2017年8月2日星期三

Top German Automakers Sued in U.S. Over Two-Decade 'Cartel'



German’s major automakers were accused in a U.S. lawsuit of acting as a cartel, colluding for nearly two decades to limit the pace of technological advances in their vehicles and stifle competition -- allegations that widen the scope of the latest scandal to hit the nation’s auto industry.

BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and its Audi and Porsche brands shared competitive information about vehicle technologies with one another from 1996 through at least 2015 in violation of antitrust laws, according to a complaint filed Friday in San Francisco federal court.

The supplier of VW’s cheat software, Robert Bosch Gmbh, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

“We consider this class action suit to lack merit,” Han Tjan, a spokesman for Daimler, said in an emailed statement. “We will defend ourselves by all legal means.”

BMW spokesman Kenn Sparks and VW’s Jeannine Ginivan said their companies had no comment on Friday. The other companies didn’t respond to messages and emails seeking comment after normal business hours.

The suit filed Friday is the second in the U.S. to allege the anti-competitive actions by the companies. Drivers filed a similar class-action suit in New Jersey federal court on Tuesday alleging German automakers created an anti-competitive culture in the U.S. and conspired over 20 years to increase prices of luxury vehicles while sharing technology to skirt emissions norms.














News from: https://washpost.bloomberg.com

2017年7月23日星期日

Material selection of armature shaft

The shaft is a key part of the armature so the quality of the material for the shaft also plays an important role in the whole product.

At present, the mainly used materials for the production of shaft in domestic are the following kind: 20CrMnTi, 20Cr/40Cr and #40/#45 steel.

Among them, 20CrMnTi is a vital material of gear which has a high mechanical properties. After carburizing, quenching and low temperature tempering, the hardness of the surface can reach 58-62HRC, the hardness of the core can reach 30-45HRC. Compare with the other materials, 20CrMnTi is also the most expensive one. The tensile strength and yield strength of 20Cr/40Cr are less than 20CrMnTi and they are always used for making products which has high hardness cores. 

As for #40/#45 steel, they are both high quality carbon steel, however the anti-fatigue strength and toughness are not as good as 20Cr/40Cr, also the cost of raw material for #40 and #45 steel is only half of 20Cr/40Cr, so the life of the gear won’t last long if you choose #40/#45 steel to produce it.



2017年7月12日星期三

Is the World of Starter Motor for Passenger Cars coming to an end


Volvo announced it will fit every new model launched with an electric motor, starting in 2019.

The announcement came a day before France said it would ban gasoline engines in new cars starting in 2040 which generated huge press coverage.

After more than a century of domination by the internal combustion engine, the Swedish company boldly claimed that its new strategy heralded “A new chapter in automotive history”.

"This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car," said Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson in a statement.

Driven by such an environment seems the market of Industrial starter is safe for now. But will it be more and more difficult to the market of starter motor for passenger car?