What is an Automobile? ◎BackgroundIn 1908 Henry Ford began production of the Model T Based on his original Model A design first manufactured in 1903， the Model T took five years to Its creation inaugurated what we know today as the mass production assembly This revolutionary idea was based on the concept of simply assembling interchangeable component Prior to this time， coaches and buggies had been hand-built in small numbers by specialized craftspeople who rarely duplicated any particular Ford's innovative design reduced the number of parts needed as well as the number of skilled fitters who had always formed the bulk of the assembly operation， giving Ford a tremendous advantage over his Ford's first venture into automobile assembly with the Model A involved setting up assembly stands on which the whole vehicle was built， usually by a single assembler who fit an entire section of the car together in one This person performed the same activity over and over at his stationary assembly To provide for more efficiency， Ford had parts delivered as needed to each work In this way each assembly fitter took about 5 hours to complete his assembly By the time the Model T was being developed Ford had decided to use multiple assembly stands with assemblers moving from stand to stand， each performing a specific This process reduced the assembly time for each fitter from 5 hours to a mere 5 minutes by rendering each worker completely familiar with a specific Ford soon recognized that walking from stand to stand wasted time and created jam-ups in the production process as faster workers overtook slower In Detroit in 1913， he solved this problem by introducing the first moving assembly line， a conveyor that moved the vehicle past a stationary By eliminating the need for workers to move between stations， Ford cut the assembly task for each worker from 5 minutes to just under 2 minutes; the moving assembly conveyor could now pace the stationary The first conveyor line consisted of metal strips to which the vehicle's wheels were The metal strips were attached to a belt that rolled the length of the factory and then， beneath the floor， returned to the beginning This reduction in the amount of human effort required to assemble an automobile caught the attention of automobile assemblers throughout the Ford's mass production drove the automobile industry for nearly five decades and was eventually adopted by almost every other industrial Although technological advancements have enabled many improvements to modern day automobile assembly operations， the basic concept of stationary workers installing parts on a vehicle as it passes their work stations has not changed drastically over the ◎Raw MaterialsAlthough the bulk of an automobile is virgin steel， petroleum-based products (plastics and vinyls) have come to represent an increasingly large percentage of automotive The light-weight materials derived from petroleum have helped to lighten some models by as much as thirty As the price of fossil fuels continues to rise， the preference for lighter， more fuel efficient vehicles will become more ◎DesignIntroducing a new model of automobile generally takes three to five years from inception to Ideas for new models are developed to respond to unmet pubic needs and Trying to predict what the public will want to drive in five years is no small feat， yet automobile companies have successfully designed automobiles that fit public With the help of computer-aided design equipment， designers develop basic concept drawings that help them visualize the proposed vehicle's Based on this simulation， they then construct clay models that can be studied by styling experts familiar with what the public is likely to Aerodynamic engineers also review the models， studying air-flow parameters and doing feasibility studies on crash Only after all models have been reviewed and accepted are tool designers permitted to begin building the tools that will manufacture the component parts of the new ◎The ManufacturingProcessComponentsThe automobile assembly plant represents only the final phase in the process of manufacturing an automobile， for it is here that the components supplied by more than 4，000 outside suppliers， including company-owned parts suppliers， are brought together for assembly， usually by truck or Those parts that will be used in the chassis are delivered to one area， while those that will comprise the body are unloaded at ChassisThe typical car or truck is constructed from the ground up (and out) The frame forms the base on which the body rests and from which all subsequent assembly components The frame is placed on the assembly line and clamped to the conveyer to prevent shifting as it moves down the From here the automobile frame moves to component assembly areas where complete front and rear suspensions， gas tanks， rear axles and drive shafts， gear boxes， steering box components， wheel drums， and braking systems are sequentially An off-line operation at this stage of production mates the vehicle's engine with its Workers use robotic arms to install these heavy components inside the engine compartment of the After the engine and transmission are installed， a worker attaches the radiator， and another bolts it into Because of the nature of these heavy component parts， articulating robots perform all of the lift and carry operations