Low Cost Automation

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Advanced lightweight materials are increasingly being incorporated into new vehicle designs by automakers to enhance performance and assist in complying with increasing requirements of corporate average fuel economy standards. To assess the primary energy and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO<sub>2</sub>e) implications of vehicle designs utilizing these materials, this study examines the potential life cycle impacts of two lightweight material alternative vehicle designs, i.e., steel and aluminum of a typical passenger vehicle operated today in North America.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">LCA for three common alternative lightweight vehicle designs are evaluated: current production (“Baseline”), an advanced high strength steel and aluminum design (“LWSV”), and an aluminum-intensive design (AIV). This study focuses on body-in-white and closures since these are the largest automotive systems by weight accounting for approximately 40% of total curb weight of a typical passenger vehicle. Secondary mass savings resulting from body lightweighting are considered for the vehicles' engine, driveline and suspension.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">A “cradle-to-cradle” life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for these three vehicle material alternatives. LCA methodology for this study included material production, mill semi-fabrication, vehicle use phase operation, and end-of-life recycling. This study followed international standards ISO 14040:2006 [<span class="xref">1</span>] and ISO 14044:2006 [<span class="xref">2</span>], consistent with the automotive LCA guidance document currently being developed [<span class="xref">3</span>].</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Vehicle use phase mass reduction was found to account for over 90% of total vehicle life cycle energy and CO<sub>2</sub>e emissions. The AIV design achieved mass reduction of 25% (versus baseline) resulting in reductions in total life cycle primary energy consumption by 20% and CO<sub>2</sub>e emissions by 17%. Overall, the AIV design showed the best breakeven vehicle mileage from both primary energy consumption and climate change perspectives.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">As a means of effectively incorporating the concept of “life cycle” for reducing the environmental impact of the automobile, we carried out a life cycle inventory study on a part-by-part basis.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The targets of our study are the fuel tanks that are made of different materials and manufacturing processes. One is made of steel, and the other is made of plastic, both perform identical functions. Our evaluation study encompasses the period from the manufacturing of the main materials until the disposal of the tanks.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The evaluation items consist of the amount of energy consumed and the emissions (of CO<sub>2</sub>, NOx, SOx, and PM) that are released into the atmosphere. The results show that the plastic tank poses a greater burden in terms of the amount of energy consumed and the CO<sub>2</sub> and NOx emitted. This study confirmed that the areas to be improved in the life cycle of the tank, which could not be adequately assessed through the life cycle inventory analysis of the entire automobile, can be effectively extracted through the life cycle assessment of the tank itself.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Lastly, we considered the issues that we should address in order to render the life cycle assessment (LCA) into practical application.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Recyclable content of motor vehicles is presently 75%, by weight, the majority of which is iron based components. Approximately 9% of the vehicle weight is in the form of various plastics. Today these materials are shredded and landfilled as automotive shredder residue (ASR). General Motors is putting greater emphasis on recycled automotive component systems through the use of the following environmental principles to guide the design and manufacture of our vehicles:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"> <ol class="list nostyle"> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">1.</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">General Motors is committed to actions to restore and preserve the environment.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">2.</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">General Motors is committed to reducing waste, conserving resources, and recycling materials at every stage of the product life cycle.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">3.</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">General Motors is committed to the development and implementation of new materials and process technologies to enable rapid disassembly of component systems at the end of the vehicles' useful life.</div> </li> </ol> </div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Additional forces driving recycling efforts stem from:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"> <ol class="list nostyle"> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">1.</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The reduction in the number of landfills.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"> <span class="li-label">2.</span> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Anticipated future legislation aimed at the recycled content of future vehicles.</div> </li> </ol> </div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This technical presentation contains information and descriptions of recyclable instrument panel systems. Examples of three potentially recyclable instrument panel systems will be discussed. <b>Attention</b> will be given to design flexibility, quality, and costs for automotive components manufactured from processes utilizing these materials.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The U.S. EPA initiated the Common Sense Initiative (CSI) to develop “Cleaner, Cheaper, Smarter” environmental policy and management practices. This paper addresses the application of life cycle design and assessment tools to automotive instrument panels (IP) as part of the Automotive Manufacturing Sector CSI pilot project investigation.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">For this study, an “average IP” was modeled based on the instrument panels of three mid-sized U.S. car models: 1995 Chevrolet Lumina, 1996 Dodge Intrepid and 1996 Ford Taurus. This “average IP” consisted of seventeen different materials and weighed over 22 kg (49 lbs.).</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A life cycle inventory analysis was conducted to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with materials production, manufacturing, use, and retirement. A thorough evaluation of solid waste production and energy consumption was completed and partial inventories of air emission and water effluent releases were also conducted. The distribution of these burdens across the life cycle stages is presented.