Browse Topic: Suppliers
Vehicle electrification and accelerated development cycles create a need for virtual Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) development tools which are fast, precise and, seamlessly interchangeable between development sites, suppliers and OEMs. Component-based Transfer Path Analysis (C-TPA), standardized in ISO 20270:2019, enables independent component characterization and integration with virtual models to predict sound and vibration in new assemblies, referred to as Virtual Prototype Assemblies (VPA). However, conventional measurements are labor-intensive, typically restricted to a small number of samples, and overlook production variability. This paper introduces a fully automated, ISO 20270-compliant C-TPA system for non-rigid test benches, featuring a pre-instrumented test fixture with multiple vibration shakers and sensors automatically linked to a data acquisition system for immediate processing. Components can be characterized within minutes, with blocked forces directly
Sustainability needs to be practical. That was a point Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, made clear at CONEXPO 2026 in Las Vegas. “We're running a business, so we are focusing a lot on efficiency and uptime,” he said, referencing the up-to-10% improvement in fuel efficiency with the new VNL. “That helps our customers to run their operations at a better pace and a lower cost, but at the same time we have a very positive impact on the climate.” Voorhoeve also teased the launch of a new vocational truck. “We are strong in long haul. We are a leading sleeper manufacturer, very strong in regional haul, and we now have renewed focus on vocational,” he said. “In August we will launch a new truck specifically for the vocational segment that's built on the same platform as the VNL and VNR.” (See page 22 for our feature story on the new VNR.)
ZF foresees hybrid powertrain technology becoming more popular for commercial transport in the coming years, and it's working earnestly to be a major player in that realm. The supplier unveiled the TraXon 2 Hybrid transmission to the North American commercial vehicle market at last year's ACT Expo and is now evaluating the technology in real-world conditions. The next-gen automated manual transmission (AMT) is optimized to improve fuel efficiency for plug-in and full hybrid heavy-duty trucks and coaches, as well as special applications such as medium- to heavy-duty mobile cranes.
As satellites take on more onboard processing - from Earth imaging to autonomy - spacecraft computing designers are pushing for higher performance under tight thermal and radiation constraints. Here's how suppliers are approaching heat removal, radiation mitigation and production-scale space-grade computing for LEO and beyond.
In the two months since Microvision bought Luminar and acquired key tech and talent, the sensor company has been busy. In that time, they've merged key lidar units from each company and created a perception software stack to run it in a convincing demo of its ADAS and autonomous capabilities. The company is also pushing innovative lidar tech into the defense drone and antidrone markets, already working with a German defense supplier that works with NATO member countries.
Though the U.S. EPA has rolled back many emissions regulations surrounding the mobility industry, its HD rules remain intact, meaning manufacturers must hit the world's most stringent NOx requirement. It was clear at a panel of industry experts that the new rule was still causing confusion among operators and fleet owners. The EPA's new limits are set at 0.035 grams per horsepower-hour during normal operation, 0.050 grams at low load and 10.0 grams at idle. A panel immediately following revealed how companies have hit the tough target, which goes into effect in January of 2027.
This SAE standard establishes the requirement for suppliers to plan a reliability program that satisfies the following three requirements: a The supplier shall ascertain customer requirements b The supplier shall meet customer requirements c The supplier shall assure that customer requirements have been met
This standard establishes the common requirements for training of DPRV personnel for use at all levels of the aerospace engine supply chain. This standard shall apply when an organization elects to delegate product release verification by contractual flow down to its suppliers (reference 9100 and 9110 standards) and to perform product acceptance on its behalf. It is intended that organizations specify their DPRV requirements through the application of AS9117. While the delegating organization will use the AS13001 standard as the baseline for establishing DPRV process and product training, it may include additional contractual training requirements to meet its specific needs. The DPRV training material was primarily developed for aerospace engine supply chain requirements. However, this standard may also be used in other aerospace industry sectors where a DPRV process requiring specific training can be of benefit.
