Blind Bolts Developments

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The microcellular foam injection molding process for thermoplastic materials provides design flexibility and cost savings opportunities not found in conventional injection molding. This process allows for plastic part design with material wall thickness optimized for functionality.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The combination of density reduction and design for functionality can result in material and weight savings of up to 20%. With the correct equipment configuration, mold design, and processing conditions, these microcellular voids are uniform in size and distribution. The use of microcellular foam molding provides significant reductions in cycle time, material consumption, injection pressure, and clamp tonnage.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this work, a physical foam molding process, MuCell, is applied to a polypropylene (PP) composite. The MuCell injection molding process involves the highly controlled use of gas in supercritical state, as the physical blowing agent, to create millions of micron-sized voids in thin wall molded parts (less than 3mm).</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The results show that a weight reduction can be achieved without significant degradation in mechanical properties, such as stiffness and impact resistance. MuCell also contributes to faster cooling from the melt as well as the elimination of pack and hold phase, which both result in shorter injection molding cycle times and reduced warpage.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Once material tests have been completed, final part tests will also be performed, to validate established design specifications. These results presented here indicate that microcellular foam molding technology has good potential to be applied to interior parts of vehicles, contributing to weight reduction and productivity increase.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This specification defines test methods and performance criteria for evaluating ultrasonically welded wire-to-terminal metallurgical bonds. The examples used are specific to the linear weld type of process equipment. USCAR-38 is not applicable for “Splice Welding”. The specification is applicable to wire-on-pad configurations with a typical weld shown in <span class="xref">Figure 1</span>. This test specification subjects parts under test to environmental exposures to simulate a lifetime of field exposure for a road vehicle. Exposures called-out in this specification include Thermal Shock, Temperature Humidity Cycling and mechanical abuse. This test specification is intended to evaluate the strength and performance of the interface between wires to an electrical terminal. Validation of the performance of the Terminal is a separate task and can be accomplished using a component validation test such as SAE/USCAR-2, which evaluates whether the entire connection system is acceptable.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">If the weld under test (WUT) is different than described in this section, or is subjected to conditions beyond what is typical of automotive use, the SAE/USCAR-38 test sequence may not be applicable. Parts used in custom applications must pass tests simulating the actual conditions encountered before they can be considered acceptable for that application.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Vehicle and product conditions applicable to use of this specification are:</div> <ol class="list nostyle"> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">1)</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Applicable use: This specification is applicable where the wire and terminal are part of an electrical connection system used in road vehicles at ambient temperatures from -40°C to +150°C. Applied voltage may be either low (0 - 60 VDC) or high (to 600V). USCAR-38 applies to all wire lengths and includes a special test for wires shorter than 500mm where a weld is done after another component has been assembled to the wire (test samples must be made from the exact production-intent welding process to assess potential process damage risk to the terminal at the other end of the wire. Wire harness makers typically will be given the responsibility to track short wire applications per a statement in the applicable engineering statement of work.</div></li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">2)</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Applicable designs: The procedures described are applicable to buss, terminal, or device connections, including eyelet and battery terminations comprising either single or multiple wire terminations. Designs withd without crimped insulation wings are applicable.</div></li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">3)</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Applicable wire: This specification was developed using clean, bare, uncoated, stranded automotive wire. Wire with tin coatings, applied lubricants, or contamination is known to affect the mechanical and electrical performance of ultrasonically welded cable terminations and are not applicable to be evaluated per this spec.</div></li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">4)</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Applicable wire sizes: Copper wire sizes between 0.22mm<sup>2</sup> to 85mm<sup>2</sup> per ISO 6722-1 wire specification and aluminum (per ISO 6722-2) sizes from 0.5mm<sup>2</sup> to 120mm<sup>2</sup> are applicable. Other wire types may be tested per this specification but cannot claim compliance to this specification since those sizes are out of our experience. Examples of representative “other” wires types are: compressed core, compacted core, solid wire core, and wire core materials other than copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. Examples of different center core materials are copper-clad or steel-center-core wires.