Kettering University

Quality, safety, and profitability are among the top priorities for the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center. In order to maintain the standards of the facility during the launch of two new vehicle models, an existing process needed to be redesigned. Two operations (right and left sides) in the plant assembly process include aligning the knuckle on the hub assembly to the strut of the front suspension and securing its position with two nuts and two bolts. The force measured to accomplish this task using the existing method, and with the new vehicle models, is 45 pounds, while the ergonomic guideline is 32 pounds. This thesis presents the results of the investigation and implementation of a cost efficient assembly process that provides for proper alignment of the knuckle to the strut, while eliminating ergonomic concerns.

This thesis uses Ansys, a finite element modeling software, to perform a non-linear structural analysis of a modified flange/seal system. The flanges in this project were used as interconnects between superconducting RF cavities in a 1.3 GHz cryomodule. Fermi National Accelerator Lab is developing these cryomodules for the International Linear Collider (ILC). The proposed flange modification investigated in this thesis is the addition of slots. These slots will allow radial insertion of the bolts in the flanges and reduce the overall length of the 1.3 GHz cryomodule, and thus reduce the length of the ILC.

A continuing engineering task is how to maintain the competitiveness of the Saleen S7R in the face of growing and advancing competition. This work presents a proposal for a significant design change that would aid in maintaining and improving the competitive advantage of the S7R through a redesign of through-body aerodynamic components in the front of the automobile chassis. The proposal was devised through analytical means, including an analysis of competing designs, computer-model packaging analysis, and rudimentary wind tunnel testing.

A large amount of downtime on a single piece of equipment is cause for a close examination of the reasons for that downtime and a significant effort to minimize the downtime. If the cam machine's 9% downtime were improved, either by modifying its problem areas, or by replacing the machine, there is potential for $71,088 in savings every year.

A procedure to establish whether good or bad EMI-2?s are being sent back to Germany for recalibration does not exist at this time. Robert Bosch Corporation requested a procedure be created that would allow technicians to run the EMI-2 on a standard test bench with a calibration pump in order to determine the condition of this machine.

A prototype design for the upper roll pin in a 40 ton rotary press is presented and analyzed. The design incorportates the usage of epoxy-bonded strain gauges to detect load, which will replace the current load cell configuration. It also incorporates a larger bolt, one of the key components in the assembly. An engineering analysis presents findings on past failure, and also the viability of the proposed design.

A universal production cell, a collection of three machines, was designed and built to allow for the production of nylon tubing for fuel and fuel vapor systems. The machines were designed to conform to any size or construction of tubing with little or no additional tooling needed. The universal machines shaped, assembled, and tested any type of nylon tubing. The universal cell was designed, tested and proven successful within TG Fluid Systems's manufacturing environment.

Accelerator pedal design requirements and throttle mapping are not currently developed simultaneously at Nissan Technical Center N.A. A new process was developed to promote a more robust product as seen by the customer. The new process of development describes the methodology including testing with both subjective and objective data to determine the throttle mapping, accelerator pedal stroke and accelerator pedal force requirements. The results of the process were validated by expert evaluators and a customer clinic held in Torrance, California. It was confirmed that a more appealing product with concern to acceleration control can be achieved through the new development method.

An alternative chrome plating method that will produce a chrome-like finish for plastic parts that can be used on any type of material, is environmentally friendly, faster than current methods, and is more comparible to a painting process than a plating process.

An analytical method for determining bearing life in a high-speed centrifugal compressor. Also including methods for testing the analytical life.

An increase in orders of tooling for Gudel, Inc. press automation modules made a study necessary to determine if the components in the current tooling line were cost effective enough. A study of several clamps and loader tooling components was requested. To evaluate the cost effectiveness of the components, a cost comparison study was performed.

Analytical Process Systems has had increasing demands by customers to conform to ISO 9001:2000 standards. In addition, performances internally have also become varying to a point that there is no way of pinpointing the root causes. Analytical Process Systems can expect to further meet customer requirements and identify its problem areas by conforming to ISO standards.

Areas of the Fairfax Welder Water System are not recieving enough water water flow to properly cool the welding equipment. The system has incurred changes since it was first installed. A solution to the problem has been found and creates better water flow throughout the system.

