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MS&T '08
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230-mpg Three-Wheeler Scoffs at High Gasoline Prices
Aptera Motors Inc.’s (Carlsbad, Calif.) aerodynamic, two-seat, three-wheeled vehicle with an all-electric or plug-in hybrid option offers a safe, comfortable, and more fuel-efficient vehicle than any other ever produced. The original hybrid diesel prototype hit 230 miles per gallon (mpg) at 55 mph, which is 195 mpg more than the average outlined in President Bush’s energy bill.
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Sponsor's Message
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With soaring prices of gasoline at the pump now averaging more than $4.00 per gallon, and as concerns continue to rise over the possible consequences of global warming, consumers around the nation are wrestling with transportation worries. President George W. Bush signed an energy bill in December 2007 that encouraged automobile makers to manufacture and produce more fuel-efficient vehicles and increase the industry average to at least 35 mpg by 2020. However, some automobile makers don’t think this is enough.
Take Aptera Motors Inc., a private automobile manufacturing company based out of Carlsbad, Calif. Aptera's founder, Steve Fambro, endeavored to design and build a passenger vehicle that was “safe, comfortable, and more fuel-efficient than any other vehicle ever produced.” His answer was the Aptera Typ-1, an environmentally friendly, aerodynamic, two-seat, three-wheeled vehicle, which offers an all-electric or plug-in hybrid option. The original hybrid diesel prototype, the Mk0, hit 230 mpg at 55 mph.
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The Aptera Typ-1, which hit 230 miles
per gallon
during a prototype test.
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The Typ-1 hybrid option is powered by a single-cylinder, 12-horsepower gasoline engine and a 24-horsepower dc electric motor, and has a fixed gear ratio transmission; the hybrid version now has a gasoline engine. Its power is delivered through a single rear wheel mounted on a composite swing arm. The all-electric version can get 120 miles per charge, while the hybrid is claimed to reach 300 mpg on short-range trips (100 miles) and 130 mpg on long-range trips (350-400 miles).
After 5 years in the making, the Aptera Typ-1 has been redesigned, re-engineered, and refined into a production-ready vehicle, which can be reserved today. Actual production for the vehicle is set to begin late in 2008.
Corporations in the multibillion dollar auto industry are realizing that providing alternative-fuel vehicles to consumers can be very profitable—both to the manufacturer and the buyer. General Motors, for example, announced that it will be shifting its production from SUVs to alternative-fuel vehicles like the Volt. The Toyota Prius gas/electric hybrid continues to be a hot seller, with a plug-in version on the way. Toyota announced in May of this year that its worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius had passed the one million mark.
The benefits that arise from fuel alternative vehicles are substantial. More fuel-efficient vehicles mean less demand for oil, which reduces foreign imports from unstable regions. “Over half of the nearly 20-million barrels of oil that the U.S. burns each day comes from other countries, including 500,000 barrels per day from Iraq and 1.5 million per day from Saudi Arabia,” according to The Green Machines Tour, an educational campaign that showcases fuel-efficient vehicle technologies. All in all, the United States imports 62% of its oil, with over 30% coming from regimes that are less friendly, such as Venezuela, Nigeria, and Algeria.
By buying fuel-efficient vehicles today, consumers can begin reducing global warming gas emissions and help to minimize its effects while saving money at the pump. A car such as the Aptera, which would emit less and go farther on a gallon of gas, would certainly go a long way toward achieving all of these goals while reducing oil dependence. It may look like something out of a science fiction movie, but it might be the first of a new generation of cars that carry fuel efficiency to a new level.
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ALD-Holcroft Awarded Vacuum Furnace Order
GETRAG Transmission Manufacturing LLC, Wilmington, Del., ordered three complete ModulTherm heat treatment lines from ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH, Hanau, Germany, for the heat treatment of gear parts for its PowerShift transmissions. The furnace systems will be installed in GETRAG´s new U.S. plant in Tipton, Ind. Production start is planned in 2009.