while assemblers using pneumatic wrenches bolt component pieces in Careful ergonomic studies of every assembly task have provided assembly workers with the safest and most efficient tools BodyGenerally， the floor pan is the largest body component to which a multitude of panels and braces will subsequently be either welded or As it moves down the assembly line， held in place by clamping fixtures， the shell of the vehicle is First， the left and right quarter panels are robotically disengaged from pre-staged shipping containers and placed onto the floor pan， where they are stabilized with positioning fixtures and The front and rear door pillars， roof， and body side panels are assembled in the same The shell of the automobile assembled in this section of the process lends itself to the use of robots because articulating arms can easily introduce various component braces and panels to the floor pan and perform a high number of weld operations in a time frame and with a degree of accuracy no human workers could ever Robots can pick and load 200-pound (8 kilograms) roof panels and place them precisely in the proper weld position with tolerance variations held to within 001 of an Moreover， robots can also tolerate the smoke， weld flashes， and gases created during this phase of As the body moves from the isolated weld area of the assembly line， subsequent body components including fully assembled doors， deck lids， hood panel， fenders， trunk lid， and bumper reinforcements are Although robots help workers place these components onto the body shell， the workers provide the proper fit for most of the bolt-on functional parts using pneumatically assisted PaintPrior to painting， the body must pass through a rigorous inspection process， the body in white The shell of the vehicle passes through a brightly lit white room where it is fully wiped down by visual inspectors using cloths soaked in hi-light Under the lights， this oil allows inspectors to see any defects in the sheet metal body Dings， dents， and any other defects are repaired right on the line by skilled body After the shell has been fully inspected and repaired， the assembly conveyor carries it through a cleaning station where it is immersed and cleaned of all residual oil， dirt， and As the shell exits the cleaning station it goes through a drying booth and then through an undercoat dip—an electrostatically charged bath of undercoat paint (called the E-coat) that covers every nook and cranny of the body shell， both inside and out， with This coat acts as a substrate surface to which the top coat of colored paint After the E-coat bath， the shell is again dried in a booth as it proceeds on to the final paint In most automobile assembly plants today， vehicle bodies are spray-painted by robots that have been programmed to apply the exact amounts of paint to just the right areas for just the right length of Considerable research and programming has gone into the dynamics of robotic painting in order to ensure the fine "wet" finishes we have come to Our robotic painters have come a long way since Ford's first Model Ts， which were painted by hand with a Once the shell has been fully covered 1 V with a base coat of color paint and a clear top coat， the conveyor transfers the bodies through baking ovens where the paint is cured at temperatures exceeding 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius) After the shell leaves the paint area it is ready for interior Interior assemblyThe painted shell proceeds through the interior assembly area where workers assemble all of the instrumentation and wiring systems， dash panels， interior lights， seats， door and trim panels， headliners， radios， speakers， all glass except the automobile windshield， steering column and wheel， body weatherstrips， vinyl tops， brake and gas pedals， carpeting， and front and rear bumper Next， robots equipped with suction cups remove the windshield from a shipping container， apply a bead of urethane sealer to the perimeter of the glass， and then place it into the body windshield Robots also pick seats and trim panels and transport them to the vehicle for the ease and efficiency of the assembly After passing through this section the shell is given a water test to ensure the proper fit of door panels， glass， and It is now ready to mate with the MateThe chassis assembly conveyor and the body shell conveyor meet at this stage of As the chassis passes the body conveyor the shell is robotically lifted from its conveyor fixtures and placed onto the car Assembly workers， some at ground level and some in work pits beneath the conveyor， bolt the car body to the Once the mating takes place the automobile proceeds down the line to receive final trim components， battery， tires， anti-freeze， and The vehicle can now be From here it is driven to a checkpoint off the line， where its engine is audited， its lights and horn checked， its tires balanced， and its charging system Any defects discovered at this stage require that the car be taken to a central repair area， usually located near the end of the A crew of skilled trouble-shooters at this stage analyze and repair all When the vehicle passes final audit it is given a price label and driven to a staging lot where it will await shipment to its Quality ControlAll of the components that go into the automobile are produced at other This means the thousands