In Foshan and Anting Chinese factories, which together have a maximum overall capacity of 600,000 units per year, they have started the production of the two new models of the 100% electric ID family, specific for that national market. They are ID.4 Crozzi By Faw-Volkswagen and ID.4 X1 by Saic Volkswagen, manufactured on the innovative Meb platform, and the release on the market is expected for the beginning of 2021.
This move will allow the Group to rise the share of electric vehicles in its product portfolio by 35% within 2025 and Volkswagen will propose eight models of the ID family by 2023.
«Our ID. family, based on Meb platform – declared Stephan Wöllenstein, Ceo of Volkswagen Group China – will revolutionize the industry and the market of electric cars. Meb features unique versatility and it is an unbelievably flexible platform for the vehicle production, that is to say it allows offering a broad range of very interesting electric models, from compact city cars to spacious vans or Suv».
Foshan production site is fully powered by renewable energy and its original structures have been renovated, so becoming one of the most flexible sites in the global production network: they rely on 1,200 robots in the welding department and an almost 100% automation degree in the painting one. Here it is possible to manufacture both standard internal-combustion vehicles based on the Mqb platform and fully electric cars on Meb base. A highly flexible configuration enables the production of 6-8 Meb models simultaneously.
Volkswagen, the sustainable production on Meb base is starting
Electric motors with Italian heart
Electric motors for the models by Volkswagen Group manufactured on Meb platform equip the proud Made in Italy signed by Euro Group Laminations. The company comes into play with the exclusive supply of rotors and stators for the electric traction motors of Meb modular platform at Baranzate (Mi). It is an important contract that will heighten the importance of the automotive segment of the family company, which counts 1,950 people in the world, almost half of them in Italy, where it operates with seven of its 12 factories.
«We can affirm – the CEO Marco Arduini declared- we rely on 53 years of experience and we are the number one in our segment by size, but especially we avail ourselves of advanced technologies in the various processes. Moreover, we are a family-owned company that is aware of the importance of gaining and maintaining the confidence of those turning to us».
In 2016, Euro Group entered the electric car business through the agreement with an American manufacturer, launching pad to work in China for Volkswagen Group for the eTraction architecture, used also in Europe for the e-Up and for the e-Golf.
Motor Valley, 20 millions to favour innovative start-ups
On the occasion of the opening of the new “Cdp Space” in Modena, an office of “Cassa depositi e prestiti” entrusted with the sustainable development of the whole area, they have released a business accelerator that bodes well for the future of the automotive and mobility chain.
The project aims at attracting and favouring innovative start-ups, making 20 million Euros available in the ambit of the new “Mobility & Digital Acceleration” fund of MEF operational branch, with the support of Modena technological broker Crit and of the international platform Open Innovation Plug and Play.
The project uniqueness consists in having united partners that excel in the respective competences: Cdp in the fund management, Crit in hi-tech innovation connected with the territory, Plug and Play in the business acceleration on a global scale.
The target is enriching the historical know-how of the Emilia, Piedmont and Italian engineering chain, boosting the already existing companies, to favour investments in human resources and in the development of excellent start-ups.
MECSPE Connect, alongside companies
MECSPE 2020 becomes digital | Next December 2nd and 3rd, exhibitors and visitors will have the opportunity of meeting online to discover the best of the manufacturing industry.
The commitment of MECSPE, the biggest exhibition dedicated to innovative technologies for manufacturing enterprises, goes on through the new digital MECSPE CONNECT initiative, purposely devised not to deprive exhibitors and visitors of the opportunity of meeting, exchanging information and keeping on doing business.
It will be possible to follow and to enjoy the innovative digital platform live during the two days of next 2nd and 3rd December.
SIGN UP TO MECSPE CONNECT
It is a space where to exhibit, to collect information, to train and to discuss about the future of the system, to live times of direct contact among exhibitors and visitors, national and international buyers.
Exhibitors and partners of the exhibition will present technical novelties and contents, with a very broad programme of workshops, roundtables and conferences about themes like Additive and Simulation, the Factory Without Limits – Gamification, Innovation, Safety and Sustainability.
