Hybrid Sliding Mode Control of Full-Car Semi-Active Suspension Systems

With the advance in technology in driving vehicles, there is currently more emphasis on developing advanced control systems for better road handling stability and ride comfort. However, one of the challenging problems in the design and implementation of intelligent suspension systems is that there is currently no solution supporting the export of generic suspension models and control components for integration into embedded Electronic Control Units (ECUs). This significantly limits the usage of embedded suspension components in automotive production code software as it requires very high efforts in implementation, manual testing, and fulfilling coding requirements. This paper introduces a new dynamic model of full-car suspension system with semi-active suspension behavior and provides a hybrid sliding mode approach for control of full-car suspension dynamics such that the road handling stability and ride comfort characteristics are ensured. The semi-active suspension model and the hybrid sliding mode controller are implemented as Functional Mock-Up Units (FMUs) conforming to the Functional Mock-Up Interface for embedded systems (eFMI) and are calibrated with a set experimental tests using a 1/5 Soben-car test bench. The methods and prototype implementation proposed in this paper allow both model and controller re-usability and provide a generic way of integrating models and control software into embedded ECUs.

The Rebranded NAFTA: Will the USMCA Achieve the Goals of the Trump Administration for North American Trade?

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (usmca) was the product of a renegotiation of the former North American Free Trade Agreement (nafta) that was intended by the Trump administration to “put America first.” This article analyzes the most important new provisions in the usmca that that administration believed would inhibit foreign investment in Mexico and reverse the offshoring of U.S. jobs. Some of the new provisions represent improvements over nafta, especially the limitations on investor-state dispute settlement and strengthened protections for labor rights. However, the new requirements for automobile production are likely to backfire by making North American automotive production more expensive and less competitive. On the whole, the formation of the usmca probably enhanced, rather than lessened, the confidence of foreign investors in the Mexican economy. However, the agreement is unlikely to bring about large gains in U.S. manufacturing employment or to boost the long-run growth of the Mexican economy.

USE OF VIBRODIAGNOSTICS TO PREDICT PHENOMENA IN SERIAL AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION

The paper discusses the use of vibrodiagnostics in automotive production. Describes the Fast Fourier Transformation and its importance in evaluating the measured values. It focuses on the process of honing the toothing of shafts used in series-produced gearboxes. Describes 3 different states of amplitude with consideration to the set limit. In the first state, all production criteria are met. In the second state, the limit is exceeded and the specific error and its impact on the continuation of production are described. The third state describes the extreme crossing of the limit and the consequences for this state. Finally, the importance and practicality of the method for predicting production conditions are summarized.

Multi-objective optimization of energy-efficient production schedules using genetic algorithms

The optimization of production schedules to be more energy efficient while still meeting production goals is a difficult task: How to schedule and distribute production tasks to meet production goals, while making best use of fluctuating energy market prices and availability of locally installed energy sources? Although a large body of related work exists in this domain, most of those seem to focus on individual aspects and not the whole picture. In this paper, a genetic algorithm for optimization of production schedules with respect to energy consumption, peak shaving, and makespan is presented, that also takes into account that tasks can be performed in different ways, having different characteristics. The algorithm has been successfully employed within the SPEAR project by applying it for optimization of an automotive production line and for the pathway of an automated guided vehicle.

UWB and MEMS IMU Integrated Positioning Algorithm for a Work-Tool Tracking System

In this paper, we address a system that can accurately locate and monitor work tools in a complex assembly process, such as automotive production. Our positioning monitoring system is positioned by a combined sensor of the UWB module and the MEMS IMU (inertial measuring unit) sensor based on the extended Kalman filter. The MEMS IMU sensor provides the positioning calibration information. The proposed method incorporates IMU and UWB positioning to compensate for errors that can only occur in UWB positioning through the extended Kalman filter (EKT). This EKT is improved by the error dynamic equation derived from the sparse state-space matrix. Also, the proposed method computes the transmission time and distance between the tag and anchor of the UWB module by the TWR (two-way range) system. The tag of a mobile node, which is attached to a moving tool, measures the position of the work tool and transmits the position coordinate data to the anchor. Here, the proposed method uses the trilateration localization method by the confidence distance compensation to prevent the distance error by obstacles and changes in the indoor environment. Experimental results verified that the proposed method confirms whether a specific tool is accurately used according to the prescribed regulations and has more positioning accuracy than the conventional methods.

