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Buses n' bikes go electric
applications
Buses n’ bikes go electric WHETHER YOU want to travel at your own speed or let someone else do the driving, electric buses and bikes can accommodate you. Claiming to be the largest purpose-built electric bus manufacturer in the world, Vehicle Systems Advanced (AVS) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, has 17 electric buses within the Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority fleet. All the buses have glass reinforced plastic (GRP) bodies over steel frames. Nearly 100 additional electric buses have been sold by AVS worldwide since its founding in 1992. In May, the company announced integration into its electric powertrain of the Capstone Micro Turbine, a ‘first’ for this emerging technology in a daily transit application anywhere. One million riders per year utilize the Chattanooga electric buses. The company has also built a composite-bodied 60 passenger
tram and is at work on a heavyduty, 28 to 36 passenger, SO300 mpg range bus in either pure electric or diesel/electric hybrid variant. Electric cycling is made easy with composite battery packs and throttle systems adaptable to existing bicycles or used on specialty-built e-bike frames. The ETC Express power pack Electric Transfrom the portation Company of Santa Barbara, California, USA, is an injection moulded, 12 kg glass reinforced nylon box that drives the rear tyre of an adapted bicycle to 19 km/hr over a 22.5 km range. Fibre/resin ratio is 20180, and the resin is Zytel from DuPont. Batteries, motor, electronics and mounting points for each are integrated in the composite pack, which is 38 cm wide, 20 cm high and 12.7 cm deep. The composites are UL listed, offer good impact resistance and ultraviolet (UV) stability to
resist sunlight but accommodate in-mould colorability. For wear resistance in the throttle on US Pro Drive electric bikes, Currie Technologies, Van Nuys, California, USA, uses 11% glass-filled nylon. The handlebar-mounted, thumboriented throttle system pairs with an unreinforced but impact resistant ABS battery case that fits between frame rails and contains two lead acid batteries, the Unitary Propulsion System and the battery charger. For two and three wheel bikes as well as police bikes, this electric power system offers a 24 km range at 12.8 km/hr top speed and weighs less than 12.7 kg. The newest bike on which it is offered is a mountain bike with a steel frame and boosted range to 32 km. (For further information on the use of composites in electric vehicles see last month’s issue of Reinforced Plastics.)
Pick-up boxes mean business THE DECISION by General Motors and Ford to introduce truck models featuring pick-up boxes made from composites is expected to open up a substantial new market for reinforced plastics. which Corning, Owens helped develop the technology used to make the pick-up boxes, predicts that the use of composites in this application will rise from zero today to over 30 000 tonnes a year within the next five years. The first Ford truck to include a composite box is the 2001 Explorer Sport Trac, which will be available early next year. This model combines features of pick-up trucks and and sport utility vehicles
4
REINFORCEDplastics
will have four doors and a 1.2 m long pick-up box. It will also feature an optional composite tonneau cover, traditionally an aftermarket accessory. The composite pick-up boxes for the Trac will be moulded by The Budd Co at North Baltimore, Ohio. Sheet moulding compound (SMC) will be prepared at Budd’s facility in Van Wert, Ohio. Dick McKechnie, automotive market segment leader at Owens Coming, believes the new pickup truck boxes will encourage engineers to look again at ways they can use composites. He says floor pans and front-end supports are likely to be the next candidates for development. In August, both General Motors and Ford said they
November
I999
would introduce truck models featuring pick-up boxes made of composites. These are expected to solve problems that have traditionally plagued pick-up truck owners, such as dents, scratches and rust. The boxes are reported to be the largest composites parts ever made for light trucks in the world. The composite box, made using Owens Corning’s latest preform technology the OC” Preformable System, will also be an option on General Motors’ 2001 model Chevrolet 1500 Series 4WD Extended Cab Silverado, which will be on sale in the autumn of 2000. (For further information see Reinforced Plastics, October 1999, page 6).
GRP manifold for Ford’s V-l 0 MANN+HUMMEL Automotive Inc, the North American division of the German Mann+ Hummel Group, has started production of its first glass reinforced plastic (GRP) manifold for Ford’s V-10 engine in North America. The two-piece vibrationwelded manifold represents one of several modifications made by Ford on its existing V-10 engine. The GRP replaces an aluminum lower intake manifold and is anticipated to increase performance, decrease noise and reduce the cost of the manifold. The new components are on Ford’s V-10, 6.8 litre engines in the 2000 Fseries 250, 350 and 450 heavy duty trucks as well as the new Excursion sport utility. According to the company, the manifold represents the first time plastic has been used for a V-10 engine application. The GRP manifold is produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Portage, Michigan, and once completed is shipped to another supplier for assembly with the upper manifold. The Mann+Hummel Group set up its North American divlsion approximately three years ago, primarily to be able to work closely with Ford. Initially, the prototypes and tooling were done at affiliated Mann+Hummel locations in Germany, but in 1998 the facility in manufacturing Portage was established. With 1998 sales of US$l billion, the Mann+ Hummel Group is organized into two divisions, automotive and industrial. The automotive division manufactures components ranging from air, oil, fuel and cabin filters, to composite intake manifolds and manifold modules.