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Multi-Criteria Matrices were used to identify and organize performance, environmental, legal, and cost requirements that influence the design and management of the IP system. This paper will demonstrate the conflicts that exist among the complex set of life cycle requirements for the IP and also highlight opportunities for environmental improvement of the IP.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Commercially available software tools are widely used to assist in conducting life cycle inventory, life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle impact analysis (LCIA), and design for the environment (DfE) studies. Five leading software tools, Boustead 4.2, GaBi 3.2, SimaPro 4.0, TEAM 3.0, and Toolkit, currently in use or under consideration by life cycle practitioners, were selected for testing, and a detailed evaluation scheme was used to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools for practical application in automotive life cycle studies.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A consensus numerical score for each of 20 separate test criteria was assigned to each of the software packages under evaluation, and the total scores compared. On the basis of these scores, the authors chose GaBi version 3.2 as the LCA software package currently best suited for use by experienced life cycle practitioners in conducting environmental life cycle assessments in the automotive industry. This choice is based on the professional experience and judgment of the authors and should not be construed as a blanket product endorsement or criticism of other commercial products, all of which possess useful features and may be further improved and upgraded at any time.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">GaBi was judged to be the best software tool, with TEAM a close second. This was due in part to the quality and suitability of their databases, frequency of updates, clarity and logic of LCA operations, and acceptance among the user community. The impact evaluation methods used in GaBi and TEAM were also sufficiently advanced and flexible for full life cycle assessment in automotive contexts. A limiting feature of all the software tools was the absence of features specifically pertaining to design for the environment (DfE) studies.</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The car manufacturing process benefits from a competition between different materials that have to fulfil such demands as lightweight, comfort and safety. For ecological and economical reasons low vehicle weights minimise the energy consumption necessary for transportation.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">High strength steels enable to lower body weight by reducing sheet thickness and increase car safety by excellent crash behaviour. A very important contribution to vehicle safety and value maintenance during the whole life cycle is the use of galvanised steel sheets to prevent corrosion and premature failure of crash relevant body components.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Up to date the high standards in corrosion protection and appearance of the exposed car body in the automotive industry are verified by extensive surface coating processes, applied to the body in white by batch processes. Continuous coil coating of galvanised sheet steel is an extremely efficient alternative to the currently used surface finishing processes. The range of possible coil-coating systems expands from spot weldable thin film coatings over EDP-replacements to complete body paints.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Thin film precoated, galvanised steel sheets are comparably or easier to process in terms of formability and weldability as well as adhesive joining than their uncoated counterparts. Furthermore they yield better application properties like enhanced corrosion protection, especially in cavities. This results in a possible elimination of secondary corrosion protection measures and leaner production processes. Thus, by avoiding, or shifting environmentally sensitive processes to the steel supplier it is possible to slim down the production efforts for high quality automotive vehicles.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Precoated steel sheets offer a high potential to optimise car production in terms of environmental aspects and economical benefits.</div>

<div class="section abstract"> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Data is information that has been recorded in a form or format convenient to move or process. It is important to distinguish between data and the format. The format is a structured way to record information, such as engineering drawings and other documents, software, pictures, maps, sound, and animation. Some formats are open source, others proprietary. Regardless of the format, there are three broad types of data. <span class="xref">Table 1</span> lists these types of data and provides examples.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">DM, from the perspective of this standard, consists of the disciplined processes and systems utilized to plan for, acquire, and provide management and oversight for product and product-related business data, consistent with requirements, throughout the product and data life cycles. Thus, this standard primarily addresses product data and the business data required for stakeholder collaboration extending through the supply chain during product acquisition and sustainment life cycle. This standard has broader application to business and transactional data recognizing the data addressed by this standard is subject to data administration, metadata management, records management, and other processes applied at the enterprise level.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Data has many purposes, including stating requirements, providing proof of achievement, and establishing a basis for long-term product support. Deliverable data (customer-accessible information) represents only a small fraction of the project data. In general, the developer/producer continues to own the intellectual property for a vast amount of design, development, fabrication, manufacturing and administrative data unless ownership has been transferred via contractual or other agreement. Further, the value of data is not limited to its use in support of a specific product: data may have a life cycle longer than that of the product it describes. For instance, data from previous projects forms part of the foundation for new product and process design. Data also supports the enterprise in process redesign and quality. Thus, data is essential to competitive position. An enterprise’s data, if not properly safeguarded, can also be misused by a competitor to the competitor’s advantage. For these reasons, data is an integral part of an enterprise’s intellectual assets and overall enterprise knowledge.