Autonomous & Electric Mobility

1 week ago | assemblymag.com | Austin Weber

“We’re not just making incremental improvements,” says Steve Storck, Ph.D., chief scientist for additive manufacturing at APL. “We discovered processing conditions that pushed performance beyond what was thought possible. We’re finding entirely new ways to process these materials, unlocking capabilities that weren’t previously considered.”Storck and his colleagues are focusing their R&D efforts on Ti-6Al-4V, a titanium alloy known for its high strength and low weight.

2 weeks ago | assemblymag.com | Austin Weber

DETROIT—General Motors expects to invest $4 billion over the next two years at three U.S. assembly plants in Kansas, Michigan and Tennessee. Two of the facilities will produce both gas- and battery-powered vehicles. Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City is scheduled to begin building the Chevrolet Bolt by the end of this year. In addition, the facility is expected to assemble other small next-generation EVs in the near future. Beginning in mid-2027, it will also make the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUV.

2 weeks ago | assemblymag.com | Austin Weber

During the decades that followed, Chrysler became renowned for its engineering prowess. The company pioneered things such as automatic transmissions, hydraulic four-wheel brakes, streamlined bodies, supercharged engines and turbine power trains. And, along the way, it made everything from muscle cars to minivans, in addition to air conditioners, boats, rockets and tanks.

2 weeks ago | assemblymag.com | Austin Weber

PARIS—Renault Group is the latest automaker to express an interest in using humanoid robots for assembly line applications. The automaker has formed a strategic partnership with Wandercraft, a start-up company that has developed self-balancing exoskeletons and a bipedal machine called Calvin. The goal of the initiative is to develop a family of next-generation robots for use in Renault’s manufacturing operations.

3 weeks ago | assemblymag.com | Austin Weber

IndustriesAutonomous & Electric MobilityAutomotive AssemblyAssembly and TestingAV/EM NewsElectrification DETROIT—Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability at General Motors, recently visited the automaker’s Factory ZERO here to try his hand at assembling battery packs. The facility is GM’s flagship EV facility that assembles electric versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer and GMC Sierra.