Contorting transformations: Uneven impacts of the U.S.–Mexico automotive industrial complex

Contrary to the triumphalist rhetoric that describes the automotive industry as a lever for both regional development in North America and industrial upgrading in Mexico, this article argues that the formation of the Mexico–U.S. automotive complex has instead been consolidated on the basis of longstanding processes of uneven regional development. To make this argument, the paper examines how global economic restructuring, trade policies, domestic economic development processes, transnational firm decision making and the maintenance of the geopolitical border have reproduced extreme wage differences between the United States and Mexico, resulting in the creation of a regional automotive sector that is both highly integrated and highly unequal. In this scenario, both nations are home to profoundly different industrial landscapes: the U.S. hosts the highest value-added links of the production chain, monopolizing processes of innovation and scientific and technological knowledge production, while in contrast, Mexico manufactures the most labour intense and lowest value-added links of the automotive production chain. From this perspective, the Mexican economy can be essentially understood as an export manufacturing platform which derives its ‘competitiveness’ from the aggressive industry maintenance of low wages.

REVIEW ON PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURFACE INSPECTION IN AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION

When purchasing a premium car for a substantial sum, first impressions count. Key to that first impression is a flawless exterior appearance, something self-explanatory for the customer, but a far greater challenge for production than one might initially assume. Fortunately, photogrammetric technologies and evaluation methods are enabling an ever greater degree of oversight in the form of comprehensive quality data at different automotive production stages, namely stamping, welding, painting and finishing. A drawback lies in the challenging production environment, which complicates inline integratability of certain technologies. In recent years, machine vision and deep learning have been applied to photogrammetric surface inspection with ever increasing success. Given comprehensive surface quality information throughout the entire production chain, production parameters can be dialed in ever tighter in a data-driven fashion, leading to a sustainable increase in quality. This paper provides a review of current and potential contributions of photogrammetry to this end, discussing several recent advances in research along the way. Particular emphasis will be placed on early production stages, as well as the application of machine vision and deep learning to this challenging task. An outline for further research conducted by the authors will conclude this paper.

Superstructure of ISO/TS 16949 for the Measurement of Material-Technological Parameters of the Products in Automotive Production

The paper is aimed at measuring innovation and qualification of technological operations in automotive production within the quality management system. Quality requirements according to ISO/TS 16949 promote a process approach for the design and development, production, installation and servicing of automotive products, which can result in increased quality, reduced variation and increase of efficiency. The solution focuses on the process of approval of parts in series production (Production Part Approval Process – PPAP). The PPAP purpose is to determine whether an organization properly understood all customer requirements listed in the specifications and records of the technical design of the product. PPAP further verifies that the process has the potential to produce a product in series production so that customer requirements will be met, in actual production volume and at the agreed rate of production. Specifically, a toothed winch of hydroelectric generator is solved by the case study.

Light duty automotive duplex drum brake squeal analysis using the finite element method

The brake system creation is an important achievement for automotive production. However there is a secondary response of this system, its noise emission. Brake noise researches started in 1920’s and since then several causes were identified. In addition, many kinds of noises, their frequency range and characteristics were detected. Between these, the squeal is the noise that most concerns the automotive industry by reason of high warranty costs and environmental impact. The squeal noise occurs as a result of three mechanisms that are the stick-slip, the sprag-slip and the modal coupling and these are connected to material parameters of the brake components. This paper proposes a correlation between material and stability parameters of a light duty automotive duplex drum brake to indicate the influence of this on brake squeal. The results suggest that friction coefficient is the most influential parameter and its restrain does make possible to maintain squeal level under emissions regulations.