</div></li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">5)</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The validation process described applies only to linear ultrasonic welding, typically with pressure, energy, and amplitude set as inputs and weld time controlled by limiting energy based on ‘feedback’ from process monitoring sensors. Using process feedback assures the energy-per-weld is maintained. If the equipment used to make samples for USCAR-38 testing is different from this description, this spec may need to be modified or may not be applicable.</div></li></ol> </div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The application of Computer-Aided Engineering is accelerating product design, process design, and prototype development for conversion of suspension steel fabrications to aluminum castings. Development cycle-time reduction is achieved by sharing a consistent CAE model among the system designers, component designers, and process development engineers.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The CAE tools being utilized include Solid Modeling tools for geometry definition and manipulation, linear FEA for evaluating strength and stiffness, and non-linear heat-transfer for modeling the casting solidification. One of the major breakthroughs in cycle-time reduction for the CAE efforts is the utilization of automatic mesh-generation technology.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The component geometry is simultaneously developed by product and casting engineers, so that the manufacturability issues are addressed up-front. Preliminary stress and solidification FEA are conducted in parallel to generate a more optimal geometry. This same geometric model is later used to create Laminated Object Model (LOM) Rapid prototypes. The tooling for the prototype sand-castings is produced from the LOM.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Early prototypes are produced as sand-castings, allowing shortest possible lead-times, and permitting the maximum possible time for design optimization through Finite Element Analysis.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Examples of successful aluminum conversions, and the tools and technologies enabling these successes, as well as lessons learned are presented.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This communication includes two parts corresponding to separate topics.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Part one is concerned with a definite aspect of the mechanical performance of the new windshield, namely its resistance to aging and more precisely to abrasion during a normal use.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This study is conducted in two directions: the first one comprises a fundamental evaluation of the comparative weakening effect on safety glasses resulting from, either a well defined single scratch, either a friction or impact of solid abrasive particles.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The second one, definitely more pratical, is directed towards the study of the wipers aging effect on the impact resistance of the conventional and the new V.H.R. windshield.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Part two is concerned with the biomechanical behaviour of the new windshields evaluated by impact tests of an anthropomorphic dummy positioned in a full scale modified car accelerated up to 30 mph and undergoing simulated barrier crashes.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">These experiments have been carried out by a team led by Professor Patrick at Wayne State University, Detroit (U.S.A.).</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Dynamics of the impacts have been recorded with three high speed motion picture cameras.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Fundamental parameters such as deceleration peak, impact duration, severity index and laceration index have been measured.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">These various studies have been achieved by comparing the new V.H.R. windshield with the conventional car safety glasses.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Avionics industry is moving towards fly-by wire aircrafts with less reliance on mechanical systems leading to increase in the complexity of in-flight hardware elements. RTCA/DO-254 and EUROCAE ED-80 plays a vital role in the design assurance of airborne electronic hardware.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">RTCA/ DO-254 and EUROCAE ED-80 are the industry standards for Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware. The two different agencies FAA and EU regulate and apply this design assurance guidance to the regulatory law in CFR and EASA CS respectively. This paper discusses the need for DO-254 /ED-80 certification in Aerospace industry, the advantages and benefits to the avionics manufacturers. The paper presents the study made on similarities and differences between DO-254/ED-80. This paper simplifies the thin line of distinction on the classification of the product as a simple and complex hardware and also on the applicability of DO-254 for both simple and complex hardware based on FAA AC20-152, Order 8110.105 and EASA Certification Memo SWCEH- 001 for AEH.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">DO-254 suggests to use compliant tools or to show the history of the tool being previously used for design, synthesis and simulation. This is a key factor for trade off analysis of FPGA/ASIC based design vs non FPGA/ASIC based design.