Moreover, the online platform will allow entering the twelve trade showrooms that will permit users to identify and to contact with a single click the best suppliers of technologies, machines and machining processes.
MECSPE Connect represents then a precious networking meeting that will allow weaving relations and building business relationships that will be consolidated at the next MECSPE edition in Bologna, held from 10th to 12th June 2021.
Here is the hybrid tractor for agriculture
It is called REX4 Electra the hybrid tractor by Landini brand, trademark of Argo Tractors Spa company, multinational of Argo industrial Group headquartered at Fabbrico, in Reggio Emilia province.
The vehicle, intended for crossing fruit and vegetable fields in a sustainable way, has won the Technical Novelty Eima International, too.
Propulsion is dominated by the 110 HP diesel engine that, through the generator and the battery, powers the two front electric motors, which deliver 12-kW power that can rise to 16-kW for each wheel.
In REX4, the novelty is positioned in the “bow” of the tractor, with fully electric front-wheel drive on suspended axle and sensors, electronic controls, generator and battery dedicated to the Brake Energy Recovery, the energy recovery in braking and deceleration phases.
The system, which is called Electra Evolving Hybrid, is managed by PMS, Power Management System, which supervises the operation of all devices, battery included.
What are benefits in terms of performances? We will achieve the 10% fuel saving, the 15% steering angle improvement, the 15% vibration reduction and higher transport stability.
Full electric luxury yacht
The Eco Cruiser 50 announced by the German Alva Yachts is a luxury boat with electric motors, hydrogen and solar panels.
However, it is not the first green initiative by the company: it has experimented the electric propulsion on houseboats and it has started the construction of two zero-emission catamarans.
Eco Cruiser 50 is a 15.20-metre yacht that, once launched, will be available in different versions, with three or four cabins, for private use or for charter, with variable power motors and possibility of reaching the maximum speed of 20 knots.
The electric propulsion is constituted by two motors with 100 kW each, for a total power of 272 HP. The necessary energy to power the motors comes from a 50-kVA generator and from the solar panels positioned on the top, with 4.9 kW power and 140 or 240 kWh battery pack.
The great novelty of the project is technology will not be added afterwards, but it will represent a central element of the design. For this reason, the line of the yacht roof offers an enormous surface for solar panels.
The design also provides for the replacement of the tank with a hydrogen fuel cell for the generator, while the space generally taken up by standard fuel tanks is intended for the stocking of the hydrogen itself.
Speaking of furniture, interiors have been developed according to a minimalist design, staking on natural materials and light, but also on cruise luxury, safety and comfort.
The primary goal is making Eco Cruiser 50 an example of the latest technological developments in the field of 100% green yacht, ahead of years versus competitors.
The new hybrid plug-in by Ferrari
Extraordinarily fine. SF90 Spider, convertible version of the SF90 Road, it is not only the first Ferrari series plug-in hybrid spider, but it also represents the absolute reference in terms of drive performance, innovations and emotions compared to the range by Maranello Company and the production of the whole sports car sector.
It is a disruptive car, for those aspiring to the highest level of Ferrari technology and wishing to be excited by its performances without giving up versatility and the drive pleasure with open top assured by RHT (Retractable Hard Top), factory trademark of the spiders by Prancing Horse since 2011.
The hybrid plug-in system of SF90 Spider assures it top performances: the 780 HP turbo motor is in fact joined by three electric motors, one at the rear and two on the front axle, which raise the maximum available power to as many as 1000 HP.
However, the great refinement of this plant does not imply complications for the pilot because the sophisticated control logic autonomously supervises the energy flow management according to use conditions.
Therefore, the driver’s only task is setting up one of the use modalities of the power unit (eDrive, Hybrid, Performance and Qualify) that can be selected by the brand-new eManettino and let emotions free.
Like the SF90 Road, also the SF90 Spider is equipped with four-wheel drive on-demand, an absolute première for the sports cars by Maranello Company that allows the car to turn into the new benchmark for the standing start: 0-100 km/h in 2.5 s and 0-200 km/h in 7.0 s.