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">The objective of the Project is to develop an optimized lead-acid battery solution for HEVs based on a novel, individual, spirally wound valve-regulated lead-acid 2V cell optimized for HEV use and low variability. This cell will be used as a building block for the development of a complete battery pack that is managed at the cell level. Following bench testing, this battery pack will be thoroughly evaluated by substituting it for the NiMH pack in a Honda Insight.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The paper covers the first half of the 3-year project and will describe work carried out in the following areas:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"> <ul class="list disc"> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Development of cell and battery testing facilities and identification of mechanisms causing cell lifetime scatter.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The design and development of the prototype double-ended cell.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The development of the battery pack specification and pack design.</div> </li> <li class="list-item"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The development of the battery management system.</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The paper will also give details of the test results obtained on the demonstration vehicle with its original NiMH battery. Arising from these tests, there will be discussion of the merits of bench testing with a cycle derived from ‘real vehicle’ data as compared with the PNGV or Eucar power assist life cycle tests.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Style changes and technological advances have led to reduced service life of current products as automobiles. These are among the goods that are constantly re-designed to meet our growing needs for improved products.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">However, these demands for new products and more modern has meant a great cost to our natural resources, such as excessive use of raw materials, water and energy during production, use and end of life cycle of these assets.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The increasing scarcity of land available for the proper disposal of waste in landfills, in addition to the high cost of implementing these areas and the increasing distances to urban centers imply the need to reduce solid waste generation, including here the automotive. The growth of the automotive market has created a serious problem due to the disposal of urban waste volumes generated, the great diversity of materials involved and their toxicity.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The objective of this study is to analyze the various constituent materials of the vehicle and its impact on the environment (<span class="xref">APPENDIX 1</span>). We will deal with some aspects of the project, construction, use and final disposal of automotive vehicles. We will understand how the decisions within the project to meet the performance requirements and vehicle safety may have an impact on the recyclability of motor vehicles.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">We are also going to discuss implications of the taxes and how they can encourage or obstruct sustainable practices. We will look at how the legislation must be improved to develop the automotive recycling industry. In the end, we will examine the current conditions present in the country for treatment of vehicles at the end of the cycle of life and identify the challenges, barriers and opportunities for the treatment of End of Life Vehicles (ELV) in Brazil.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">We will discuss the current disposal ELV in Brazil and how this impacts on the environment and natural resources.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In Micro hybrid, start-stop system automatically stop and start the engine to reduce the idling time of engine spend in traffic jams and signals, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Starter motors used in Micro hybrid (Start/Stop) application has 5~10 times more life cycles than compare to conventional starter because of need to starter in every idling time of engine. There are multiple components in starter motor have sliding contact (mechanical/electrical), rolling contact will inflict the life cycles of starter motor. Brush is one of the major sliding contact elements to inflict the life cycle of starter, brushes are commonly used to conduct current between the stationary and moving part of starter. Brushes are exposed both mechanical and electrical loading conditions. Brush wear is affected by the association of Mechanical wear and electrical wear. The mechanical wear inflicted by various factor including Material composition, material properties, Sliding speed, sliding distance, Contact force (Spring force) while the electrical wear inflicted by various factor including under/over commutation, Current density, contact resistance and also affected by environmental factors like humidity, temperature.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The main objective of this paper is to optimize the brush life of Metal (Copper) graphite brush for Micro hybrid (start/stop) applications starter motor by means of reducing brush wear through optimize the brush wear influential factors. Dynamically measure the brush wear rate in various conditions by sliding speed, contact force, current density. And also continuously measure the changes in brush length, temperature.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Studies have been made of the standardization of implementation procedures of the life cycle assessment (LCA), standardized as ISO14040 series, under the joint collaboration of industries, government agencies and universities.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A life cycle inventory (LCI) of motorcycles, cases of research of whose LCA are scarce, has been attempted by taking infrastructures of Japan into consideration.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Energy saving property “as mobility of motorcycles” was verified by building up a practical macro LCI method covering the stages of the life cycle of motorcycles.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Furthermore, in the development of aluminum die-cast frames for scooters, micro LCI was performed for manufacturing stages to quantify the environmental advantage of fully utilizing recycled materials and clarify problematical points in the design of new materials. This proved that LCA method is effective for the selection of optimum materials and optimum manufacturing plans.</div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Car makers are subject to a strong regulatory pressure to make the industry more environmentally sustainable. In this context, many research and industrial activities have been concentrated in the field of sustainability through the development of innovative materials, manufacturing technologies and production processes.