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Due to the longevity of aircraft in commercial operation, avionics and aircraft systems need to be design to support a longer product life span. This makes component obsolescence, a challenge and forces products potentially go through redesign phase which may impact the design approval under DO-254/ED-80 an require updates and re-verification as well as the potential for re-certification. This paper provides some suggested guidance for taking credit from previous design DO-254/ED-80 baselines, which will help in reducing the recertification efforts. Discussion and thoughts are presented for leveraging the certification artifacts for current and future COTS, Hard IPs, Vendor COTS IPs and Soft IPs. This paper makes an attempt to show how to carry out an analysis on change impact assessment, applicability involved in various Development Assurance Levels against design/verification requirements.. Various pain points with respect to certification and reusability approach has been discussed Possible solutions to overcome areas of significant impact has been outlined in this paper.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">To grow the application space of polymer additive manufacturing (AM), the industry must provide an offering with improved mechanical properties. Several entities are working towards introducing continuous fibers embedded into either a thermoplastic or thermoset resin system. This approach can enable significant improvement in mechanical properties and could be what is needed to open new and exciting applications within the aerospace industry.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph"><b>Introduction of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Polymer: A New Additive Manufacturing Path for Aerospace</b> examines a couple of unsettled issues that are beginning to come to light regarding these materials and focuses on the ability to design and provide robust structural analysis for continuous fiber reinforced polymer AM—unsung aspects that can make or break this new technology as it finds its way into the aerospace market. Without solutions to them, adoption by the aerospace industry will be limited to point design applications, thus constraining the technology to being nothing more than a specialized tool.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph"><a href="https://www.sae.org/publications/edge-research-reports" target="_blank">Click here to access the full SAE EDGE</a><sup>TM</sup><a href="https://www.sae.org/publications/edge-research-reports" target="_blank"> Research Report portfolio.</a></div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Two factors contribute significantly to the widespread acceptance of a new technology in chemical application 1) simplicity 2) field ruggedness. In the past few years several new types of spray nozzles have been developed to meet the changing needs of applicators. Each is designed to meet specific performance criteria and thus has varying degrees of complexity.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The wide angle full cone spray tip and the extended range flat spray tip are both well suited for uses with sprayer controllers. Each hydraulic spray tip has a wide range of operating pressures. The wide angle full cone tip produces large droplets in a full cone pattern. It is well suited for applications where drift control is essential. The nozzle maintains a 120° spray angle throughout a pressure range of 15 to 40 psi.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The extended range flat spray tip provides excellent spray distribution at both low and high pressures unlike conventional flat spray tips. This allows the operator to tailor his droplet size for his specific application. At lower pressures, systemic herbicides can be applied as larger droplets to minimize drift. At higher pressures, droplet size is decreased and velocity -increased for a thorough, penetrating coverage with contact herbicides.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The third new type of hydraulic spray tip is the twin flat spray. This is designed for post-emergence herbicide applications requiring good penetration and coverage. This spray tip produces smaller droplets than equal size flat spray tips by atomizing the liquid through two orifices. Each forms a flat spray pattern, one directed 30° forward, the other directed 30° to the rear, for better penetration.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Renewed interest in applications using lower carrier volumes has been sparked by the introduction of rotary atomizers. These devices use centrifugal rather than hydraulic energy to form droplets. Advantages include a narrow droplet size range, minimal clogging, and the ability to easily change droplet size. However, acceptance has been limited by mechanical problems, cost and performance limitations.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Air-assisted nozzles have also been developed for low volume applications. These represent a compromise between hydraulic and rotary nozzles. No moving parts, lower cost, versatility and field ruggedness are advantages over rotary atomizers but droplet size control is not as precise.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The automotive and the aerospace industries are constantly looking at optimizing their production with cost effective and versatile material separation processes suitable for machining three-dimensional parts (3D) in all kind of materials.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Automation with robots has become quite common for manufacturing large serials of parts with constant quality and accuracy, avoiding risks for the operator.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper will deal with robotised waterjet cutting used to cut automotive floor carpets and other interior trim parts such as headliners, instrument panels, door panels, trunk liners, acoustical insulation, parcel shelves and some fiberglass reinforced components.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Furthermore we will talk about robotised routing, a suitable alternative for machining some of the above mentioned components. We will also describe abrasive waterjet, ideal for cutting 3D components made of metals, alloys and thick composites.