Subsystem in the Car: Integration of Functions and Technologies

The Zanussi Group, by means of its internal abilities has developed several manufactured articles such as plastic seats and dashboards. In this article we are presenting a dashboard with an integrated control board. This subsystem is particularly interesting, given to the fact that it gathers together several components (instrumentation, physical supports, air-ducts, wiring, etc) which notably reduce the present workload of the automobile manufacturer (assembly and final tests). The technologies used are:

• - Electronics, for: control of the electrical system (substitution of the traditional wiring); integration of instruments; driver-/automobile interface.
• - Plastic, for: physical support; interior.

The result is a tested manufactured article, easy to assemble on the automobile, with few polarized joints. Also, the principles of modularity used are described as the system must consent the diversification between the various models. Particular attention was given to two fundamental aspects: reliability (component test and forecasted evaluations) and costs (electronic components, interconnections).