Buses n’ bikes go electric WHETHER YOU want to travel at your own speed or let someone else do the driving, electric buses and bikes can accommodate you. Claiming to be the largest purpose-built electric bus manufacturer in the world, Vehicle Systems Advanced (AVS) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, has 17 electric buses within the Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority fleet. All the buses have glass reinforced plastic (GRP) bodies over steel frames. Nearly 100 additional electric buses have been sold by AVS worldwide since its founding in 1992. In May, the company announced integration into its electric powertrain of the Capstone Micro Turbine, a ‘first’ for this emerging technology in a daily transit application anywhere. One million riders per year utilize the Chattanooga electric buses. The company has also built a composite-bodied 60 passenger
tram and is at work on a heavyduty, 28 to 36 passenger, SO300 mpg range bus in either pure electric or diesel/electric hybrid variant. Electric cycling is made easy with composite battery packs and throttle systems adaptable to existing bicycles or used on specialty-built e-bike frames. The ETC Express power pack Electric Transfrom the portation Company of Santa Barbara, California, USA, is an injection moulded, 12 kg glass reinforced nylon box that drives the rear tyre of an adapted bicycle to 19 km/hr over a 22.5 km range. Fibre/resin ratio is 20180, and the resin is Zytel from DuPont. Batteries, motor, electronics and mounting points for each are integrated in the composite pack, which is 38 cm wide, 20 cm high and 12.7 cm deep. The composites are UL listed, offer good impact resistance and ultraviolet (UV) stability to
resist sunlight but accommodate in-mould colorability. For wear resistance in the throttle on US Pro Drive electric bikes, Currie Technologies, Van Nuys, California, USA, uses 11% glass-filled nylon. The handlebar-mounted, thumboriented throttle system pairs with an unreinforced but impact resistant ABS battery case that fits between frame rails and contains two lead acid batteries, the Unitary Propulsion System and the battery charger. For two and three wheel bikes as well as police bikes, this electric power system offers a 24 km range at 12.8 km/hr top speed and weighs less than 12.7 kg. The newest bike on which it is offered is a mountain bike with a steel frame and boosted range to 32 km. (For further information on the use of composites in electric vehicles see last month’s issue of Reinforced Plastics.)
Pick-up boxes mean business THE DECISION by General Motors and Ford to introduce truck models featuring pick-up boxes made from composites is expected to open up a substantial new market for reinforced plastics. which Corning, Owens helped develop the technology used to make the pick-up boxes, predicts that the use of composites in this application will rise from zero today to over 30 000 tonnes a year within the next five years. The first Ford truck to include a composite box is the 2001 Explorer Sport Trac, which will be available early next year. This model combines features of pick-up trucks and and sport utility vehicles
4
REINFORCEDplastics
will have four doors and a 1.2 m long pick-up box. It will also feature an optional composite tonneau cover, traditionally an aftermarket accessory. The composite pick-up boxes for the Trac will be moulded by The Budd Co at North Baltimore, Ohio. Sheet moulding compound (SMC) will be prepared at Budd’s facility in Van Wert, Ohio. Dick McKechnie, automotive market segment leader at Owens Coming, believes the new pickup truck boxes will encourage engineers to look again at ways they can use composites. He says floor pans and front-end supports are likely to be the next candidates for development. In August, both General Motors and Ford said they
November
I999
would introduce truck models featuring pick-up boxes made of composites. These are expected to solve problems that have traditionally plagued pick-up truck owners, such as dents, scratches and rust. The boxes are reported to be the largest composites parts ever made for light trucks in the world. The composite box, made using Owens Corning’s latest preform technology the OC” Preformable System, will also be an option on General Motors’ 2001 model Chevrolet 1500 Series 4WD Extended Cab Silverado, which will be on sale in the autumn of 2000. (For further information see Reinforced Plastics, October 1999, page 6).
GRP manifold for Ford’s V-l 0 MANN+HUMMEL Automotive Inc, the North American division of the German Mann+ Hummel Group, has started production of its first glass reinforced plastic (GRP) manifold for Ford’s V-10 engine in North America. The two-piece vibrationwelded manifold represents one of several modifications made by Ford on its existing V-10 engine. The GRP replaces an aluminum lower intake manifold and is anticipated to increase performance, decrease noise and reduce the cost of the manifold. The new components are on Ford’s V-10, 6.8 litre engines in the 2000 Fseries 250, 350 and 450 heavy duty trucks as well as the new Excursion sport utility. According to the company, the manifold represents the first time plastic has been used for a V-10 engine application. The GRP manifold is produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Portage, Michigan, and once completed is shipped to another supplier for assembly with the upper manifold. The Mann+Hummel Group set up its North American divlsion approximately three years ago, primarily to be able to work closely with Ford. Initially, the prototypes and tooling were done at affiliated Mann+Hummel locations in Germany, but in 1998 the facility in manufacturing Portage was established. With 1998 sales of US$l billion, the Mann+ Hummel Group is organized into two divisions, automotive and industrial. The automotive division manufactures components ranging from air, oil, fuel and cabin filters, to composite intake manifolds and manifold modules.