Supply and Demand

North America

GKN Driveline to Open Tribology Lab

GKN Driveline is opening a tribology lab in Auburn Hills, Mich., that primarily looks at the performance of various greases and lubricants used in the millions of constant velocity joints (CVJ) that it produces each year.

Those efforts are part of an extensive research and development program that involves more than 50 GKN Driveline engineers and is designed to ensure and improve product quality and performance.

The laboratory is meant to help the company develop smaller, lighter driveline components for increasingly powerful engines. A forged steel constant-velocity sideshaft transfers the power of the engine to the wheels. It must withstand the mechanical stresses of high-speed operation and the high heat that goes along with it. The same is true for the grease that keeps the moving parts in the CVJ lubricated.

Perceptron Adds Eight Value-Added Resellers

Perceptron Inc. has signed eight new qualified North American value-added resellers (VARs) for its ScanWorks 3-D scanning systems. The VARs span geographic regions from Washington State to Quebec, Canada, and raise Perceptron’s North American representation.

The ScanWorks systems are comprised of a Perceptron sensor, coupled with 3-D scanning software, and integrated with a variety of portable articulating coordinate measurement arms. The ScanWorks 3-D sensor was engineered to be able to scan up to 23,040 points per second.

The resellers integrate Perceptron’s Scan- Works hardware and software package into portable 3-D scanning systems, resell them to manufacturing companies and provide all follow- on support. The versatile 3-D scanning system, enabled by Perceptron’s ScanWorks software, is used in applications that include reverse engineering, tool and die modifications, benchmarking, CAD comparison, 3-D visualization, quality inspection and others.

GM Powertrain Opens Performance Build Center

The new $10 million facility dedicated to building high-performance engines for lowvolume, premium vehicles has officially opened. The first hand-built engine variant to come from the Performance Build Center will be the LS7 OHV V-8 that is the heart of the Z06 performance package earmarked for the 2006 Corvette; specifications and details for the LS7 will be provided at the 2005 North American International Auto Show.

Capacity is 15,000 engines annually. Engines built at the Performance Build Center will be constructed by specially trained craftspeople from United Auto Workers Local 653, based in Pontiac, Mich.

Asia

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Forms Joint Venture In China

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company’s operating group, Cooper-Standard Automotive, has formed a joint venture company with Saiyang Sealing Products Company of China for the manufacture and sales of automobile sealing systems under the name Cooper Saiyang Wuhu Automotive.

The joint venture facility is located in the Wuhu Economic Development Zone, southeast of Nanjing. The plant has complete rubber mixing capabilities as well as four extrusion lines to produce rubber, rubber/plastic or plastic sealing extrusions. The joint venture will manufacture sealing components for the C307 program for Changan Ford. Cooper Saiyang also has acquired new sealing business with SAIC Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., one of China’s fastest growing automotive OEMs.

Cooper-Standard Automotive will provide advanced sealing technical and operational knowledge to the new joint venture as well as expertise in the manufacture of sealing systems. Cooper-Standard also will assist with sales and marketing of the joint venture company’s products.