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper presents a tailored framework for estimating the potential of lightweighting to mitigate the Global Warming Potential (GWP) impact within the automotive sector. The framework is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modelling of the use stage, and it is able to evaluate the effects of lightweight solutions in the application to a wide range of cars, both in terms of propulsion technologies (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles, ICEVs, and Battery Electric Vehicles, BEVs) and vehicle segments. In addition, the assessment framework can estimate the effect of different electricity grid mixes when modelling the production of energy consumed by BEVs. The added value of the method is the ability to estimate the use stage GWP through indicators which are ready-to-use in any practical case study: starting from the knowledge of component mass only, the operation phase is easily and immediately assessed, thus limiting the inventory modelling to the sole production and End-of-Life (EoL) steps. This way, the work of the LCA analyst is greatly facilitated, with notable savings in terms of time and personnel effort.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The framework is validated through the application to a practical case study from literature, which deals with different lightweight measures in the application to a series of automotive components. Results highlight the potentiality of the method to perform a detailed Life-Cycle (LC) analysis, as well as the ability to identify the most profitable application fields of innovative solutions.</div></div>

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The present work highlights a case-study that aims to determine the performance (power input/output) and battery temperature on in-house developed e-rickshaw battery pack. With the rise of e-rickshaws in Indian market, the demand for the batteries have also increased and being the largest state-run energy company of India, R&D Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has developed a chemically modified nanomaterial-based lead acid battery.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The lab scale experiments, which are not presented in the study due to confidentiality and intellectual property obligations, indicated that the nanomaterial doped lead acid battery pack performs better than the control (reference) and leading commercial batteries in terms of lifecycle, capacity etc. Subsequently, this paper highlights the performance with IOC R&D Centre manufactured 12V/100AH chemically modified (nanomaterial) lead acid battery pack for e-rickshaw on duty cycle developed indigenously based on the city driving experiences.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The candidate battery pack of e-rickshaw were duly subjected for evaluation in comparison with control batteries (conventional lead acid configuration) along with leading commercial batteries. The performance tests for the e-rickshaw were conducted on chassis dynamometer which followed in-house charge-discharge cycles and measurement of power input & output with a sophisticated measurement device i.e., power analyzer.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The nanomaterial impeded electroplates were made to enhance capacity and durability of lead acid battery and thereon the performance evaluation of e-rickshaws powered by nanomaterial-based control & commercial batteries were conducted in terms of Watt-hour (WH), Ampere-hour (AH), distance travelled per discharge cycle, durability & life cycle measurement by charging and discharging of batteries.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Further, discharge (energy dissipation) of batteries were done by in-house developed driving cycle on chassis dynamometer. The cumulative distance covered under the driving cycle by nanomaterial powered e-rickshaw has shown significant improvement than the control and commercial batteries. Furthermore, it is concluded that in terms of durability, nanomaterial-based battery pack is better compared to control and commercial batteries for the SoC and battery temperature which are key performance parameters.</div></div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Fulfilling the goal and scope of a life cycle inventory (LCI) requires hundreds of thousands of discrete data inputs to be consolidated into a useful form. The planning and execution of data collection activities is therefore a critical aspect of ensuring the quality of an LCI study.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper highlights how the members of The Aluminum Association and the Aluminum Association of Canada managed the data collection process for the United States Automotive Materials Partnership's Life Cycle Assessment Special Topics Group (USAMP/LCA). Overcoming the challenge of meeting the USAMP data quality requirements with inputs from over 200 reporting locations in nine countries on five continents is examined.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper is one of six SAE publications discussing the results and execution of the USCAR AMP Generic Vehicle LCI. The papers in this series are (Overview of results 982160, 982161, 982162, 982168, 982169, 982170).</div>

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper discusses in detail how data categories, data quality and allocation procedures were defined and implemented in the USAMP LCI analysis of a generic automobile. These data-related parameters are important for all LCI analyses but are especially important for the USAMP LCI analysis of a complete automobile. Whereas most LCI analyses have been conducted on relatively simple product systems consisting of a single material made with a single manufacturing process, the USAMP product system consists of a vast, interconnected array of dissimilar materials, products and manufacturing processes coupled with complex use, maintenance and disposition life cycle stages. As a result of this complexity, data is necessarily collected from an equally wide range of potentially incompatible sources.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">To achieve a coherent end result, it is imperative to not only define these data-related parameters but also to define them in terms that are applicable throughout the complex life cycle of an automobile. The sections on data quality and allocation procedures are segmented into the principal components of the generic vehicle LCI model, which includes raw material acquisition (steel, aluminum, plastics), part manufacturing and vehicle assembly, use of the automobile and the final end-of-life disposition. The details in these sections illustrate the challenges encountered in applying consistent data quality requirements and allocation procedures to a complex product system.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper is one of six SAE publications discussing the results and execution of the USCAR AMP Generic Vehicle LCI. The papers in this series are (Overview of results 982160, 982161, 982162, 982168, 982169, 982170).</div>