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Making the Case for Tuneups
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By Counterman
While the premise of a vehicle with no steering wheel and no human driver is not something the motoring public is quite ready for, the case for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
is strong.
In October, automaker Ford posted a third-quarter loss of $827 million, and said it was largely due to its self-driving tech partner Argo AI going under. That same month, J.D. Power and Associates released a study that showed consumer understanding of automated vehicles is rife with misinformation.
On paper, one can make a pretty practical case for autonomous driving – the most obvious benefit being that it could potentially increase road safety and eliminate traffic deaths. Additional justification lies in the ability to reduce collision insurance claims and increase independence for certain populations who are currently limited in their options for safe and reliable transportation – such as the elderly and disabled.
However, as real-world testing begins, the technology is encountering some pretty significant roadbumps, and consumer understanding of the technology isn’t belying the confidence to make the mass adoption of fully automated vehicles a realistic possibility any time soon.
The recent J.D. Power study found 65% of consumers surveyed were unable to accurately define fully automated, self-driving vehicles. Plus, 56% of respondents incorrectly classified the driver-assist technologies available today as fully automated, self-driving technologies. The survey hints that consumers are lagging in understanding as well as preparation for higher levels of automation.
The current system for classifying levels of automated driving was established by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Ranging from 0-5, the SAE levels run the gamut from Level 0 where the driver is fully responsible for the vehicle’s operation and supervision of the technology on the car at all times, to Level 5, which gives complete control of the vehicle to the operating system itself and requires no human supervision at all. At this time, there are no Level 3-5 autonomous vehicles on the road today, according to J.D. Power.
Today, the most widely used safety technology on vehicles on roads today would be considered Level 2 – which would include such things as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – automatic emergency braking (AEB), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), lane assist, parking assist, driver drowsiness detection, gaze detection, etc. These technologies provide partial automation by taking over control in specific situations – such as turning a corner too fast, or coming to close to a vehicle in front of you. In 2008, ESC systems became mandated by NHTSA on all new vehicles by 2011. All automakers are currently participating in a voluntary commitment to make AEB standard on all vehicles as well.
In a recent webinar hosted by Reason Foundation, Brookings Institution and Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering, several experts on AVs shared their thoughts on the subject, hoping to correct some of the common misconceptions and inject a dose of realism into the public debates surrounding autonomous vehicle technology. One of the three speakers, Alan Kornhauser, professor, Operations Research and Financial Engineering, and faculty chair of Autonomous Vehicle Engineering at Princeton University, said he believes ADAS should be mandated.
“ADAS is focused purely on safety,” said Kornhauser. “It’s on all the time, and it overrides drivers only to avoid getting into a crash situation. We’ve had a number of these systems in our vehicles for a long time. As long as we’re not using the brakes inappropriately, they just work the way we want. Otherwise, the system takes over and doesn’t allow you to lock your wheels. Same thing with electronic stability control. You can go around corners just fine. You go around too fast, all of a sudden, the system takes over and makes sure that you don’t lose your rear end. And maybe one of the most successful of these systems is reverse automated braking systems so that if you back up and there happens to be a child behind your car, the car stops.
“This has enormous implication on insurance because in fact, if there is no crash, then there’s no insurance that needs to be paid out. There’s no lawyer, there’s no ambulance, there’s no medical payments that have to be paid,” Kornhauser added.
When it comes to seeing federal or state regulations that could pave the way for more fully autonomous (i.e., driverless) cars on the road, Marc Scribner, senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation, believes we aren’t quite there yet. Having consistent, published technical standards may be one of the bigger roadblocks, he said.
“Automated vehicle regulation is not going to occur in the near term,” said Scribner. “I think the delay is, in part, due to the lack of published voluntary consensus standards that may be ripe for regulatory incorporation. But, there also seems to be generally, at least so far [in] this administration, perhaps less enthusiasm for automated driving systems than the previous two administrations. But, I do think the lack of published technical standards that could be incorporated into regulation is a hurdle. Where federal regulators are silent, states may act instead. States and locals have primary authority over vehicle operations and infrastructure management. They own the roads; they manage the roads. They license drivers, they register vehicles. All of that kind of thing goes in with the vehicles actually out there in the real world,” said Scribner.