As Dott Industries has grown from its start-up as custom plater of plastic automotive components in 1988 to its present size, minimal emphasis has been placed on their racking tools. The effects of this lack of importance has been seen over the past few years in many areas, including wasted production time, poor part quality, high scrap amounts, high tooling repair costs, and other essential fields. With the implementation of a system to control and follow these racking tools, Dott Industries will be able to save money, production time, and reduce scrap.

As costs in raw material increase, it is evident that there is a greater demand for powertrain remanufacturing facilities. To date, our companies experience has been limited when designing such facilities. With the use of guidelines and benchmarks, the design of a remanufacturing facility can be simplified and expedited. If these guidelines are used in the future, there would be a potential cost and time savings for our company and customer.

As you are well aware, in 2003 Ford required that all of its suppliers no longer supply parts containing or plated with hexavalent chromium and many other prohibitive substances as of January 2004. That deadline has since been pushed back to June 2005. They made this requirement, because of the End of Life (ELV) Directive. This was put into European law in October of 2000. Its purpose is to de-pollute all ELV prior to them being dismantled so that they can be properly recycled. This includes metal components such as clips and fasteners as well as non metal components like foams and rubber. Hex chrome seems to be the biggest problem of all prohibitive substances. Most metal components are plated with hex chrome, because of its ability to prevent corrosion and it is cheaper than many of the alternatives. It has also been discovered that hex chrome is hazardous to humans.

Automotive body hemming is a complex process in which there are numerous points at which problems may arise. As quality standards rise throughout the automotive industry, it is becoming increasingly important to control variation and identify defects occurring throughout all processes. Hemming processes have traditionally been difficult to control due to the numerous factors affecting quality as well as limited understanding of the process for many people. Because the automotive engineer has several methods to inspect hemmed panels, it is important for them to manage these tools effectively to maximize their quality. This thesis illustrates that though there are numerous quality defects specifically found in hemmed panels it is possible to control the areas which produce them to create a higher quality product. It is important to first provide general knowledge related to how the mechanics of the hemming operation functions. By providing this information, affected persons will have a clearer understanding of how to approach quality defects. Numerous inspection techniques are also available to the engineer, however, without proper understanding of how these tools work together in the process, the highest possible quality cannot be achieved.

Background LuK USA LLC lacked the fundamental knowledge of the torque loads on a one way clutch in a heavy duty diesel application. This lack of knowledge made it difficult to properly design a OWC to be durable and inexpensive. To understand the torque loads on the OWC, measurements had to be made in a vehicle. Results The torque loads were found to be lower than expected. The correlation between the loads in the vehicle and the loads the OWC is tested at showed that the parts were beings over tested and over designed. The testing requirements for the OWC need to be revised.

Background: Federal-Mogul Corporation currently supplies customers with low cost, small rubber cross section bolt isolators. They are used in current NVH cover application. The isolators are assembled with a bolt and a sleeve, and provide the load necessary for the NVH cover gasket to seal. Some customers are concerned with the performance of the rubber isolators in high temperature applications. These isolators lose a significant portion of their load due to the compression set of the rubber grommet due to high under hood temperature, which may cause the gasket to leak. Federal-Mogul was asked by one of its customers to investigate an alternative design that would address the above mentioned isolator issues. Isolator made of spring wire was chosen to be investigated. Federal-Mogul has never attempted to apply such a component in the automotive application, although commonly applies it the heavy-duty industry. The heavy-duty applications differ extremely from the automotive ones. They do not require same design parameters and they do not have to pass the same tests as automotive. Therefore, it was important to carefully analyze the spring bolt isolator design for automotive applications. Results: The outlined spring bolt isolator design performs identical functions ,as far as sealing, as the current rubber isolator. Further development is needed for NVH, packaging, and assembly.

Bearing assembly is a complex procedure that requires an in-depth understanding of component orientation and reaction. The current computer application that defines assembly is lacking in detail. Assembly can be analyzed using equations for stress and deflection of circular rings, but requires further analysis to understand high stresses encountered during the assembly process. With further analysis and more testing, a new application can be created to design single row radial contact ball bearings.

Blackhawk Automotive Plastics' current method of hand rough-cutting parts is impractical. Hand rough-cutting can lead to high scrap rates and cause production problems. Switching over to a cutting method of using steel rule dies in punch presses and in the inline vacuum-former with integrated cutting station will produce better quality parts. Steel rule dies will rough-cut parts consistently and uniformly unlike the current method of hand rough-cutting.