The adopted architecture has allowed engineers to enhance also the management logic of the dynamic car control, now called eSSC: the system constantly assesses the dynamic vehicle conditions and checks its driving stability and front electric motors, in order to manage independently the torque applied to the inner and outer wheel (Torque Vectoring), significantly improving traction out of corners and allowing the pilot to reach the limit in full simplicity and safety.
The electric sports car that stems from wastes
Implemented in about 18 months by 22 Dutch students of the Tu/ecomotive team University of Technology, Luca is a prototype of two-seater sports electric car, which boasts a green soul indeed.
The vehicle is equipped with two electric motors, one for each rear wheel, and its weight is just 360 kilograms, with the addition of 60 kg of batteries.
The great peculiarity? Luca has been fully made with wastes, including the plastic fished out of the ocean, recycled Pet bottles for the frame and unsorted household wastes for interiors, which include also two very comfortable customized seats, whose cushions are made with a combination of coir and horsehair.
For the bodywork, they have used recycled Abs, a hard plastic drawn from landfill materials such as TV sets, toys and kitchen appliances.
The two-seater with sports look has a yellow livery made with the application of a film, then easily removed to be recycled again.
Considering wastes as precious material in a car with sports look is then the outstanding frontier exceeded by the team of the project manager Lisa van Etten. «We hope– stated Matthijs van Wijk, member of Tu/ecomotive team – that automotive companies will start using waste materials, already feasible for many applications. We wanted to demonstrate it is also possible to make a frame with them».
Ivo A. Nardella is the new president of ANES
The General Assembly of ANES members– National Association of Specialized Publishing has chosen its new President for the 2020-2023 triennium: he is Ivo Alfonso Nardella, Sole Director of Gruppo Editoriale Tecniche Nuove. Former Vice-President of ANES since 2013, Member of the Board of Directors since 2008 and Director since 2009, he has been member of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Graphics Union in Milan since 2020, too.
Ivo A. Nardella in the top management of ANES
During his installation speech, Ivo Nardella, who first thanked the outgoing President, Andrea Boni, for the excellent work carried out, affirmed he was honoured by the trust and appreciation expressed by Members and aware of taking over the management of the Association in an extremely complicated time for the publishing field and the entire Country system.
2020-2023 programme
“Going through the amber light – stated Nardella – is the ambitious achievement where I would like to drive the field in the course of my mandate: we have to be able to change in a difficult time, to support the Country by making all professional chains increasingly updated and trained to be able to face the recovery and to maintain the leaderships acquired on an international scale. We will operate with institutions to consolidate the fundamental role played by ANES associated companies in the culture-productivity relationship”.
The neo-president then presented his wide work programme for the 2020-2023 triennium, developed according to three fundamental values: representing all, training to inform, evolving to change, supported by a direct involvement of Members, also through the strengthening of the presence in Territories, and by the enhancement of people before personas.
Utmost attention will be still paid to the Association’s assets, from consulting to members, from training to Digital and CSST sections and work contracts, as well as to new valuable initiatives like B2B Marketing Conference, set up in 2019 as starting and evolutionary point for the challenges of B2B communication, which is generating an excellent ranking of ANES and of its associated companies towards the target of B2B marketers.
The other turnovers
Ivo Nardella, in the management of ANES, will collaborate with the Vice- Presidents Alessio Crisantemi from GN Media and Carlo Latorre from Cronoart, as well as with the President of the ANES Digital Section who will be elected by the Association’s digital component during next weeks.
New Decree halts MECSPE 2020
The major international trade fair, a landmark for industry 4.0 and the specialized mechanical engineering sector, was already preparing to host over 1,350 exhibitors over an exhibition area of 60,000 sq.m.
Huge damage to the trade fair and to Italian Manufacturing
MECSPE is assessing the damage caused by the sudden U-turn announced in the new ministerial decree of 25 October, which forbids the organization of “fairs of any kind”.
