ASSEMBLY recently asked Joel Hoffmann, strategic market development manager of Intel’s Automotive Solutions Div., to discuss current trends affecting the automotive electronics sector.
The Integrated Design and Engineering Environment system analyzes the functional requirements of a product and identifies appropriate materials at an early stage of the development process.
Automakers are often the driving force behind the latest product and process innovations in assembly. Case in point: European automakers have been using flow drilling screws since 1996 to assemble body panels and chassis made of aluminum and thin materials-which continue to gain favor to make cars lighter.
Today, just about every square inch of a typical automobile is crammed full of electronic components. Microprocessors, sensors, connectors and other increasingly smaller and more robust devices are inside doors, under seats, behind dashboards, inside tires and under hoods.
JR Manufacturing Inc. has a simple and effective strategy: Improve efficiency by replacing menial labor with robotic automation. Greater efficiency means in-creased competitiveness, which leads to growth. The formula has worked well thus far.