Blank scrap rejection rates are high at GM Mansfield on TP-11 and TP-12 and in need of reduction. In particular purchased laser-welded blanks result in large inventory costs when they are scrapped due to their purchase price of approximately $19.00 per blank. This thesis investigates and proposes an improved blank reject scrap accounting system, as well as investigates reasons for high blank rejection rates on the two focus presses.

Calibration methods for the polyurethane foam used in crash testing for FMVSS 213.

Characterization of vehicle body structures is costly and time-consuming for individual automotive original equipment manufacturers to achieve. LMS is particularly adept at acquiring these measurements. As part of a strategy for new business, a technician collects benchmark data to populate a sample database and processes the data acquired into relevant metrics in the automotive field. Using this hard data, LMS hopes to achieve a consortium between automotive manufacturers and LMS.

Consistently high scrap rates in the 245mm High Volume department has lead to an increase in production cost. For many years there was no standard quality control system in the department. Quality improvements could be made with the implementation of a quality tracking system. The system would provide the information needed to resolve major quality issues. Improving the department's first time quality would lead to substantial cost savings.

Continuous issues with inefficiency concerning the hand brake have decreased repeatability and slowed production. For a year our hand brake has been inadequate for the production speed with the amount of parts that need to be bent. Automation is feasible with electrical and electro-mechanical equipment at a reasonable price. If automation of the bender is accomplished, the company will save roughly $20,000 per year on labor costs and increase production significantly.

Cruise and redundant control (ex: radio and climate control) switches are a mid-to-upper level option on most currently produced vehicles. These switches are commonly mounted on the steering wheel for easy access by the driver. The switches consist of electrical and mechanical mechanisms, and a class "A" surface. Extensive tests pertaining to their frequent use, exposure to wearing material and chemicals, and close proximity to the driver air bag are required. All of these requirements add cost, resulting in the switches as the single most expensive component in the overall steering wheel. The TRW Occupant Safety Systems Value Management Steering Wheel team recently concentrated their efforts on analyzing steering wheel switches in order to understand the current design variations. Once this was completed, new and alternative designs for the electrical and mechanical mechanisms in the steering wheel switches were investigated and analyzed. Finally, a cost analysis was performed to determine which switch make-up led to the lowest cost switch in today's market, as well as the future's market for developing technologies.

Currently a dynamometer is used to generate the rear park brake lever load and travel values that brake suppliers use to calculate how much load and travel it will take a certain vehicle to hold on a specific grade hill. These requirements are then given to Dura Automotive Systems Inc. to calculate the park brake system requirements. Typically, numbers produced by the dynamometer (static movement) do not correlate with the vehicle numbers (dynamic movement). The primary purpose of this Thesis is to develop a test procedure that will produce test stand data (static data) that correlates to vehicle data (dynamic data).

Currently mold operators at Trelleborg Automotive Sandusky Division use two separate devises to load and unload molded parts from the mold. One is a swinging device that loads that must be loaded by the operator before laoding the mold and the other is a fork like device that requires the operator to unload each row of the molded parts manually. With some simple design changes a new device can be produced that will allow the operators to use a single device to unload all the molded parts at once and load the component parts. The new design would reduce the stress on the operators and reduce the time per cycle an estimated 20 seconds.

DaimlerChrysler is unsatisfied with results of current tooling for the 3.5 liter camshaft bore operation. TruLine offers a solution in the form of composite tooling. Due to advantageous properties of composite, cutting edge preparation, and polycrystalline diamond selection, TruLine produces a superior part. A full test is in process, and its completion is recommended. Mahar should claim cost savings from this project and look for additional applications for TruLine's composite tooling.

Dampener track placement is vital to vibration dampening and mirror glass image stability. This thesis covers the affects of changing the number and location of dampeners radially around the glass center of pivot and the affect of altering the distance from the glass center of pivot.

Design and build a gage for a customer of ESE, L.L.C. that will inspect the features of a rear upper control arm. The gage must omply with the gaging standards of ESE, L.L.C. as well as those of the customer. The gage must be a stand-alone unit that is capable of being incorporated into a larget assembly station.

Design engineers continually spend time creating their own individual design tools to aid them in various designs they encounter. Designing an oil pressure actuated variable camshaft timing component often requires many of these tools to be created, wasting company labor through having to create these tools repeatedly. A design tool was created to negate this need, save company time, as well as standardize the design process.