Metal-elastomer bonded components can suffer from manufacturing defects such as porosity and bond-line voids. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods can replace or supplement existing destructive tests; however, implementation can be challenging for manufacturers due to the initial equipment cost, time required per test, and imaging quality. These criteria were used to evaluate shearography, high-resolution ultrasound testing (UT), 2D projection X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and acoustic emission (AE) testing, culminating in trade studies for different sample part types. Experimental work was performed on three samples of varying geometries and sizes with seeded defects, applying feasible NDE methods to each. Shearography succeeded in detecting void defects and flow fronts. X-ray and CT failed to detect flaws in 2 out of 3 part types due to energy and time constraints. UT could not reliably detect defects in parts with complex geometries because of scatter. Acoustic emission
Enterprises that develop complex products or systems often struggle to reuse technology efficiently across their portfolios. This challenge is especially prevalent in aerospace, transportation, energy, and defense industries, where preserving freedom of action is critical. In this context, freedom of action is defined as the ability to avoid vendor lock imposed by integrators or third parties, while enabling competition within clearly defined functional boundaries that establish effective market segments for system components. This paper presents eight best practices for Enterprise Reference Architecture (ERA) development to address this challenge and applies them to aviation functionality spanning both vertical lift and fixed wing platforms. Because complex systems can be modularized in many ways, a consistent set of guiding rules is required to produce an organized set of modules that are reusable across an enterprise portfolio. The best practices presented in this paper are intended
Researchers recently helped Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer, demonstrate compliance to the Federal Aviation Administration's rules for safe flights over people and vehicles. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA Operators using a drone from the leading manufacturer in the U.S. can now conduct missions over people and vehicles much easier and with even greater confidence in their safety. In January, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepted a declaration of compliance for such flights for the parachute-equipped Skydio X10 drone from Skydio, a San Mateo, California-based company that supplies its drones to customers in public safety, utilities, and national security. The acceptance came as the result of working with Virginia Tech's Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) and Center for Injury Biomechanics to complete their FAA-approved means of compliance testing.
This document applies to the development of Plans for integrating and managing COTS assemblies in electronic equipment and Systems for the commercial, military, and space markets, as well as other ADHP markets that wish to use this document. For purposes of this document, COTS assemblies are viewed as electronic assemblies such as printed wiring assemblies, disk drives, servers, printers, laptop computers, etc. There are many ways to categorize COTS assemblies1, including the following spectrum: At one end of the spectrum are COTS assemblies whose design, internal parts2, materials, configuration control, traceability, reliability, and qualification methods are at least partially controlled, or influenced, by ADHP customers (either individually or collectively) or by industry standards. An example at this end of the spectrum is a VME circuit card assembly. At the other end of the spectrum are COTS assemblies whose design, internal parts, materials, configuration control, and
This will be my last column for SAE Automotive Engineering after an 11-year run. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, just taking a monthly column off my plate to enable more time to spend with my grandson and focus on other passions. While I have been a forecaster for nearly four decades, writing a column for an external publication was always an important outlet for ideas. An opportunity to outline a trend, event, or development that would change the fortunes of our industry, specifically for suppliers. While OEMs get the headlines and the accolades, supporting the unsung supply base has been Job 1 in my book.
Over the past few Supplier Eye columns, we have explored the impact of weakened U.S. emissions legislation and the loss of global scale economies. In isolation, suppliers could devise a gameplan to accommodate either of these shifts. Together, though, a completely revised approach is necessary. The combination demands that suppliers re-evaluate all facets of market strategies. Given this increased U.S. isolation, is there a possibility that the next five years could be the golden age of our industry? A period where the U.S. takes a pause from the speed and technical requirements of the rest of the world's markets to focus on our internal market? Leave global considerations on the doorstep? It is not only a possibility but a likely reality into the next decade.
How engineers can ensure safety, reliability and quality in aerospace systems. Courbevoie, Île-de-France In an industry where failure is not an option and precision is paramount, aerospace manufacturers and suppliers are constantly seeking components and system solutions that deliver trusted reliability, performance, and compliance. Industry standards are a key part of achieving these high expectations, bringing together global leaders in the mobility industries to create defined, repeatable methods and consistent processes. One of these aerospace standards is AS1895 developed by SAE International - a critical standard due to the need for durable components that can withstand extreme conditions and offer high performance: high-temperature resistance, pressure sealing, and long service life with a cost-effective installation method. Leading aerospace companies such as Eaton and Honeywell have been manufacturing components that meet this standard for a long period of time.
