It’s impossible to ignore the global semiconductor shortage has been in the news lately. And it probably won’t be going away any time soon. The impact on automakers, and ripple effect on their suppliers, is significant. A recent case in point is this June 30 article on production slowdowns at Ford plants:
“Automotive electronics, which may include everything from displays to in-car systems, are set to account for an estimated 45% of a car’s manufacturing cost by 2030, according to a Deloitte report,” reports this article from Bloomberg. Clearly a component in demand, semiconductors have expanded the driving experience immensely for consumers.
In part one of this blog series, we gave an overview of plating to accomplish a specific function, such as solderability, corrosion resistance, enhanced thermal or electrical conductivity, or appearance. Here we’ll dive a little deeper and examine two of the most common methods, and an alternative to plating that’s worth considering too.
Electric vehicles (EV) are on the move. According to McKinsey, “OEMs plan to launch around 400 new BEVs by 2025, with a strong focus on medium-sized and large vehicles.” And numbers from Statista project that EV sales will grow from about 26 percent of all vehicle sales in 2030 to over 80 percent by 2050.
Progressive stamped parts sometimes require a top layer of material over the base metal to accomplish a specific function, such as solderability, corrosion resistance, enhanced thermal or electrical conductivity, or appearance. Electroplating is a common way to apply material and is often efficient and cost-effective. In this blog, we’ll look at how electroplating works, and in part two, we’ll focus more on two of the most common methods, plus an alternative to plating that’s worth considering too.
These days when it seems everything has gone digital, it’s easy to forget about all the mechanical components that are critical to electronics and batteries, especially in cars and trucks. Industry leaders, governments, and citizens all want to reduce carbon emissions and rely less on fossil fuels. At the same time, semi-autonomous and “smart” vehicles are gaining popularity for safety reasons, driver convenience, and e-mobility.
As with any commodity, metal prices are influenced by a number of factors: mining and production costs, supply chain factors, tariffs, and more. Here’s a quick look at what drives prices of the metals that go into stampings.
E-mobility and battery electric vehicles are a hot topic lately. According to a recent issue of Today’s eMobility, major automakers have announced or begun $11.6 billion in plant investments in 2020 to support electric vehicles (EVs). And then there’s GM’s recent announcement of their intention to eliminate tailpipe emissions from their new light-duty vehicles by 2035. And in daily life, battery-electric and hybrid vehicles seem to show up in more and more streets, parking lots, and garages around the world.
With the potential to turn the auto industry on its head, not to mention the countless suppliers, OEMs, vendors, and workers that support it, manufacturers need to look ahead and plan for the consequences. In the post, we’ll share our take on electric car basics and the implications for progressive die stamping.
Precision stampers use many types of metals, including aluminum alloys, brass alloys, copper, nickel, steel, stainless steel, silver, and bronze. How do you know which is the right material for each project? It has to do with a variety of mechanical and chemical properties that determine how a given metal will behave during stamping and in the finished product. Designers, engineers, and stampers need to work together to find the right balance between satisfying design intent and manufacturability of a part. Metal properties also impact the manufacturing process itself, including selecting the best tool steel, stamping oils, and plating or other finishing.
Some of the most important properties to consider are discussed listed below; however, there may be additional considerations depending on your specific application.
If you think back to the beginning of this year, almost nothing is the same as it used to be. There are countless examples in manufacturing and industry alone. One we recently experienced is a facility audit.
Initial certification and recertification audits are generally conducted by an independent auditor who visits the facility to review documentation, observe production, and interview employees; however, in-person visits have been sharply curtailed during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to technology, manufacturers and auditors have been able to continue the audit process. We’ll also share our insights from a recent virtual audit at our Texas facility.