of component pieces that comprise the car must be manufactured， tested， packaged， and shipped to the assembly plants， often on the same day they will be This requires no small amount of To accomplish it， most automobile manufacturers require outside parts vendors to subject their component parts to rigorous testing and inspection audits similar to those used by the assembly In this way the assembly plants can anticipate that the products arriving at their receiving docks are Statistical Process Control (SPC) approved and free from Once the component parts of the automobile begin to be assembled at the automotive factory， production control specialists can follow the progress of each embryonic automobile by means of its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)， assigned at the start of the production In many of the more advanced assembly plants a small radio frequency transponder is attached to the chassis and floor This sending unit carries the VIN information and monitors its progress along the assembly Knowing what operations the vehicle has been through， where it is going， and when it should arrive at the next assembly station gives production management personnel the ability to electronically control the manufacturing Throughout the assembly process quality audit stations keep track of vital information concerning the integrity of various functional components of the This idea comes from a change in quality control ideology over the Formerly， quality control was seen as a final inspection process that sought to discover defects only after the vehicle was In contrast， today quality is seen as a process built right into the design of the vehicle as well as the assembly In this way assembly operators can stop the conveyor if workers find a Corrections can then be made， or supplies checked to determine whether an entire batch of components is Vehicle recalls are costly and manufacturers do everything possible to ensure the integrity of their product before it is shipped to the After the vehicle is assembled a validation process is conducted at the end of the assembly line to verify quality audits from the various inspection points throughout the assembly This final audit tests for properly fitting panels; dynamics; squeaks and rattles; functioning electrical components; and engine， chassis， and wheel In many assembly plants vehicles are periodically pulled from the audit line and given full functional All efforts today are put forth to ensure that quality and reliability are built into the assembled ◎The FutureThe development of the electric automobile will owe more to innovative solar and aeronautical engineering and advanced satellite and radar technology than to traditional automotive design and The electric car has no engine， exhaust system， transmission， muffler， radiator， or spark It will require neither tune-ups nor—truly revolutionary— Instead， its power will come from alternating current (AC) electric motors with a brushless design capable of spinning up to 20，000 revolutions/ Batteries to power these motors will come from high performance cells capable of generating more than 100 kilowatts of And， unlike the lead-acid batteries of the past and present， future batteries will be environmentally safe and Integral to the braking system of the vehicle will be a power inverter that converts direct current electricity back into the battery pack system once the accelerator is let off， thus acting as a generator to the battery system even as the car is driven long into the The growth of automobile use and the increasing resistance to road building have made our highway systems both congested and But new electronic vehicle technologies that permit cars to navigate around the congestion and even drive themselves may soon become Turning over the operation of our automobiles to computers would mean they would gather information from the roadway about congestion and find the fastest route to their instructed destination， thus making better use of limited highway The advent of the electric car will come because of a rare convergence of circumstance and Growing intolerance for pollution combined with extraordinary technological advancements will change the global transportation paradigm that will carry us into the twenty-first
Guide the future development of the concept of automotive vehicles Summary of high-tech popularization and application makes the pace of replacement automotive products faster and faster， also makes the Chinese automotive industry independent research and development level and technical level with the international on the growing gap in the development of the concept car is even more the difference between the very WTO accession for China car alarm sounded， but also tremendous opportunity， our government， as well as automotive companies must increase their research and automotive design input， to establish a positive right car design concept， the concept of extensive vehicle design Keywords concept car designed to develop science， technology and culture Technology start-ups PIONEERINGWITHSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYMONTHLY The 21st century， in order to lead and performance of the new century， the development of future automotive trends， a number of international auto companies， one after another at the major auto show in the world to