Recent geopolitical events in Venezuela, Ukraine and other hot spots are a stark reminder that the long-term planning environment is fraught with challenges and opportunities that suppliers cannot control. The initiation of U.S. tariffs on its trading partners and various embargos also underscored that we have to be flexible in how we dole out capital and the risk we are assuming. The supply base is at the end of that chain. Any issues upstream will reverberate exponentially. It is obvious that the automotive world is re-regionalizing, and quickly. Why the concern? Some context. Until the '70s, every region essentially rowed its own boat. While there were some exports from one major region to another, there were regional OEMs that were sponsored by national governments due to job creation, tax base considerations and bragging rights. The U.S, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Korea and a host of others wanted to build national OEMs that could drive scale and become a global force.
When developing specialist and performance EVs, the challenge goes far beyond selecting an off-the-shelf powertrain. Each manufacturer brings unique performance targets, packaging constraints, and integration requirements. And add on the fact that no two platforms look the same. Powered by Everrati, our B2B division, engages directly with leading customers globally, capturing what they truly need from electric powertrains. Two areas emerge consistently as the most complex and variable: the electric drive unit (EDU) and the battery system.
The US trucking industry heavily relies on the diesel powertrain, and the transition towards zero-emission vehicles, such as battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), is happening at a slow pace. This makes it difficult for truck manufacturers to meet the Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas standards, which mandate substantial emissions reductions across commercial vehicle classes beginning of 2027. This challenging situation compels manufacturers to further optimize the powertrain to meet stringent emissions requirements, which might not account for customer application specifics may not translate to a better total cost of ownership (TCO) for the customer. This study uses a simulation-based approach to connect customer applications and regulatory categories across various sectors. The goal is to develop a methodology that helps identify the overlap between optimizing for customer applications vs optimizing to meet regulations. To use a data-driven approach, a real
Tire is the only part of the aircraft that contacts the ground, which not only bears the vertical load and lateral load of the whole aircraft, but also provides adequate ground friction to decelerate the aircraft when braking, so the tires are important parts for aircraft take-off and landing. Besides safety concerns, tire physical properties such as vertical, lateral stiffness as static performance and rolling relaxation length, yawed rolling cornering force as dynamic performance are often required by aircraft manufacturers for analyzing aircraft maneuverability. Besides analysis or similarity by experience from other aircraft projects, tires are often qualified by a number of tests, both static and dynamic, to ensure the safety of tires and acquire tire physical performance data.
For any supplier in the medical device manufacturing industry, sustainable success requires an ability and a willingness to bring customers’ ideas to reality. There are often innovative, potentially life-saving projects that are delayed or even abandoned due to limitations on the manufacturing end. However, many specifications that seem impossible to meet can be achieved with persistence, collaboration, and dedication to customers’ ideas.
As I'm wont to do come December, with work well underway on the first issue of the new year, I like to take stock of upcoming venues for innovative product reveals and thought-provoking presentations on emerging trends and technologies. Come the first week of January, that means CES in Las Vegas. Traditional equipment manufacturers have increasingly used the event to demonstrate to the broader public that they not only deal in metal but also the digital realm. For example, earlier this year at CES, John Deere revealed its second-generation tech stack featuring camera pods, Nvidia Orin purpose-built processors and Deere's VPUs (vision processing units), along with four new autonomous machines including the 9RX 640 tractor for open-field ag operations. The company is exhibiting again this coming year.
When manufacturers seek to leverage specialized expertise, advanced processing capabilities, or proprietary technologies without assuming the financial burden of acquiring and maintaining dedicated equipment or facilities, they often turn to toll processing.
FEV has a solution to downsize and reduce the complexity of off-highway machines via its electrified planetary gearset architecture. IVT Expo 2025 in Chicago featured a summit where industry professionals presented and discussed the nuts and bolts of the technology that powers the off-highway vehicle industry. Electrification continues to be a centerpiece of these discussions, but OEMs and suppliers are beginning to supply answers to many of the questions that this challenge presents. During the expo, several presentations covered the integration of electric powertrains at the component and architecture level. One presented by Thomas Wellman, chief engineer, drivetrain systems, FEV North America, detailed an EPGS (electrified planetary gear-set) off-highway drivetrain architecture that is modular and scalable for a variety of powertrain configurations.
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