Design of an independent rear suspension system for 1967-1970 Mustangs. The system must require no welding by the installer. The system must also allow for removal of the differential without removing the cradle.

Determining the most efficient components of a compressed air system by determining compressor size, receiver size, location, piping and handling leaks.

Difficulty in testing shoulder injuries has created a desire for new test methods. The technical advances in vibration recording equipment have introduced a new possibility for testing the shoulder, vibroarthrography (VAG). Before VAG testing can be implemented a simple and effective test procedure, including methods to reduce data noise/error and equipment specifications, needs to be developed. Using current vibration sensor technology and controlled test methods, a low level of signal noise can be achieved and the advances in data acquisition allow more accurate digitization of the signals.

Down time and excess time spent looking for tools costs GM millions of dollars annually. This is no exception at GMPT Parma. A full crib consolidation would reduce the amount of down time resulting in saving more money. The consolidation will be pretty straight forward and will result in a better crib system.

During a sample vehicle's operation, an interior acoustic boom and increased vibration levels are experienced during part load acceleration when the torque converter is locked at approximately 2500 engine rpm. During this specific driving condition, the acoustic boom, as well as increased passenger compartment floor vibrations, was suspected to be caused by a resonance in the rear leaf spring suspension system. A modal and operating deflection shape analysis was performed on the leaf spring system to characterize the shapes. After numerous rounds of analysis, it was determined that the leaf spring system is linear during static conditions and becomes nonlinear during operation, complicating countermeasure applications. Therefore, the modal analysis and ODS comparison cannot be used to fully analyze this system.

During the spring of 2006, the 4L80 case center support rough cut turning machine operator noticed that case center supports which were shot blast after heat treat and before being shipped to GM resulted in a longer tool life on a problematic insert than was previously achieved. This thesis investigates whether the increase in tool life is repeatable and if so, what physical properties correspond with the increase in tool life. Three tool life tests comparing production to shot blast case center supports were performed, two on the plant floor, one at an outside job shop, as well as material tests for residual stress, surface hardness, and surface roughness. The third tool life test proved that the addition of a post-heat treat shot blast cycle to the case center support manufacturing process resulted in an increased tool life of 249 versus 138 case center supports per insert, comparable to the results from the first test, as well as increased dimensional accuracy measured at gage points during testing. Material testing displayed greatly increased compressive residual stress and hardness in the surface of the shot blast case center supports. As a result of these tests, the addition of a post-heat treat shot blast procedure to production manufacturing processes of grey cast iron transmission components may be considered as a way to extend the tool life of silicon nitride inserts used to perform rough cut turning operations.

During this project, a test fixture that will house the pressure transducers and temperature thermo-couple will be brainstormed, developed and manufactured. This fixture will be the interface between the oil filter mounting surface on the vehicle and an actual oil filter or a universal filter. A data-logging computer program must also be selected and mastered in order to test and calibrate the overall system. Once the system is complete, it will be connected to an oil flow test stand and pressure data will be recorded. The system will record the pressure differential across an oil filter at a given flow rate and temperature generating a set of data points. Armed with this data, the fixture can then be mounted to a vehicle to gather temperature and pressure data. The flow rate will then be back-calculated based on the temperature and pressure data collected on the test stand. Once an engine rpm versus oil flow plot can be generated (connecting data points to form a curve), the appropriate personnel have been trained to operate the system, and all the above deliverables have been completed, the project will be complete.

ESE's new building needed to be better organized and fitted to handle more complex jobs. Specialized assembly cells were developed, hydraulic and electrical test stands were built, and mobile job shelves were also built and tested.

Elesys North America produces a Passenger Presence System that is used to control airbag deployment. Careful and thorough data analysis is used to determine the parameter specifications used in the controlling software in order to accurately and reliably predict whether or not to activate the airbag. There were two areas in the data collection process that showed room for improvement. The first was the collection of OCATD data in which human-like test dummies are used to collect data. The previous method of storage of the OCATDs allowed the shape of the dummies to be deformed by surface contact. To solve this issue, harnesses were designed that attached to the OCATDs and allowed them to be hung suspended in the air, thereby eliminating any contact with other objects. The second area for improvement was with the weight placement machine (WPM) that is used to raise and lower heavy weights on and off of test seats. The machine was operated by a winch and was conrolled by a hand-operated switch. Since the timing of the raising and lowering of the loads is critical, human error was a possible influence on the collected data. To solve this issue, the WPM was modified to be fully automated. The drive system was converted to an electro-mechanical linear actuator. All necessary stress analysis was performed. Also, a future design concept for the WPM was created and analyzed. Major bolt calculations were done, and an FEA analysis verified the design.