launch its own concept car and new There is， however， must be caused by a phenomenon we are concerned about: As a car big country， but few Chinese car makers to launch its own development and design concept Are one of the main reasons for China's automotive design concepts and methods， as well as the lack of research and development of concept cars do not pay enough It can be said that a self-designed and self-development capacity of the automobile industry， it is difficult to say that is a complete auto Thus we must intensify the study of automotive design and input， to establish a positive right car design concept， the concept of extensive vehicle 1 "concept car" is defined The so-called "concept cars" that have not yet begun to enter the market with a design unique and must advance the awareness of the new Its main characteristics are: it must give people are to consider that can guide the new concept It has just the design in general at the time， people's aesthetic ideas， the purchasing power and even the level of motor vehicle manufacturing industry is also Generally it will be it avant-garde design， innovative materials， bold use of a more perfect performance， the new car interior design indicates that the direction of development of the automobile Some of the world's largest car company every year to spend many human and material resources to design their own concept car， and in some large auto exposition on It can be said that with the continuous introduction of concept cars， the near future may occur on some concept cars have today， some features or functions of the But not necessarily a concept car will each eventually evolve into mass production cars to enter the market， the majority of concept cars are finally only a "concept" for people to discuss the 2 concept car， in reality the meaning of 1 concept car design and development of automotive products reflected the development trend of 1 the performance of the highest scientific level and the most sophisticated technology in concept car At the International Motor Show the previous， and the major automotive companies and the introduction of the concept of lot of cars， concept cars to remove these sleek， but also more integrated into a large number of high-tech and modern means of the introduction of the concept car to become Motor Company takes pride in the idea of the concept of automotive research and development are often accompanied by new technologies and the use of new materials with certain forward-looking， herald a new stage of development and the beginning for this reason that car companies the development of the concept car has invested great human and material resources， with its show car the company's strong momentum of Various high-tech applications， making car slowly evolved into information， communications， entertainment centers and the exchange of information with the outside world， the computer functions and Internet all-round involvement， in-car information and entertainment equipment， advanced navigation equipment， real-time traffic information function of the growing popularity of the inevitable demand of these high-tech automotive designers transcend time and space to establish a new value system， the emergence of various new technologies for the automotive design freely given to a wider Function of motor vehicles for further expansion and development of the concept car， the car gradually from the cold machinery into human information exchange platform， if the concept car has its own way of expressing their emotions with pregnant， anger， sadness and joy， such as facial expression make the concept car than in high volume production cars， become a new symbol of Concept Car Design of automotive products have greater and greater impact， it represents the development direction of the automobile industry and the basic idea of the automobile company design standards and a symbol of scientific and technological 2 human physiological needs and psychological needs of the largest Satisfied --- Automotive Engineering in the Ergonomics Ergonomics are 50 in the early 20th century with the rapid development of a new subject with the aim of research， design and engineering technology to solve the relationship between the human Car body design in ergonomics， it is to people (drivers and passengers) as the center， from the body's physiology， psychology， and exercise the human body， the research body design， layout and equipment in terms of how to adapt to people need to create a manipulation convenient， safe， reliable， beautiful and comfortable driving environment and take the environment， that is the best person to design a - vehicle - environment Automotive Design Human-Computer analysis of the first ministries to human size required for measurement， statistics and analysis， conducting interior layout design as a basis to determine the effective space vehicle， as well as parts， assemblies (seats， dashboard ， steering wheel， ) position and dimensions of the relationship between Through the study of human physiological structure， so that the seat design in full compliance with the requirements of human Based on the manipulation of human manipulation of the scope and power to determine the layout of the manipulator position and force size， so that when the human body to manipulate natural， rapid， accurate and lightweight， so as to