Increasing the Environmental Sustainability of an Over-Injection Line for the Automotive Component Industry

Thermoplastic injection is currently employed in different industrial fields. This process has significantly evolved over the years, and injection machine manufacturers are continuously forced to innovate, to improve the energetic efficiency, aiming to reduce costs, improve competitiveness, and promote environmental sustainability. This work focuses on the development of a novel, profitable, and environmentally friendly plastic over-injection equipment of small metallic parts for the automotive industry, to be applied in a bowden cable production line, to cover the zamak terminations with plastic, or produce terminations entirely made of plastic. The work is based on an over-sized existing solution. The operating parameters required for the work are quantified, and all machine parts are designed separately to achieve the required functionality. Known approaches are finally used to perform the cost analysis, calculate the return on investment (ROI), and energetic efficiency, to substantiate the replacement of the current solution. The new equipment was able to increase the energetic efficiency of the current assembly line while keeping the required injection rates. An efficient and sustainable solution was presented, with a ROI of 1.2 years over the current solution. The proposed design is also applicable to different automated production lines that require this technology. Nowadays, this concept can be extended to all fields of industry that employ injection molding in their processes, enabling to integrate new manufacturing systems, and increasing energetic efficiency while reducing production costs.

Investigations on the oxidation of Zn-coated steel cables

The automotive component industry has been constantly being studying to improve its performance. Bowden cables are present in opening doors, moving windows and others. In braided cables formed by galvanized wires with Zn steel exposed to the usual environmental conditions, the generation of ZnO appears, a phenomenon known as "white corrosion". The investigation consisted of mitigating the causes of the ZnO formation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA) technology, allowed to detect that the generation of ZnO was induced by the presence of nucleating elements of ZnO on the surface of the steel cable before galvanizing with Zn. The S, Cl and O became visible in the interface between coating and substrate. This allowed concluding, under the coating, there were harmful products capable of triggering the ZnO nucleation reaction. So, the storage and cleaning of the steel wire before galvanizing is essential to prevent the ZnO formation.

PREDICTION OF FINANCIAL DISTRESS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY: AN APPLICATION OF ALTMAN, SPRINGATE, OHLSON, AND ZMIJEWSKI MODELS

This study aims to identify and examine the condition of financial distress in the automotive component industry issuers in the period 2014 ~ 2018, using the Altman Z-score, Springate S-score, Ohlson O-score, and Zmijewski X-score against financial ratios as an analysis form of company management to predict the early warnings of company bankruptcy. This study uses quantitative, secondary, and panel data; while the sample uses a non-probability boring sampling technique of 11 companies. The results showed that these four models can predict financial distress by identifying each model. Altman’s model found 8 distress zone points, 16 grey zone points, and 31 safe zone points. Springate’s model found 37 points in the distress zone, and 18 points in the safe zone. Ohlson's model found 3 points in the distress zone, and 52 points in the safe zone. Zmijewski's model found only 1 point in the distress zone

A Proposed Supply Chain Model of Blockchain Technology-Based in Automotive Component Industry

The automotive industry has rapidly developed and overrun the market for the last decade. In this context, automotive components or parts are essential factors to manufacture automotive products. Undoubtedly, the supplier that provides the automotive components or inbound logistics becomes a critical party of Supply Chain Management activity. In this frame, the failure of inbound logistics potentially creates a severe implication to the automotive industry in terms of the financial effects, company image to damage the customer. Arguably, the supplier activities encompass the continuity of automotive components delivery, on-time delivery schedule, supplier and customer relationship maintenance, and financial operation. In this point, the problem identifies the distribution of automotive components and stock maintenance. Therefore, this qualitative research is essential to explore a proposed Blockchain Technology model in Supply Chain Management (BlcSCM), especially in the automotive component industry. On that basis, design science research methodology facilitates to create a proposed model, Leavitt Diamond. In this model, the essential factors (people, process, technology, and organization) merges with supply chain management. Finally, it refers to the Blockchain Technology model in Supply Chain Management.

Vendor Behaviour in Automotive Component Industry

Indian automobile Industry is budding in a higher pace with a sharp hike of 18.3% when compared with the previous year in the global record. It has both organised and unorganised sectors, Recent reviews of Automotive component Manufactures Association of India, it is expected to project its auto components’ revenue of 100 billion USD on 2020 and extrapolated report forecasts its inclination on exports by about 100 billion USD on 2026. This volatile market in the globalizing world is opening up many unsought segments for the logistics and supply chain business, particularly though it crafts a move on the road to advanced electronic car segments, which are estimated more proficient, safe and unswerving means of transportation. It is anticipated that there would be a paradigm shift, this would prime to innovative verticals and fortuitous for automobile component manufacturers for driving to the change via methodical research and development. Hence it is predominant to cater the study on vendor behavior to examine the factors influencing them to demand. Thus, this study mainly to determine the customers’ priority in selecting the Mecaplast products regarding Quality, Price, customer care services.