Engineering has facilitated the concise, informational synopsis of what electro-magnetic interference entails, its sources and attributors, and why electronic devices fail during EMC test in validation. This thesis serves as a background for mechanical design engineers and provides engineering with a quick reference on particular definitions of importance concerning EMI. New technologies for mechanical design options and verification are provided in this study along with experimental data confirming their contribution to mitigating EMI in device design.

Escalating costs for maintaining pneumatically controlled 1265 conveyor have resulted in reduced profits for our customers. A non-pneumatic belt take-up solution is needed to complete the airless conveyor line. The gravity belt take-up accomplishes the task without loss of original functionality of the conveyor. If the gravity take-up were incorporated into the development of the airless conveyor line, it would complete the new system saving the customers tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Escalating warranty cost has continued to reduce profits and tarnish Ford's reputation for building a reliable product. It is believed that a vehicle may have to be repaired in warranty after the same repair was performed in the assembly plant. In other words, in-plant repairs may cause warranty issues and increase costs. There is no data to substantiate this claim. If this can be shown, with data, that it is occurring then a re-inspection process can be put in place and/or a fix can be implemented to prevent these vehicles from leaving the plant defective. This can potentially save the company millions of dollars annually and improve customer satisfaction.

Examine and test the different variables that contribute to door efforts on the rear door of the Ranger Truck. Suggest recommendations on improvements once all data has been analyzed.

Following a steady increase in the use of translated data in recent years, we did not have an established confidence in the accuracy of the types of translations that we use. IGES and STEP translations of Unigraphics and I-DEAS data are reliable, as well as STEP files created from precise JT data, but further testing is required to verify the accuracy of the JT file format in VisMockup and translations into and from CATIA 5.

For many years skilled die makers have produced torque converter vane die tooling for GM Powertrain. This has lead to serious concerns about repeatability of and undocumented changes to the tooling. The concept of reverse engineering has granted the ability to correct this situation affordably. Scanning the complex surface of current toolling and creating Unigraphics models would save GM approximately $100,000 per year with a six month return on costs.

Four different types of pallet feet are currently used at Robinson Industries, Inc. They are used for two different types of pallets. The Low Profile Block foot showed the least amount of stress in a 3D analysis. It should be used for all pure pallet designs. The Low Profile system should be used for all pallet-lid combinations. The possibility of pallet failure should be minimized by the use of these designs.

General Motors currently has no experience integrating, maintaining, or mastering a Geo-Pallet type of conveyance system. The dimensional capabilities of the new Geo-Pallet systems are unknown, and must be evaluated and controlled. General Motors Skilled Trades have no experience with Friction Drive pallet conveyance, and therefore a maintenance procedure must be developed; complete with calculated frequencies of preventative maintenance work.

Hamilton Sundstrand designs and manufactures components and systems for commercial and military jet engines. Weight is a significant design consideration in the aerospace field. Without compromising safety, lighter designs are continuously strived for to stay competitive. HS is also responsible for designing mounts for components. An accurate process for analyzing brackets is crucial in preventing failure while maintaining a light weight design. Predicting the stresses in bolted connections is difficult due to the nonlinear behavior of friction and contact. Shell models are easier to use and can be solved using a linear static method, minimizing build and solve time. However, shell models predict erroneously high stresses around the bolt hole due to artificial stiffening which triggers redesigns and heavier brackets. Eliminating this artificial stress from the analysis will ensure light weight bracket designs.

Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems? vocational severe durability track development program required that specialized transducers for collecting road load and displacement data be designed. This thesis will document the development, calculated sensitivity, calibration, and functionality of the transducers.

