- Near zero landfill, for both current fleet and future vehicles, to comply with legislative targets and demands for greater social responsibility, reduce costs and to develop additional revenue streams from recycled materials. Challenges include the development of recycling technologies, establishing economically viable recycling systems with sufficient volumes of similar materials, and the identification of applications for re-use or energy conversion. System scenarios need to be developed to understand how these goals can be achieved. Design of components for re-use and design of vehicles for dismantling are particularly important.
- Customer informed design, to ensure that the diverse needs of customers can be met at an affordable price. The primary challenge is how to understand customer needs better (especially future and unarticulated needs) and associated requirements in terms of cost.
- Routes to sustainable manufacture, to reduce energy and material consumption, and to reduce emissions of pollution. Challenges include lack of knowledge and appropriate metrics for existing manufacturing systems (including supply chain) and the lack of effective strategies and methods for migrating to more sustainable production systems.
- Low investment manufacture, to improve flexibility. Challenges include how to improve reconfigurability, accommodate late design changes, reduce tooling costs and eliminate the need for the paint shop. Example technologies include rapid direct tooling, high speed hard machining and elimination of the paint shop (protection as well as cosmetic).
- Electronic data exchange for design, analysis, manufacture, test and field, to improve quality, competitiveness and customer response. Challenges include standardisation, cost reduction and the necessary change in culture required for implementation of such systems. Example technologies include virtual reality and transfer of approaches from other industry sectors (aerospace and defence).
- Short delivery car, enabling late vehicle configuration by dealers. Challenges include how to enable assembly near market, changes to the supply chain, data exchange, modular vehicle architectures and inventory management.
- System integration (product, process, information and knowledge), to reduce lifecycle costs, improve quality, increase product variety, improve knowledge re-use and reduce time to market. Challenges include information security and protection of intellectual property, lack of appropriate metrics and analysis tools, migration and legacy issues, and effectiveness of cross boundary / collaborative teams. Knowledge based engineering continues to form the basis for advances in this theme. Example technologies include standards and protocols, safety and security systems, automated diagnostics, electronic and software design integration. |
The technologies covered by the DMaP Thematic Group will make a significant contribution to the following major drivers for the vehicle sector.
Environment
Re-use and recycling targets required by National, European and International legislation is driving a need for design with complete lifecycle management of materials and components. Development of designs for disassembly are required, as well as consideration of re-use opportunities with the attendant lifetime issues of components. Manufacturing processes need to be continued to be developed for new materials and structures which are compatible with the needs for environmental friendliness.
Economics
Low volume and fully flexible manufacturing systems are required, driven by manufacture to order with minimal inventory.
Customer Demand
For passenger cars, customers are demanding tailor made features leading to a great diversity of models and ranges, requiring fully flexible on-demand manufacture. Vehicles which can evolve and change configuration to meet changing fashion and lifestyle. |
