Vehicle manufacturers are exploring the use of aluminum, high-strength steel, magnesium, carbon-fiber composites, and other lightweight materials to reduce vehicle mass and improve fuel economy. This approach requires new adhesive chemistries that will mitigate corrosion and thermal expansion issues associated with joining dissimilar materials. PPG was selected for a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) partnership, […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is providing nearly $1.2 million for four new projects to support American steel and aluminum manufacturers in improving energy efficiency, increasing productivity, and accelerating manufacturing innovation. Among the projects to be funded is Alcoa’s “Large Eddy Simulation to Improve Cell Design,” […]
Magnesium is 75% lighter than steel and 33% lighter than aluminum. As the lightest of all structural metals, magnesium has a lot of potential for lightweighting cars and trucks in the aim of improving fuel economy. However, auto makers have been challenged in their attempts to incorporate magnesium alloys into structural car parts. The Department […]
Magna International Inc. — in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and partners Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) US and Grupo Antolin — developed a new, ultralight door architecture that achieves 42.5% mass savings compared to an average current production door. The door-in-white assembly makes extensive use of aluminum, which achieves approximately half of the total […]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers partnered with industry partners and university students to design and produce the world’s first 3D-printed excavator as part of Project Additive Manufactured Excavator (AME), which will focus on using metal additive manufacturing to develop heavy construction machinery. The prototype will leverage large-scale additive manufacturing technologies and explore the feasibility of printing with metal […]
The Office of Energy and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), posted a draft of its Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) for public feedback and comment. This MYPP is intended for use as a guide for AMO, as well as a resource to help communicate its priorities to […]
Joining aluminum and carbon fiber composites for lightweight cars and other multi-material high-end products could become less expensive and the joints more robust because of a new method that harnesses a laser’s power and precision. The process, developed by a team led by Adrian Sabau of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), […]