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The first cross-industry guidelines for the implementation of structural health monitoring for aerospace applications have been created as a SAE International Aerospace Recommended Practices document: SAE ARP 6461 ‘Guidelines for Implementation of Structural Health Monitoring on Fixed Wing Aircraft’ [<span class="xref">1</span>]. These guidelines have brought together manufacturers, operators / users, systems integrators, regulators, technology providers and researchers to produce information on the integration of SHM into aircraft maintenance procedures, generic requirements and advice on validation, verification and airworthiness.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The take-up of SHM in the aerospace industry has been slow, in part due to the lack of accepted industry practices surrounding not just the technology itself (sensors and sensor systems) but also the associated issues arising from the introduction of new methods into aircraft maintenance. The SHM community responded by forming an Industry Steering Committee on the topic which then became a Technical Group within the SAE International standards organization (G-11 SHM). The initial task of this group was to produce guidelines to address some of the issues that currently prevent adoption of SHM in commercial and military aircraft operations.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper is a summary of the key content to the guidelines and the rationale behind their development. This is the first document of its type and as such is not concerned with details of the SHM technologies themselves but instead, focuses on the key steps needed to implement the technologies within the current regulatory environment and prevailing aircraft structural design and maintenance practices.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The GE Operations Services and Solectron Corporation Six Sigma Program improved printed circuit board (PCB) throughput, response time, and capacity through the use of Lean Manufacturing concepts and the application of Lean Manufacturing techniques. This paper illustrates how Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma complement each other for maximum benefit.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The issues confronting the PCB industry include capacity and responsiveness to customer delivery demands. Rigorous Six Sigma Methods of Measurement and Analysis pointed towards Lean Manufacturing solutions. Lines were unbalanced, WIP clogged the flow and used valuable space, material flow interfered with operations, and non-value added (NVA) time exceeded 95% in some cases. Graphical techniques and time studies pointed toward sensible flow, reduction of bottlenecks and proper allocation of space and human resources.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The resulting improvement allowed for 142% capacity increase and 47% cycle time reduction. Defects were reduced by 93%. Additional revenue significantly increased customer satisfaction.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Addressing climate issues is a key aspect of good global governance today. A key aspect of managing the threats caused to the environment around is to ensure a sustainable transportation system so that humans exist in peace with nature. According to sources, in 2020 alone, cars accounted for approximately 23% of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. In addition, they also emit dangerous pollutants thus damaging the ecosystem.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">To keep pollutants in check there are emission level testing strategies in place in each country. However, we can do better for a sustainable future. On one hand, the huge volume of vehicles around the world makes it an excellent choice and source for a vast emission level dataset comprising of input features as well as the target variable representing the emission band of the vehicle.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In addition to the big data available as mentioned above, major advancements in the machine learning algorithms are done today. The advent of algorithms such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has made it possible to develop models with very high accuracy.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this paper, the authors therefore propose the application of Extreme Learning Machines (a type of feedforward neural networks) to solve the pressing challenge of classifying the emission band of a vehicle which can be used by agencies to ensure that healthy vehicles operate on road at large. Extreme Learning Machines (ELM), by definition, is an excellent choice for emission band prediction task as it offers a significant reduction in training time and thereby is scalable such as to the task confronted with in this paper. Results from the metric, namely classification accuracy, are discussed at length. The highly accurate trained model, thus developed, can be used by agencies to then predict the emission band for any given vehicle scenario thus complementing the strategies already in place today for a greener earth.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The Automotive industry widely uses cast iron due to its better mechanical performance and cost-effectiveness. However, repair welding or assembly of cast iron components remain highly challenging due to the material’s high carbon content, inherent brittleness, rapid thermal conductivity, and complex microstructural transformations. Multi-pass welding exacerbates these challenges by subjecting materials to repeated thermal cycling, accumulating residual stress, and inducing distortion – all of which potentially degrade the integrity of welded joints. A comprehensive understanding of welded joint behavior is essential to effectively mitigate these effects. Finite element analysis (FEA) serves as a powerful tool, enabling accurate prediction of thermal profiles, phase transformations, residual stress development, and resulting deformations. These valuable insights are critical for optimizing welding processes and enhancing overall joint quality.