Automotive Design & Production is the one media brand invested in delivering your message in print, online, via email, and in-person to the right automotive industry professionals at the right time.
Issue link: https://adp.epubxp.com/i/383875
23 23 they launched the XJ in 2002 they'd spent about 10 years studying and developing the technology and pro- cesses. They didn't want to, in efect, throw away their press shop, body shop and paint shop in making the materials transition. One key factor in the fast throughput time is part integration. For example, he points out that they're able to cast, in some instances, a half a dozen parts into one. He acknowledges that part consolidation can be done with steel, but not to the same extent as aluminum casting. In addition to which, they apply fewer self-piercing rivets to the aluminum structure than the number of spot welds in a comparable steel car. He says that the number of rivets for the recently announced XE is on the order of 2,500, there would be twice as many spot welds required were the car to be a steel structure. And while they do use adhesives to supplement the rivets, White says that the adhesives are applied where required as determined by a computer- aided engineering optimization program. One of the things that Jaguar Land Rover is doing and that Ford is doing with the 2015 F-150 that changes the materials cost equation is, not simply going with a hood, roof and or decklid, but of going more or less all-in (JLR uses carbon fber composites in some applications; the F-150 has a steel frame) with aluminum. Having a few components can add cost and complexity, so Summe suggests that the higher volume production of numerous components efectively changes the cost calculations relative to other materials. In addition to which, by having a lighter structure, there can be downsizing of other elements of the vehicle, which can also help drive down overall costs. This is particularly critical for electric vehicles, where weight reductions in the body can directly afect the weight—and cost—of the batteries. When Hinrichs made the 2015 F-150 announcement, it seemed as though a switch had been fipped. Suddenly, aluminum was a mainstream material for automotive production. Sounds like an overnight success. But when asked about Jaguar's use of aluminum for building cars, he answers, "We started back in 1922. Aluminum is part of our DNA and history." Overnight sensations are long in coming.