Unlike traditional lighting, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) can be used in a variety of configurations, creating design opportunities that were not possible earlier.

The full-width stoplights on the ’92 (Cadillac) Seville were LEDs, and that was (the first) mini-step (into mainstream). Since then the use of the lights among auto makers and suppliers has increased.

With the auto industry becoming increasingly competitive, LEDs afford greater differentiation. As cars become equal on other fronts, (auto makers) are going to need a ‘wow’ aspect to bowl people over.

J Mays, Ford’s group vice president and chief creative officer, says the use of LED is becoming an integral part of Ford’s design strategy.

While a growing number of production vehicles are using LED lights, more dramatic examples of the technology’s possibilities are found on show cars such as the Volvo S60 concept exhibited at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Former Volvo Design Director Steve Mattin says the concept’s LED headlamps are shaped like Viking longboats to reflect the auto maker’s Scandinavian heritage.

“When we started creating the first sketches on this vehicle, we wanted to create a different look and identity,” he says. “And some of the ideas that came out of the initial sketches started to look like Viking ships. We found it a cool, Scandinavian way to show technology in a unique way.”

Mazda Motor Corp. uses LEDs in the taillights of the new Mazda3 Grand Touring model. “With current LED technology, we were able to get some of the Nagare (concept car) influence into the production design of the car,” Senior Designer Jonathan Frear says.

Honda R&D Americas Inc. Chief Designer Dave Marek cites the Acura MDX cross/utility vehicle as an example of how LED lighting can enhance brand DNA.

“We wanted the identity on the rear taillights for safety and (to make) it identifiable,” he tells. “We started to look at (LEDs) in the taillights to create a pattern to convey brand image.”

Honda, as with most other auto makers, currently confines LED technology to its high-end vehicles due to the higher cost. However, that trend likely will change as the technology becomes more affordable.

But already the auto maker is talking about LEDs becoming increasingly common in its gauge clusters. “The instrument panel is probably the most complicated part, other than the motor,” Marek says. “I think LEDs have much more ability to make it more functional.”

As the technology is perfected and costs come down, he predicts LEDs will make their way into headlamps, which so far is being done on a limited basis.

One driver for LED growth is the increasing demand for energy efficiency. However, while the costlier LEDs generally are more efficient than traditional halogen lights, their performance doesn’t measure up to energy-intensive xenon technology, Pietzonka says.

“We have to ask the customer if they need xenon performance, or if it would be better to have (lights) that are better than halogen and focus more on energy efficiency,” he says. “We accept (LEDs) are not on a xenon level.”

If enough consumers are willing to accept LEDs, Hella will be able to cut the price of LED dramatically, opening the door for more widespread implementation.

“LED technology is the light source of the future,” Pietzonka says. “I expect in a few a years, say 2020, halogen systems, because of their high-energy consumption, won’t be acceptable, especially in the U.S. ”

LEDs increasingly are being used for vehicle interiors. One of the first cars to employ the technology was the ’05 Ford Mustang. In enable personalization, the car featured an industry-first, color-configurable instrument cluster.

“The downside was you had four good colors and 16 that didn’t look so good. But it was about people doing what they wanted. Talking about it is one thing, thing, he adds, “but when you experience it, it has more depth than you thought.”

Source Courtesy:

Ward’s Auto

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Nesting the parts while machining using CAM

While working on a recent CAM project using CAD model, we found few interesting techniques. In the first job, we requested the operator to use a 1/4″ Ball nose cutter of 1″ long. We were expecting there could be some tool flexing because for the first cavity profile cut. But he used almost 1 1/2″ long cutter. Finally, once the machining is done there is a clear cut draft left on the part which is almost 3 degrees. Also, there was not enough overpass of ball nose at the bottom of the part leaving a radius there. It was not too bad other than doing some manual cleanup of the part after machining.

In our second batch of CAM, we nested four parts as shown on image from two separate CAD models. So, we have to make a single pre-machining block to make two separate parts of quantity two each. Also, we tried to machine only up to 4 mm around the part using 1/4″ cutter. This saved us almost 50% of machining time as we eliminated machining unneeded stock. Also, we ensured the cutter overhang is only 22mm just more than nose overpass. This didn’t cause any tool flex and squeak.

Nesting the Parts example

 

Another interesting thing is after doing the rough cut with 1/4″ cutter, we lost the datums where we set original zero. So, for finish cut we have not changed X and Y coordinates. But, asked the operator to reset Z with respect part top surface which was intentionally left unmachined before. This helped us in quickly running the finish cut using 1/8″ cutter without much time on reference point set.

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