High NVH leves on the Nissan X61B HVAC have led to customer complaints. The levels increase over time as the unit is used. These levels can be reduced to an acceptable point through three design changes to the system. If these changes are implemented the NVH issues currently being experienced will be eliminated resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

High cost of production, poor quality performance, and manufacturing difficulty of the Renovator-20 has heightened product concern. The hydraulic drive system is the main source of the problems experienced by the Renovator-20. Utilizing an integrated hydrostatic transmission in place of the hydraulic system, the author derived a functional design. If the concept unit were used as a guide for Renovator-20 production the company could expect to see increased quality performance and simpler assembly.

High scrap rates on the 544-900-0 motor have significantly reduced profits. The current RF filter design does not allow for parts to be replaced and reworked, this presents the opportunity for a redesign if a feasible design can be found. If a more efficient design is produced it could save approximately $4.90 for every end frame that was previously scrapped. All changes and upgrades must be have a payback period of one years time.

High tool costs for production tooling have impacted profitability. One machining department in particular has excessively high tool cost, with one particular tool, a solid carbide end mill, responsible for a significant portion of that cost. A tool test study and evaluation of the operation can reduce the annual tool cost for the end mill by 10%. Further changes in the production operation can reduce cost further.

Honeywell?s High Speed Blister packer lacks efficiency during production. Honeywell is a well-known manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products, automotive products, turbochargers, and specialty materials and services. They also manufacture control technologies for buildings, homes and industry. Honeywell continually looks to improve designs and become more cost effective. The objective of this thesis is to examine an inefficient machine and make it more efficient through utilizing lean manufacturing skills, engineering, and six sigma tools.

Impact testing was performed to obtain the mobility of a trimmed body and body in white. The data was reviewed and two functions were developed to try and correlate the BIW data to the trimmed body data. The two functions, one from General Motors Europe and the other through LMS (program used in NVH testing) showed a relationship can be drawn to correlate the two functions.

In an effort to reduce costs associated with the splined tube driveshafts Dana will be supplying to Jeep, the hybrid driveshaft has been investigated. The new design has been tested according to Dana specifications and passed. A weight analysis indicates that the design change would increase the weight by 5.49 lb. The cost estimate indicates an annual saving of 2.75% based on given volume. The new design should be presented to DaimlerChrysler with these findings.

In order to design seats so that they will fit and function properly within a vehicle, a tool called the H-Point utilized. Intier?s present H-Point capability requires improvement. In order to reduce the cost associated with making continual engineering changes throughout the design life of a seat, Intier Automotive Seating Inc. would like to improve the confidence levels of achieving a satisfactory H-Point the first time a seat is tested.

In order to perform mandated air brake tests on departing freight trains, company personnel have been required to utilize locomotives, removing them from active service. Therefore, in order to improve equipment utilization, a yard air system was designed to provide compressed air needed to perform these tests. The yard air system includes a 75 horsepower air compressor, necessary air treatment equipment, air storage tanks, and distribution pipes to provide compressed air to ten tracks.

In past years, General Motors Powertrain Bay City has caused several disruptions due to out of tolerance 4T65 channel plate flatness. To correct this from happening, studies have been conducted as to what affects flatness, how to control it, and how to properly measure it. It is vital that the channel plate mill be properly setup as it is the only machine creating and affecting flatness. The only way to properly check channel plate flatness is in the mock assembled or clamped state. This can be done using a CMM and does not require an expensive laser gage.

In the past few months, the amount of scrap in the L18 camshaft department at General Motors Powertrain - Bay City has been unacceptably high. The largest scrap item in the department is base circle runout. In order to get this manufacturing process under control, studies and tests were performed to assess what factors affect base circle runout, and how it can be reduced or eliminated. It is critical to controlling base circle that the induction hardening process is functioning within its developed parameters.

Injuries caused by safety accidents and poor ergonomics have cost our company thousands of dollars in health care and worker's compensation costs. Changes to the equipment standard could help to reduce or eliminate these types of injuries. These changes include using light curtains on new machines to improve safety, as well as restricting push/pull forces, lifting forces and reaching distances to improve ergonomics.

LEAN Business practices can be applied to almost any type of industry to remove costly wastes in the production process and allow for greater profitability and flexibility. NSL Analytical Laboratories implemented a LEAN Business approach to the layout of the Metallurgical Lab in its new facilities in an effort to reduce waste and improve sample turn around time. The study used a 5S approach and value stream mapping to determine the optimum placement of equipment and supply storage. Equipment needs such as isolation and contamination avoidance were also determined. The study determined that the best layout for the Metallurgical Lab would be three distinct work areas that are isolated from each other: a central room for preparation of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and metalography samples and dedicated rooms for both the SEM and metallography instruments and microscopes. The proposed layout provides for optimum flow of samples through the preparation and test areas to minimize sample preparation and test time and as well as central storage of tools and supplies. The layout has been approved by management for implementation in the new facility.

