Electronics may be responsible for about 90 per cent of innovation in automobiles, but they also…

Electronics
may be responsible for about 90 per cent of innovation in automobiles, but they
also provide vehicle makers with their biggest challenge 3 keeping up with
innovation in consumer electronics. The success of Apple’s iPod was one such
challenge. Customers were asking how they could connect these tiny digital
music players to their cars’ audio systems. Computer-aided design (CAD) and
computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems have been standard for years, but
the latest developments in digital technology are revolutionising motor vehicle
design, manufacture, retailing and
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Electronics
may be responsible for about 90 per cent of innovation in automobiles, but they
also provide vehicle makers with their biggest challenge 3 keeping up with
innovation in consumer electronics. The success of Apple’s iPod was one such
challenge. Customers were asking how they could connect these tiny digital
music players to their cars’ audio systems. Computer-aided design (CAD) and
computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems have been standard for years, but
the latest developments in digital technology are revolutionising motor vehicle
design, manufacture, retailing and capabilities in ways that could only be
hinted at by earlier, simpler systems. The most popular CAD and CAM systems are
now well established and have become critical elements of product life-cycle
management software. PLM software includes CAD and CAM, tool design and manufacture,
digital manufacturing, supply chain management and workflow management. Primary
manufacturers and component suppliers are modelling products in three
dimensions using software before building physical prototypes. The ideal is to
have a single digital mock-up of the vehicle to be used as the ‘blueprint’ by
all suppliers. ‘If you have many subcontractors and they are all producing
prototype parts for your vehicle and you change an important part, how many
will be affected and have to go back and re-engineer their part’, he asks. ‘If
you can minimise that by using the digital model at the prototyping stage you
can reduce costs. As soon as you go to hard prototyping, things slow down and
costs rise.’ John Deere, the US maker of agricultural and other heavy
equipment, is experimenting, in conjunction with the Iowa State University,
with haptics, a technology that enables a user to ‘feel’ the experience of
assembling and disassembling heavy components. Users hold a kind of
motor-driven stylus, made by SensAble Technologies of Woburn, Massachusetts, in
each hand while looking at 3D images of the components on a computer screen.
When the two parts are put together, the user ‘feels’ the collision through the
stylii. The modern manufacturing line itself is significantly more flexible
than in the past, turning out a cabriolet one moment, a van the next. This
leads to complex logistics issues, as supplies of doors, wheels and other
components have to be ready to be fitted to the correct vehicle. Barcoded adhesive
labels are currently used to identify components but these can become dirty or
scratched. Instead, Powerlase, a UK company, uses solid state lasers to engrave
barcodes directly on to aluminium, and galvanised and stainless steel.
Technology is also having to reflect changes in the way dealers operate, as
they now tend to sell a variety of vehicles. Dealer management systems allow
buyers, when choosing a new car, to select options and accessories,
automatically register the vehicle and create a link to a finance company. It
will tell the buyer when the new car is to be delivered, help sell their old
vehicle back to the dealer and set the after-sales market process running.
Manufacturers have developed sensors for detecting dangerous pressure levels in
tyres and a dangerous lack of attention in the driver. A combination of global
positioning equipment and mobile radio enables cars to be tracked and charged
for their use of the roads. KPIT Cummins designs software that automatically
reduces speeds on wet roads and controls the oil inflow and level of emissions.
NXP is developing the ignition key of tomorrow, whose chief advantage will be
to tell drivers, via a tiny screen, if their cars are locked once they are in
the supermarket.

QUESTIONS

1. How would
you categorise the key benefits of using electronic-related innovations in car
manufacturing?

2.
Considering each of the categories in turn, investigate further some of the
developments described in this case study. To what extent does each development
benefit (a) the manufacturer and (b) the manufacturer’s suppliers, and (c) the
end customer.

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