PRECISE PAINTING
Axalta has announced a new venture with an inkjet manufacturer, in which the coatings company plans to provide a “next-generation sustainable digital paint technology for the transportation industry.” More specifically, this planned technology could contribute up to a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions for two-toned vehicle manufacturers, according to Axalta. Digital paint, also referred to as an overspray-free application, is an advanced paint application that allows for precise paint placement. Through Axalta and Xaar’s patented technology, Axalta NextJet™ enables design flexibility for two-tone vehicles and allows customers to create patterns, details, and images in a sustainable way. The combined technology solution is being tested with customers and could be in production as early as 2024.
FORD’S NEW HAT
Electric vehicles are pretty advanced, but they’ve always been missing one thing–a fancy hat. Thankfully, Ford is here to change that with its new patent, wherein the OEM outlines a battery pack that comes attached to a vehicle’s roof. According to the patent, this “backup battery assembly is configured to recharge the traction battery pack through a charge port in the electrified vehicle” and can “include one or more battery modules within an enclosure.” The pack, which looks like something that would be carried on the roof rack of a vehicle, would sit on the car’s roof, because of its portability, and would be “particularly useful for vehicles that frequent areas lacking high numbers of charging stations, such as vehicles used for off-roading.”
PLUGGED IN
“The frequency of electric vehicle collision repair claims grew to 2.64 percent in Canada last quarter,” Mitchell stated in its latest Plugged In: EV Collision Insights report. One of the first notes in the report makes the claim that EVs tend to be designated non-drivable at a lower frequency than ICE counterparts, contrary to popular belief and erroneous news reports that circulated last spring. “The relative lack of moving parts means that an EV’s critical powertrain is less likely to be compromised during an accident. While certain ADAS components may be disrupted due to an advanced level of interconnectivity, the vehicle still has a higher likelihood of remaining drivable. EVs are, however, more apt to be considered non-drivable after a rear-end impact (10.87 percent) than ICE automobiles (9.72 percent). This is primarily due to the presence of powertrain components in the rear of the vehicle—such as an electric motor—that are lacking in ICE automobile design,” wrote Mitchell.
MOLDING A GIGA BREAKTHROUGH
Tesla is reportedly nearing a breakthrough in technology that could ‘gigacast’ an EVs entire underbody in one solid piece. The electric automaker already uses “Gigapresses” with 6,000 to 9,000 tonnes of clamping pressure to mold the front and rear structures of its Model Y. A newly developed process would allow Tesla to die cast nearly all of the complex underbody of an EV in one piece. Two inside sources from Tesla further claimed that if the company were to be successful in the giga-casting process, it would be able to develop a car from the ground up in just 18 to 24 months compared to rival companies which can take anywhere from three to four years. To cast subframes with hollows as part of one giga-casting, Tesla plans to place solid sand cores printed by jets within the overall mold. Once the part has been cast, the sand is removed to leave the voids. Currently, design questions still remain for how Tesla will mold larger vehicles, but at the moment technological shifts for its smaller EVs are creating a sandstorm of change.
