CFRP & Plastlcs

www.autotechreview.com July 2013 | Volume 2 | Issue 7 NOW, ALSO AVAILABLE ON It’s on 14 INTERVIEW Mahesh Dadlani, CEO, Auto Components SBU, Continental Engines Ltd 18 TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT Future Prospects of Carbon-Fibre for Automotive Applications 60 NEW VEHICLE Mercedes-Benz A-Class — Marking A Shift CFRP & PLASTICS — LIGHTER & CLEANER FUTURE POWERED BY Complete solutions in precision metallic coil springs I N S T Compression Springs T U T Static and Dynamic E of These are coiled helical SP RING TECHNOLOGY springs made from spring steel wire, that can resist compressive load. Extension Springs 1. Suspension Springs - These are normally close Torsion Springs Front Fork & Shock coil springs of circular These resist an applied Wire Forms Absorber cross sections, with the torque when the ends are These are made on forming 2. Engine Valve Springs end usually a hook or subjected to angular machines, in different shapes, 3. Clutch Springs loop, used in computers, displacement, used in adaptable to required 4. Rebound Springs brakes, etc. transmission, etc. applications. Seat Belt Springs Used for operation of Seat Belts of 4-Wheelers, made out of textured rolled hardened and tempered high carbon steel strips in various sizes. A to Z product range as per Customer’s designs, applications, sizes and Internationals standards Regd. Office & Works Manufacturing Unit-II Plot No. 192 A, Sector-4, E-56, Industrial Area, Haridwar-249 401 IMT Manesar-122050 Gurgaon, Haryana, India Uttarakhand, India Tel.: +91-124-4763200 Fax: +91-124-4365189 Tel.: +91-1334-221301 Fax: +91-1334-220128 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail : [email protected] ISO 9001 EDITORIAL FUTURE OF PLASTICS Dear Reader, Amid the gloom surrounding falling vehicle sales in the country, came the launch of one of India’s most anticipated vehicles – the Ford EcoSport. How much of that anticipation trans- lates into effective sales is still to be seen, but by the looks of it, Ford’s latest bet seems set to boost SUV sales, even at the cost of many compact offerings. This issue, though, we focus on plastics and carbon-fibre reinforced plastics. Plastics continue to replace metals in modern automobiles in an effort to reduce weight and render vehicles more eco-friendly. In the moulding process, plastics even consume less energy com- pared to aluminium, for instance. And they are recyclable. One estimate suggests that the automotive sector consumes about 7 % of the total plastics used in the world, and the de- mand is ever increasing. Researchers are working on polypropylene and metal hybrids, and there are examples of low temperature resistant polycarbonate-silicon blend for airbags. Yet another example is bioplastics that is derived entirely out of natural materials. French major Faurecia plans to de- velop a full range of bioplastics for automotive interiors that promises to see mass accept- ance by 2020. The roadmap is clearly towards replacing petroleum-based plastics with ones derived from natural resources. Let’s get back to the EcoSport. Engineers at Ford developed a solution to curb the whining produced by the turbocharger used in the EcoBoost engine. An injection-moulded plastic resonator did the job – not just in cutting out the sound, but also in terms of offering bet- ter packaging. Plastic Omnium, another French company, has been in the forefront of making plastic fuel tanks, with notable business in India. An Indian supplier of engineer- ing plastics, Injectoplast too has been innovating in the area of plastics. There is little doubt about the role plastics would play in the automotive hardware sector. As demands for cleaner, safer, lighter and more energy efficient vehicles grow, engineers would continue to find newer solutions. Plastic, and its growing range of options, is consid- ered the material of the future. And it is not without reason. From engine compartment to interiors and exteriors, plastics look set for innumerable new alternatives in years to come. DEEPANGSHU DEV SARMAH Editor-in-Chief New Delhi, July 2013 @deepangshu autotechreview.com July 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 7 1 COVER STORY CFRP & PLASTICS — LIGHTER & CLEANER FUTURE 26, 30, 34 | The push for lighter vehicles is putting huge pressure on companies to experiment with new materials. Carbon-fibre has emerged as a promising material owing to its weight and strength properties. It’s usage, however, remains limited due to high cost, making it suitable for some areas but not the entire vehicle. In this issue, Auto Tech Review takes a look at the production and usage technologies of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) and plastics in general. GUEST COMMENTARY 12 Carbon Mapping An Essential Tool