reduce the degree of manipulation of Through the visual characteristics of the human eye， the effect of vision research， testing， checking driver information system， to ensure that drivers have access to proper driving Exercise in accordance with the characteristics of the human body to study the automobile collision on the human body， a reasonable protection， the right to determine the hinged point seat belts and binding on the human body to study the vibration of the impact on ride comfort， research on and get off at the convenience of passengers， and door openings in order to determine location and According to the body's physiological requirements， reasonable certainty that the air-conditioning system and Research on the psychological characteristics and requirements， to design a comfortable， beautiful， relaxed by the 3 virtual product development technology At present， a growing number of automotive design companies and manufacturing companies to start using virtual product development technology， using three-dimensional virtual reality 3D technology development concept Opel car using 3D virtual reality technology concept car design and Designers can experience floating in the air of a virtual image of car design and manufacturing， saving considerable development costs， and plans to be extended to its North American assembly plant to Britain's Rolls-Royce， Renault， France， Germany Audi， as well as Italy， Sweden and other auto plants are actively engaged in this virtual design and Over the past automotive research and development centers to develop new or modified are first shaped body sludge physical model， is extremely time-consuming Now automotive R & D， in particular the development of concept cars are increasingly seeking the shortest development If the introduction of virtual product development technologies， as long as the computer input data to construct a model figure model， in the laboratory can show an ideal vehicle images， as long as the engineers wear eyepiece， you can see clearly， there is such as a car in front of us true， after all the discussion of design engineers modifications， you can quickly design an ideal new Stereotypes， the computer can use the data， outsourcing trial and trial fitted the new parts and components， assembly achieve zero error， and the development of aging more rapidly than in the 4 the concept of green environment-friendly vehicles to the development trend of Since entering the 21st century， countries around the world have been produced about 5 billion vehicles， according to expert estimates that in 2010 global vehicle production will reach 75 People sigh at the rapid development of automobile industry， but also an increasing awareness of pollution from motor vehicles to harm human beings， so many countries of the vehicle to develop environmental protection measures and regulations to protect the environment for human survival， so automotive environmental protection the design of this new concept car design to be placed in a prominent position on the Improve energy efficiency， improved engine configurations， including electronically controlled fuel injection system， secondary air injection， thermal reactor， exhaust gas recirculation system， catalytic purification device， crankcase ventilation systems， fuel evaporation control The development of alternative fuels， research and development of new environmentally-friendly energy， including natural gas， liquefied petroleum gas， fast charging batteries， hybrid power， hydrogen In the automotive manufacturing process， use of green materials， green packaging， green manufacturing processes and equipment and equipment Green car recycling 2 Concept car indicates road traffic in the evolution of human behavior 1 Concept foretells the future of the way road traffic trends Along with the development of automobile， the vehicle status is also slowly change， now car in people's minds as a symbol， a symbol of wealth and the embodiment of a status， but the car as a way of the nature of road traffic has Concept car design is based on the nature of a car's innovative design Concept car at the design of the way through the daily life of mankind， human beings in road traffic in the use of methods such as behavior and ways of life all aspects of prediction and analysis， it is envisaged to solve the future in the way road traffic between the object harmonious Strong and high-speed in today's technology enables the development of means of transport have a much broader space for development， more and more high-tech continuously applied at a new At present many of the world's major auto companies have realized that the development of the next car is no longer the biggest obstacles are technical limitations， but limits the designers Now appearing in major auto show concept cars are generally two types: one is based on the latest available technology can achieve another kind of concept cars are those who put forward some innovative technology options but is still in the research phase of the concept Able to express their feelings such as car， truck can random shell replacement car， be able to easily change the driving mode of motor vehicles， be able to swim in the water of the amphibious vehicle， able to fly in space vehicles， be able to change Like from Toyota and Sony jointly developed by "POD" cars， will be able to through the