A landmark for innovation technologies and industry 4.0 in manufacturing, today the fair will begin to dismantle the stands and uninstall the machinery that was already being set up for display. Scheduled to be held in Parma, Italy, from 29 to 31 October, MECSPE had been confirmed by a previous ministerial decree of 18 October and, on 24 October, work began on installing an exhibition area of 60,000 sq.m. in 6 different pavilions. All the current health regulations were followed to host visitors in safety and guarantee compliance with government norms to combat the pandemic.
“This is a hard blow, both for the fair and for the companies in the sector who have been coming to MECSPE for the last 19 years and have found new technologies, solutions for all kinds of production chains and ongoing training, as well as a unique opportunity to do trade and exchange ideas,” comments Ivo Nardella, President of SENAF, Gruppo Tecniche Nuove.“The new decree contradicts the previous one without considering the amount of time involved in planning a trade exhibition like MECSPE. For the specialized mechanical engineering sector, it represents three days of work that are vital for planning recovery. Mechanical engineering accounts for 8.1% of the added value of the whole Italian economy, 6.1% of employment and, when you consider that in Emilia Romagna, the region hosting the exhibition, mechanical engineering represents 56% of exports, you can understand the extent of the damage inflicted by this decision. What’s more, as far as we know, no discussions have been planned either with Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) or with AEFI (Association of the Italian Exhibition Industry), for that matter. A trade exhibition impacting the professional lives of almost 90 thousand workers, from entrepreneurs, skilled workers and technicians to engineers, and driving a strategic sector for our country’s recovery, cannot and must not be treated in the same way as a village festival, with all due respect for such events. We hope to receive an invitation from the Finance and Treasury Minister, Roberto Gualtieri, to assess the extent of the damage. We would also like to thank all the companies and associations, both professional and territorial, who have chosen to be part of MECSPE. We apologize immensely for the inconvenience caused by the decision announced yesterday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte”.
As of 2021, MECSPE will pursue its international development by moving to the BolognaFiere Exhibition Centre.
MECSPE Exhibition Halls
Macchine Utensili – Machine tools | Equipment | Tools | Design software; Fabbrica Digitale – Industrial computing | IoT | Industrial sensors | Cloud-manufacturing | Automatic identification technologies | Applications, devices, instrumentation and intelligent components for interpreting and interconnecting processes; Motek Italy – Automation and Robotics | Assembly | Mounting and Handling; Power Drive – Mechanical power transmission systems | Oil-pressure | Pneumatics | Mechatronics | Motion control | Maintenance | Compressed air; Control Italy – Quality certification and control | Metrology | Measurement instruments | Laboratory tests | Calibration | Analysis equipment | Vision; Logistica – Wrapping | Packaging | Handling | Material handling | Lean manufacturing | Warehouse management software | Supply chain management | Outsourcing | Safety | PPE; Subfornitura Meccanica – Precision mechanical processing | Metal carpentry | Mechanical construction | Fasteners | Foundries | Small parts | Wire working | Outsourced industrial processes | Micro-processing; Subfornitura Elettronica – CEM (contract electronics manufacturers) | Cables | EMS (electronics manufacturing service) | PCB (printed circuit board manufacturers) | Engineering and design firms; Eurostampi, Macchine e Subfornitura Plastica, Gomma e Compositi – Plastics, rubber and composite processing | Machines and plants| Innovative materials| Moulding | Extrusion | Packaging | Blow Moulding | Moulds | Models | Normalised parts for moulds | Design, Simulation and design software | Micro-processing | Auxiliary equipment ; Additive Manufacturing – Rapid prototyping | Rapid manufacturing | 3D printing | Systems and services for reverse engineering | Additive technology | Materials | Services | Hardware: 3D printers and scanners, accessories | Simulation and design software; Trattamenti e Finiture – Furnaces | Galvanic, Chemical and Electronic Processes |Washing | Metallising, Glazing, Galvanising | Products and Accessories for Treatments | Heat Treatments | Coating; Materiali Non Ferrosi e Leghe – Non-ferrous materials processing (Aluminium, Titanium, Magnesium, Light Alloys) | Die-casting | Foundries | Outsourced industrial processes | Technologies | Design | Engineering.