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This study investigates and validates the use of FEA-based simulation tools for multi-pass MIG welding of ductile cast iron plates, highlighting the effectiveness of virtual modeling in complex welding scenarios. A numerical simulation of 20 mm thick cast iron plates welded with Ni-Fe filler wire was conducted using SYSWELD software. The distortion, temperature distribution, microstructure, hardness, and residual stresses of the weld coupon were predicted using a thermo-metallurgical-mechanical model. The simulation incorporated a double-elliptical heat source for welding and an imposed thermal cycle model for pre- and post-weld heat treatments. Metallurgical analysis was performed utilizing a phase transformation model and Continuous Cooling Transformation diagram to estimate microstructural phase fractions and hardness. The mechanical analysis, based on the thermo-metallurgical profile and boundary conditions, evaluated weld distortion and residual stresses on weld coupon. Predicted results, including thermal cycles, fusion zone, distortion, hardness, and residual stresses, were validated against experimental data showed strong coherence.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This study demonstrates the efficacy of FEA tools in accurately predicting dissimilar weld properties, reinforcing their reliability for welding and repairing cast iron components in industrial applications.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The paper traces the development of the approach to airworthiness taken by Canadian government authorities from its origin through to current practices. It describes the Aerospace industry, the carriers and general aviation in statistical terms, indicates the impact of economic regulatory reform and suggests the way ahead for Canadian and other authorities lies in the attitude and methodologies practiced by the European authorities in their development of JARs.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">I SHOULD PERHAPS start this presentation with a short word about authorities. At the conclusion of a speech on safety regulation by Mr. Ronald Ashford of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, reported in Flight International of April 19, 1986, the following quotation from St. Paul to the Romans appeared:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><div class="quote"><div class="htmlview paragraph">“You wish to have no fear of the authorities? Then continue to do right and you will have their approval, for they are God's agents working for your good”.</div> </div> </div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Aprocryphal or not, this would appear to give some divine authority for our regulatory activities.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The goal of this paper is to present an innovative yet practical approach to automated aircraft assembly which meets the evolving aerospace industry requirements for flexibility and modularity.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Adaptive Robotized Multifunction Assembly cell -ARMA is then described in two different vantage points:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"> <ul class="list disc"> <li class="list-item"> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><u>as a concept:</u> a description of the philosophy which led to the development of automated assembly cells is offered</div> </li> <li class="list-item"> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><u>as a practical solution</u>: a description of the modular hardware and the powerful information processing system, that supports the individual cells is provided.</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The configuration which results in the most productive and effective cell while keeping the cost of equipment as low as possible is described. The ability of the cell to adapt to new requirements, as they evolve, is also described.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">ULTALITE<sup>®</sup> is a patented low cost Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite (Al-MMC) produced using flyash particles as the reinforcement particulate. The material is proven to possess higher stiffness, strength and wear resistance relative to the monolithic matrix alloy both at room and elevated temperatures.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Cast Iron has been utilised in brake drums and disc rotors throughout the history of Automobile manufacturing. High density, rigorous machining due to imprecise casting and consequently, substantial production cycle times are few of the inherited drawbacks in utilising cast iron for brake drums. Utilisation of a material such as this is undoubtedly invaluable in eliminating majority of such shortcomings.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">In this paper, our focus is on the performance of automotive brake drums produced with this new material. Brake dynamometer test results are presented and analysed substantiating the suitability of the technology. Brake drums for testing purposes were produced by a squeeze casting method.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Brake dynamometer tests were conducted in accordance with the SAE J2522 standard. The new AL-MMC drums with standard linings exhibit equivalent or better performance comparatively to OE Cast Iron drums at all times. Heat dissipation characteristics of these Al-MMC based brake drums are outstanding compared to OE Cast Iron brake drums and this is further proven by the Brake Dynamometer test results. Wear test results indicate superior wear characteristics compared to OE Cast Iron brake drums.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Components made from this new material also possess characteristics such as less machining, stringent tolerances, less production time and substantial weight reductions partly due to the die casting fabrication process. Considering the tests results and evident benefits, we demonstrate that the investigated Al-MMC based brake drums are a potential substitute for OE Cast Iron brake drums.</div>