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By Counterman
When available, remanufactured parts can be a great alternative for your customers, giving them the option to purchase a like-new or better product at a lower price point than the new part. With gasoline prices at multiyear highs and inflation squeezing consumers’ budgets, it’s the perfect time to talk to your customers about reman parts.
Since 2010, MERA – The Association for Sustainable Manufacturing has been making the case for remanufactured parts, on behalf of the broader remanufacturing community across multiple industry sectors. One of the key challenges has been defining the concept. In aviation and aerospace, for example, remanufacturing is called “maintenance, repair and overhaul” (MRO). For medical devices, consumers goods and electronics, it’s known as “refurbishing.”
With that in mind, MERA and five other trade associations from around the world have created a common definition of remanufacturing:
Remanufacturing is a standardized industrial process by which previously sold, worn or non-functional products are returned to same-as-new, or better, condition and performance. The process is in line with specific technical specifications, including engineering, quality and testing standards. The process yields fully warranted products.
When the definition was unveiled in September 2016, the trade associations hailed it as “a tremendous step forward in the industry’s quest to raise awareness and acceptance of remanufactured products.” To address misconceptions and points of confusion, the trade associations are highly intentional in the words that comprise their definition. Notably, the definition doesn’t include the word “used.”
“There’s a reason for that,” explains John Chalifoux, president of MERA since its inception. “In the area of trade – particularly free-trade agreements – remanufactured goods have their own category. They’re not considered new; they’re not
considered used.”
Plus, the word “used” has a stigma attached to it. For some people, it’s synonymous with waste. And that’s not at all what remanufacturing is about.
MERA is a division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). When
MERA formed in 2010, it was the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association. However, that changed in 2018, when MERA unveiled a new brand descriptor: MERA – the Association for Sustainable Manufacturing.
“Our purpose really is to elevate and mainstream what our members do,” Chalifoux tells Counterman. “ … When I say ‘elevate,’ we’re trying to help the perception [of remanufacturing] catch up with the reality. And the ‘mainstream’ aspect is to give remanufacturing a better seat at the table for any discussion on the circular economy or even recycling.”
That was the underlying thought process driving the name change in 2018. MERA’s staff drew some inspiration from Merriam-Webster’s definition of “sustainable,” which includes this description: “of, relating to or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.”
“That’s what our members do with cores,” Chalifoux adds. “They harvest the cores.”
MERA offers this simple definition of sustainable manufacturing: It’s “manufacturing with reuse.”
“It is a manufacturing process that restores original products in a factory setting, yielding goods that are like new, but better than the originals,” the MERA website explains. “The finished goods have like-new quality, they offer better value and they are better for the environment. As an eco-friendly process, sustainable manufacturing conserves materials and embodied energy, and it reduces landfill waste.”
At AAPEX 2018 in Las Vegas, Chalifoux unveiled a new symbol to promote remanufacturing. It was the familiar recycling icon – consisting of three green arrows representing the reduce/reuse/recycle concept – along with a fourth arrow that represents remanufacturing. Now a registered trademark of MERA, the four-arrow symbol illustrates the association’s position that remanufacturing should occur before traditional recycling. In other words: Reduce, reuse, remanufacture, recycle.
“All of this is helping us to better communicate both the quality and green associated with remanufacturing,” Chalifoux said during a press conference at AAPEX 2021. “Remanufacturing yields quality parts that are like new and delivers environmental benefits that are superior when compared to recycling. In the circular economy, the environment is better served when we reuse core materials rather than raw materials. The embodied energy, material and labor in cores are too valuable to ignore.”
The core for a remanufactured part is completely disassembled down to individual components. All renewable components are cleaned and analyzed for failure modes, and then reassembled using a combination of new and refurbished components, resulting in a reliable finished product virtually identical to a new part.
The great news for your customers is that some remanufacturers also address known OEM design issues, using upgraded components or processes to improve upon the OEM part. For example, CARDONE has re-engineered the power brake boosters for some Ford F-250 and F-350 models. The original design was prone to water entry, which caused a hard pedal during braking. CARDONE added a silicone seal around the shell neck – including the entire crimp area – to ensure a watertight seal and longer-lasting performance.
