Kinetic Die Casting Blog

DETROIT (AP) — The 2010 Ford Fusion was named Motor Trend magazine’s car of the year Tuesday, beating out the Toyota Prius, BMW 7-Series, Chevrolet Camaro and others in the closely watched competition.

It was yet another accolade for Ford Motor Co.’s midsize sedan, which got high reliability scores in the most recent rankings from Consumer Reports and was the top-selling car made by a Detroit automaker through October. U.S. Fusion sales were up 15 percent in the first 10 months of this year, to 148,045, despite a 25 percent drop in overall car sales.

Still, the mid-size Fusion continues to lag behind the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord – perennial leaders in the competitive U.S. mid-size market.

Motor Trend said the Fusion can compete with the Camry and Accord in performance, comfort and fuel efficiency. It praised Ford for offering several versions of the Fusion, including a fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrid and a sporty version with a V-6 engine.

“Ford has proven its resilience in these tough times by delivering to market a car with broad appeal to a broad range of consumers,” Motor Trend Editor in Chief Angus MacKenzie said in a statement.

Motor Trend considered 23 new or significantly refreshed vehicles. The Fusion, introduced in the 2006 model year, was redesigned for 2010 with a new lineup of engines and transmissions, new exterior and interior and new options, including the Sync entertainment system and a blind-spot warning system.

Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of global product development, said the 2010 Fusion has a sportier look and better fuel economy than previous versions. It gets 34 miles per gallon on the highway when equipped with a four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission. The gas-electric hybrid version gets 41 miles per gallon in the city.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan, Buick LaCrosse, Lexus HS 250h and Hyundai Genesis coupe were among the cars Motor Trend considered. The Fusion also beat out other Ford models, including the Mustang sports car and Taurus sedan.

It was the first time a Ford car had won since 2003, when the Ford Thunderbird got the honor, Kuzak said. Ford’s 2009 F-150 was Motor Trend’s truck of the year last fall. The Nissan GT-R was the car of the year for 2009.

“It reinforces the progress that we’ve made, particularly on the car side of the business,” Kuzak told The Associated Press. “When people think of trucks they think Ford, but we needed to put Ford cars and crossovers in people’s consideration.”

Motor Trend conducts road tests on each vehicle and judges vehicles in six categories: design advancement, engineering excellence, intended function, efficiency, safety and value.

Source: www.manufacturing.net

Die Casted Aluminum Auto Parts. Aluminum Auto Parts are becoming very popular among car manufacturers all over the world. Using aluminum has proven to be better compared to using other types of metal such as steel because of its properties. First of all, aluminum as just as strong and durable, if not even stronger and more durable, than steel, secondly aluminum weighs significantly lower than steel of the same size. In fact, Aluminum Car Parts weighs only a third of the same steel parts, making it easier to handle and adding less weight to the car. Aluminum can be mined almost everywhere in the world making it a cheap metal as well. Lastly, Aluminum Auto Parts can be die casted to meet demands for bulk orders.

The manufacturing process known as die casting is perfect for making small sized parts as well as medium sized parts. The finish of the product is amazing as the dimensions are accurate and the surface finish great. In other words, the resulting parts are high standard and consistent each time. This is because Aluminum Auto Parts are made first by liquefying the aluminum. The resulting liquid metal is then injected into molds, its crevices will give the liquid its new shape. Applying pressure of around 1,500 PSI to 30,000 PSI, the liquid is forced into every nook and cranny of the mold. This increases the accuracy of the product’s dimensions. The molds are then set aside to cool for a while and once they are opened, the Aluminum Auto Parts are finished.

Aluminum Auto Parts for Cars. For a car to properly work, it has to make use of a number of parts. Owners of these machines would of course want to be able to trust and rely on each part of their car so that when they use it, they know that nothing can go wrong. Of course, it cannot be avoided that one day something is going to give. The best thing that any car owner can do is lessen the risk of something breaking in the middle of the road. With that, car manufacturers are starting to realize the efficiency of making use of Aluminum Car Parts.

Aluminum has been known to be one of the toughest and most durable materials in the whole world. At the same time, it is relatively cheap and easy to acquire aluminum as it can be mined almost everywhere. Aluminum Auto Parts are also lighter compared to using steel parts, which makes the car lighter overall as well. This significantly proves the performance of the car and its reliability. Because of these characteristics, aluminum has been said to be more valuable than gold.

To craft Aluminum Auto Parts fast and consistent in quality, manufacturers can make use of die casting. This is the process wherein the material, in this case aluminum, will be turned into liquid and then poured into molds. The molds cavity will shape the liquid into the desired shape of the manufacturer. Then this will be allowed to solidify. The resulting Aluminum Auto Parts are almost identical because of using the same die casting tooling over and over again.

Aluminum Auto Parts –

Durability at Lower Costs. Aluminum auto parts are essential devices when it comes to die casting. Aside from their lightweight and durable features, these are also very essential and handy when constructing automobiles and doing other automotive tasks. A lot of manufacturers of different auto equipment are a big fan of aluminum auto parts as they present a wide collection of materials to choose from when creating the perfect car. Such parts are also sold in very cheap and reasonable prices so as to accommodate the needs of manufacturers, both low-end and high-end. Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEM has also established their very own plants catering to die casting and manufacturing new aluminum car parts. There are also companies who create a bond with well known die casters to have a constant supply of these types of auto parts. Nowadays, these materials can be found in a vast majority of local and online stores.

Some of the most widely used aluminum auto parts include the die casting handles, valve covers, wheels and brackets. The handles make great use in constructing car doors and trunks. Handles are used as hardware to make car containers and openers sturdier and more responsive to a variety of movements. Valve covers, on the other hand, are perfect for chrome plating. These covers are useful in concentrating hear for complex thermal transfer. Aluminum brackets and wheels are used primarily as essential engine components for different automobiles. Since aluminum material provides optimum strength, wheels are more receptive towards speed maximization and robustness.

Many Car manufacturers are experimenting on the use of aluminum car parts. Some are also extending their research to make it feasible to use aluminum in all other weight-intensive car components. Aluminum Car Parts: Slowly but Surely.

So far, there has been a wide range of car parts made out of aluminum like car engine blocks, car cylinder heads, car manifolds, car wheels, and even car body structures and closures. Car makers are hopeful that soon, car hoods, trunks, and other such heavy parts can also be formed out of aluminum materials. The car body alone accounts for about 25% of the total weight of a vehicle. Using aluminum car parts will significantly reduce the cost and provide huge savings.

According to the Aluminum Association, Inc., the use of aluminum for cars doubled between the years 1991 and 1999. This is expected to double by early 21st century. So far, aluminum has already surpassed plastic use in cars and is now ranking third after iron and steel. Aluminum or plastic?

Average weight of aluminum is estimated to be one-third that of an equivalent volume of steel. There is about 60% weight reduction with the use of aluminum in cars instead of steel and cast iron.

Although there are so many advantages in using aluminum car parts, many engineers in car manufacturing are still yet to be convinced about replacing steel with this metal. They put emphasis on aluminum being difficult to weld and that this metal has a different reaction to stress than steel.

Aluminum auto parts are seeing some use and for sure, as technology advances, there will be more use for aluminum in car manufacturing.