Lear Corporation customers specify static and dynamic measurement methods to quantify chuck, or looseness, in a seat. Neither measurement is an accurate indicator of seat chuck. Therefore, a better method is needed for identifying chuck. Analyzing operating deflection shape data is a promising opportunity for developing a method for seat chuck detection.

Maintenance breakdowns, product defects, and operator issues have been a continual problem leading to reduced production capabilities and handicapping a just-in time manufacturing system. Implementation of a finished goods inventory system will incur additional cost, which will be significantly reduced by using used equipment, but will significantly reduce, or eliminate, the costs incurred, both tangible and intangible, by shutting down the customer.

My company currently has a limited catalogue of materials. Through extensive research and experimentation, I have expanded the company's capabilities. Several alloy and carbon steels exotic to the company were successfully cold forged. In light of these results, the company can formally expand its catalogue of materials and use that to gain new business.

Noise and vibration is an important element in automotive development. This paper describes an investigation done to correlate powertrain- and vehicle-level timing drive NVH performance. A series of powertrains and vehicles are evaluated, and statistical analysis is used to compare different timing drive designs and develop a correlation. This paper has the potential to aid FEV in future development projects in the area of timing chain whine. With the information presented, engineers can establish a starting point for future development projects where a timing drive NVH problem is discovered.

Non-functional torque ranges and tolerance limits can cause joint failures which result in non-functional assemblies that are not easily detected or prevented by human intervention. These non-functional assemblies can delay manufacturing and create scrap parts. In an effort to remove human intervention and prevent joint failures due to non-functional torque ranges and tolerance limits, this thesis provides a procedure to determine functional torque ranges and tolerance limits and states recommendations for further actions to be taken.

OPW Fueling Components has struggled developing a sufficient carwash style vacuum. The ECO product line was purchased and resources were not allocated to make the product marketable. Upon redesign using CAE such as CAD, CFD, and FEA, OPW plans to have competitive vacuum systems that are marketable to the petroleum industry.

Operation 240 has been one of the poorest performers with regards to FTT. It is the last operation in the line prior to the blocks being released to engine assembly. There are no buffers in this section of the line so any loss in productivity literally translates to fewer blocks sold. The actions taken resulted in a 1.61% FTT improvement, and the parts built:reject ratio was increased 49.5%. Following the recommendations will ensure the results are sustained.

Reducing our society's dependence on fossil fuels is one of the biggest issues we face today. The rising prices of gasoline, diminishing oil supplies, and worries over global warming are influencing customers' decisions and in turn the automakers' bottom lines. Modern diesel engines have greater fuel efficiency than gasoline engines; however they suffer from a reputation of being loud, dirty, and infamously difficult to start in cold weather. The results from my cold start work should help my employer to prove to customers that the modern diesel can be a transparent alternative to gasoline, fit to last in a changing society.

Standardizing a method in which to audit bolted joints after assembly. The outlined method considers clamp load as a function of fastener geometry, as opposed to the current method of measuring static torque during fastener audits. Static torque does not correlate to clamp load as well as dynamic torque because of the variablity of friction. Clamp load is the parameter that determines the integrity of a bolted joint. Dynamic torque is analyzed as a function of angular displacement of the fastener to calculate clamp load.

Superior Controls is a system integrator with one area of specialty in traceability. Superior currently utilizes various technologies to mark parts with two-dimensional data matrices. The two-dimensional matrices are then used to track the part throughout its lifetime. Superior incorporates such part markers into its gage systems and integrates them into various other applications. The requirements of the marker are based on the material and matrix size. The two-dimensional data matrix best practices database allows for the user to check the applicability of a given marker to the part desired for marking or if marking it is even feasible, thus reducing research and testing time each time a new part needs to be marked. The database includes laser and indent part markers and was created using Microsoft Access.

Test reports and data are currently not organized at our testing facility. The initiation of a database will assist all engineers through available test referencing. Utilizing test referencing to search for previous tests with similar parameters will allow our facility to advertise direct product comparisons, generating a higher test volume