car before the lights， mirrors， antenna， as well as the rear seat to the car owners to express their "" Like Volkswagen's Seat International Auto Show in the United States on the introduction of multi-functional concept car "Sal? Juancheng sa"， there are sports， comfort and three kinds of urban-type driving mode selection for 2 Concept of culture differences in performance The United States as a world leader in the auto industry， concept cars at the manufacturing are on the forefront in the At the United States because of cultural blending， collision， so the concept car embodies the greater the diversity of cultures; are also caused by a highly developed country commercial， commercial design and pragmatism prevailed， so the design is set up at a deep aesthetic Ethics on the real and solve practical With the American cars are in sharp contrast to the Japanese concept Japan as the world's output of the second car big country， its concept car many practical and imagination， technology is better than art， more concerned about solving technical problems， it can be said in Japan This is the premise of the concept of car design， each model is to solve one kinds of technical problems The Japanese car model to maintain a small， simple， style characteristics of the economy and harmonious relations between man-machine deal with the Japanese are reflected as a delicate oriental thinking and compromise approach to solve the The United States put the design of commercial operation as an important aspect， Japan put out of Products Designed to accelerate as a tool， Germany put Designed as a social and cultural foundation， while the French took the design as a designer of stage From various countries so the concept of car design in different styles， we can see different countries， different concepts， as well as their different cultural backgrounds 3 Concluding remarks The future of automotive design as the development of the inevitable progress of Automotive Technology with each passing day， many of the artistic style of the designer will make it even more widely and more strongly reflected in the car design， and give people a wider Under high-tech， and personality of the car more humane 21st century will be the necessity of the development of the automobile industry， because it is consistent with human culture， the pursuit of individuality and Therefore， the increase in automobile design concept of the attention and input， will be the development of China's automobile industry has played a great role in pushing References 1尹定邦 Introduction to Study Design [M] Hunan: Hunan Science and Technology Press， 1999 2张洪欣 Auto Design [M] Beijing: Mechanical Industry Press， 1997 3 Tang Jia-Ti， Han Xiao Jian had --- Product conceptual design theory， methods and techniques [M] Beijing: Mechanical Industry Press， 2002 Tang Shu-Min Concept cars and car design development and innovation [J] Shenyang Institute of Aeronautical Engineering Journal， 2002 (6)
An automobile (also motor car or simply car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads， to have seating for one to seven people， to typically have four wheels， and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than [1] However， the term is far from As of 2002， there were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car for every eleven people)[2]for more information (complete history etc)
How Manual Transmissions Work by Marshall Brain If you drive a stick-shift car， then you may have several questions floating in your How does the funny "H" pattern that I am moving this shift knob through have any relation to the gears inside the transmission? What is moving inside the transmission when I move the shifter? When I mess up and hear that horrible grinding sound， what is actually grinding? What would happen if I were to accidentally shift into reverse while I am speeding down the freeway? Would the entire transmission explode? In this article， we'll answer all of these questions and more as we explore the interior of a manual Cars need transmissions because of the physics of the gasoline First， any engine has a redline -- a maximum rpm value above which the engine cannot go without Second， if you have read How Horsepower Works， then you know that engines have narrow rpm ranges where horsepower and torque are at their For example， an engine might produce its maximum horsepower at 5，500 The transmission allows the gear ratio between the engine and the drive wheels to change as the car speeds up and slows You shift gears so the engine can stay below the redline and near the rpm band of its best Photo courtesy DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz Actros， manual See more transmission Ideally， the transmission would be so flexible in its ratios that the engine could always run at its single， best-performance rpm That is the idea behind the continuously variable transmission (CVT) A CVT has a nearly infinite range of gear In the past， CVTs could not compete with four-speed and five-speed transmissions in terms of cost， size and reliability， so you didn't see them in production These days， improvements in design have made CVTs more The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car that uses a CVT The transmission is connected to the engine through the The input shaft of the transmission therefore turns at the same rpm as the engine