It’s worth noting that Michael Cardone Jr., co-founder of CARDONE Industries, is the founding chairman of MERA. “MERA would not exist if not for Michael Cardone Jr.,” Chalifoux says. This article merely provides a snapshot of remanufacturing and the benefits of selling reman parts. For more information, visit
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By Counterman
The many “in-store services” offered in today’s aftermarket, creating custom hydraulic-hose assemblies is a potential profit center that’s often overlooked. I’ve always worked in rural or semi-rural markets, and I learned hydraulics pretty early in my aftermarket career. At that time, I also was moonlighting on the family farm, so I was already familiar with some of the unique needs of hydraulics customers.
The typical hydraulics customer is “under pressure” when they call or drop by your store. Hose failures rarely happen while a piece of equipment is idle, so chances are the customer was right in the middle of a job when that hose burst. Consider the types of equipment that utilize hydraulic power: construction and farm equipment; manufacturing machinery; tow trucks and flatbeds; forklifts; etc.
Even if you don’t serve farmers in a rural market, potential hydraulics customers are all around, and some of them already are buying automotive parts and supplies from you. Municipal fleets may include anything from small sedans and pickups to dump trucks, backhoes and excavators. Towing and recovery companies operate in every type of market. Factories and warehouses rely on hydraulic-driven machinery and forklifts to produce and distribute goods of all kinds. Unscheduled downtime in any of these industries equates to lost profit, wasted employee hours and disruptions to service.
Demand for hydraulic-hose assemblies is relatively immune to “comparison shopping” or other price-point considerations. In these situations, the most desirable “features and benefits” are that you have the necessary fittings and hose available to get their piece of equipment up and running as soon as possible.
Having an adequate supply of fittings and hose in a breadth of sizes is critical to meeting these “on-the-spot” demands. When it comes to fittings, there are hundreds of individual SKUs to choose from, but the core of your stock will be the various sizes of NPT (“pipe thread”) and 37° flared-seat “JIC” fittings.
Other common types are ORB (O-ring boss), ORFS (O-ring face seal), Komatsu 30° flare and JIS 30°
flare. Each of these fitting types have a unique combination of thread sizes, seating and sealing surfaces and applications. Making leak-free connections requires accurate identification and selection, and each coupler must be mated to the same style of fitting to seal properly.
Hose ID and coupler-fitting size both can be expressed in “dash” (-) sizes, based on multiples of 1/16th of an inch. A 1/4-inch hose or fitting equates to a “-4” (4/16); the 3/8-inch is a “-6” (6/16); and a 3/4-inch coupler is a “-12” (12/16). This universal sizing system also is used extensively by hydraulic suppliers to encode information into their part numbers for both hose and couplers.
link hidden, please login to view Hydraulic hose comes in a variety of materials, construction and operating pressures. The most commonly stocked hose is referred to as “two-wire,” which has two layers of braided wire reinforcement to give it the ability to perform in many higher-pressure applications. Hydraulic pressure decreases as hose diameter increases, so you will notice that smaller-ID hoses are rated for higher pressures than equivalent hoses in larger diameters.
Coupler fittings come in two styles: “permanent-crimp” and “field-attachable.” Permanent-crimp fittings are inserted into the hose, then swaged or crimped to form a tight seal around the hose. A dedicated crimping press and dies are required to make these assemblies. This process can be compared to attaching crimp-type electrical terminals, although the tolerances of a proper hydraulic-hose crimp are much more exacting!
Field-attachable fittings feature a threaded stem and mating sleeve or ferrule, and are assembled similarly to the compression fittings used for connecting nylon fuel lines. These fittings are reusable and do not require a crimping press, making them popular for emergency repairs and occasional use, but they’re more expensive than crimp-type couplings. No matter which type of couplings are used, hose and fittings from different brands or systems should never be mixed.
A basic in-store hydraulic-station setup will consist of an electric-over-hydraulic crimping press with multiple sets of dies to crimp each hose size; an inventory of hose and fittings; and a chop saw to cut hoses to length. Thread-pitch gauges and dial calipers for measuring fittings, assembly lube and an identification chart round out the common accessories used while making hose assemblies. Your inventory also should include hydraulic fluids and filters, spill absorbents and other associated supplies. Establishing yourself as a hydraulic-hose vendor does require a significant investment in tooling and supplies, but the “gotta-have-it” nature of these sales allow for healthy profit margins on both the hose and fittings.
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By quadmaniac
So this is pretty interesting and seems that after Tesla grew, the electric car movement is starting to take greater shape.
A few interesting articles on Volvo's announcement this week.
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