for Auto Industry Shankar M Ranganathan, Purchase Manager, Decorative Paints, India & South Asia, AkzoNobel INTERVIEW 14 “Indigenous Development is our Next Goal” Mahesh Dadlani, CEO, Auto Components SBU, Continental Engines Ltd 2 CONTENTS NEWS COVER Story SHOPFLOOR 4 Interactions 26 ‘PEEK’ Polymers for Efficient 56 Tata Motors — Chasing New Horizons 10 News Transmissions Carolin Butz, Jürgen Reinert TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT NEW VEHICLE 30 Simulation in CFRP Industrialisation 18 Future Prospects of Carbon-Fibre Joachim Bauer 60 Mercedes-Benz A-Class — for Automotive Applications Marking A Shift Suresh Babu Muttana, Arghya Sardar 34 Rapid-Curing Adhesives for CFRPs Rainer Kohlstrung, Manfred Rein DECODING TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY 64 Sync: Ford’s Connectivity Platform 40 Aluminium Connecting Rods for Car Engines OTHERS Jambolka Brauner, Rolf Leiber, Ulrich Philipp, Benjamin Burger 01 Editorial 03 Imprint 46 Continental Gives Peek into our Automotive Future 50 Nissan India Betting on CVT Across Segments 54 Motion ‘MEMS’ and Its Emerging Automotive Applications Vishal Goyal FOLLOW US ON @autotechreview1 COVER FIGURE © Volkswagen L1 Concept IMPRINT Editorial & Business Office: Editor-in-Chief: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah Publisher & Managing Director: Springer India Pvt Ltd [email protected] / @deepangshu Sanjiv Goswami 7th Floor | Vijaya Building | 17, Barakhamba Road Principal Correspondent: Arpit Mahendra For Editorial Contribution, write to the Editor-in-Chief at New Delhi – 110001 | India [email protected] / @arpitmahendra3 [email protected] + 91 11 4575 5888 (P) | +91 11 4575 5889 (F) Senior Correspondent: Naveen Arul (Bangalore) For Advertisements, write to Deputy Manager – Ad Sales at Auto Tech Review (ATR) is a monthly magazine focussed on automotive technology, and appears 12 times a year. 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[email protected] [email protected] ©2013, Auto Tech Review autotechreview July 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 7 3 INTERACTION APOLLO, TATA MOTORS APOLLO TYRES | COOPER ACQUISITION FUELS GLOBAL AMBITIONS By the end of the last month, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s share price fell nearly 40 % from the levels it was trading on June 12, 2013. The company’s decision to acquire US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, which meant it had to raise fresh debt to fund its ` 14,500 cr ($ 2.5 bn) acquisition, was met with caution by investors. What was one of India’s biggest global acquisitions was met with tepid market response. Two days later, in an interaction with the media, the Apollo Tyres management tried to allay all apprehensions. Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres reiterated that the acquisition was a de-risking strategy for the company – a move that would give Apollo access to two of the largest automotive markets globally – the United States and China. Explaining the rationale, Kanwar said the company now acquires a low-cost footprint close to the most important global end-markets, in ad- dition to a set of complementary products and sale. Apollo meanwhile, will retain the Durban APOLLO TYRES (POST COOPER ACQUISITION) brands. Moreover, the acquisition helps Apollo plant that manufactures truck & bus radial tyres Combined Sales (proforma) $ 6.6 bn reduce its dependence on one market (read India) and off-highway tyres used in the mining and EBITDA (proforma) $ 794 mn and become a diversified global tyre company. construction industries. Margin 12% The Cooper acquisition makes strategic sense No of Plants 14 COMBINATION BENEFITS for the Indian tyre behemoth from a market acces- Tyre Capacity 80 mn sibility perspective. Both companies have almost Global Position 7 But first, details of the deal: the terms of agree- no geographic overlap, leaving immense potential ment promise Cooper stockholders $ 35 per share for growth. The combined company will be unique- in cash for the acquisition that is expected to be ly positioned to address large, established service around $ 450 mn. completed within the second half of 2013. The markets, such as the United States and the Euro- Additionally, the proceeds of around $ 40-50 closure of the deal will see Cooper becoming a pean Union, as well as the fast-growing markets mn from the South African sale would also go privately held company. of India, China, Africa, and Latin America where towards reducing the debt. “The banks have fully The combined entity will result in Apollo Tyres there is significant potential for further growth, underwritten the amount. The interest coverage becoming the seventh largest tyre company in the Kanwar said.

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