials market, precious metals such as silver-copper-nickel alloys (AgCuNi) have been essential materials for clad material contact points used in components that demand high reliability, such as automotive air conditioner damper motors. Reducing silver amounts can lower costs between 20% and 40%.
Tanaka Holdings Co. Ltd.
Automotive-grade memory card
An expanded line of automotive flash storage devices are designed to handle the vast amount of data generated by connected applications in automotive and industrial markets. Automotive-grade SD cards include built-in smart features including:
- Advanced protection against power-failure
- Memory-health status monitor
- Customization capabilities
- Enhancements for read-intensive applications such as navigation
Manufacturers can designate and program an Automotive SD card for use with a specific connected application. Manufacturers can also remotely and proactively monitor the SD card to ensure that it is operating at its ideal performance level or to identify when card upgrades or replacements are needed. Cards are to be available this year at sizes up to 64GB.
SanDisk Corp.
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