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CEC Sells Integral Quench Furnace to Aerospace Manufacturer
Consolidated Engineering Company (CEC), Kennesaw, Ga., will design and manufacture an integral quench furnace system for a manufacturer of business-jet aircraft at its new heat treat facility in Mexico. The system will be used to heat treat a broad range of aerospace steel grades, including low to medium carbon tool steels, precipitation hardening steels, and martensitic and austenitic stainless steels.
Learn more.
China Industrial Gases Market Growing Rapidly
According to a market study entitled “World Industrial Gases” by The Freedonia Group Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, an industry market research firm, China will surpass Japan as the world’s second largest market in the forecast for industrial gas demand. While the U.S. will remain the largest market for industrial gas, the developed markets of North America, Western Europe, and Japan will record below average growth in industrial gas.
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Solar Develops Vacuum Nitriding Process
Solar Atmospheres R&D Technology Group, Souderton, Pa., is conducting a test program for high-temperature solution nitriding of martensitic stainless steel at vacuum partial pressure nitrogen. Surface hardening of stainless steel is currently one of the hottest topics in the heat treat industry including nitriding, carburizing, and nitrocarburizing processes, according to Solar’s VP of Technology Don Jordan, a technology of high interest to Solar.
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Bodycote Appoints Global Director of R&D
Bodycote's Senior Operating Board created a corporate level position of Global Director of Research and Development to be filled by Dr. Stephen J. Mashl. Mashl joined Bodycote in 1998 and currently serves as Director of Engineering and Technology for Bodycote's North American HIP Operations. Steve has been a member of Bodycote's Corporate R&D Committee since its inception.
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Practical Heat Treating
August 4-8, 2008
ASM World Headquarters
Instructor: David Pye
Practical Heat Treating is designed to teach about the actual heat treating process, or the “how” of heat treating, in contrast to the “why” of heat treating as you might find in courses such as Heat Treatment of Steel and Principles of Heat Treating.
For more information or to register, contact Customer Service at
800-336-5152, ext. 0; e-mail Customer Service.
For a complete 2008 schedule of classes, visit us online.
Practical Induction Heat Treating
September 22-26, 2008
ASM World Headquarters
Instructor: Jon Dossett
Practical Induction Heat Treating covers the basic principles of heat treatment and induction heating with emphasis on equipment, frequency, and power selection; heating and quenching coil design; cooling systems design; current applications; process control; sources of and solutions to induction heat treating problems; process and quality control techniques; and system maintenance. Examples of how to determine operational costs will be provided.
For more information or to register, contact Customer Service at
800-336-5152, ext. 0; e-mail Customer Service.
For a complete 2008 schedule of classes, visit us online.
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Failure Analysis of Heat Treated Steel Components (Pre-Publication)
Edited by L.C.F. Canale,
R.A. Mesquita, and G.E. Totten
Member price: $130.00
Nonmember price: $162.00
This invaluable resource discusses causes of failure with integrated coverage of process metallurgy of steels by forging, casting, welding, and heat treating. Topics include production problems such as porosity, flaws, and surface defects that can influence failures occurring during subsequent heat treatment or during use. This reference includes many examples of heat treatment failures, with special focus on the demands of tool steels and aerospace materials.
Visit us online
440-338-5151, ext. 0
e-mail Customer Service
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Quenching & Control of Distortion of Heat Treated Gears
September 24-25, 2008
Radisson Hotel
Milwaukee Airport, Wisconsin
The conference will provide important information by heat-treating experts on methods to reduce distortion and residual stress of quenched parts, quality control and maintenance of quenchants, and more.
Event organizers: Scott MacKenzie (Houghton International), Dave Quisbert (QA Metallurgical Services LLC), Cynthia Barnicki (Milwaukee School of Engineering), and Dennis Beauchesne (ECM USA Inc.)
For more information, visit us online.
To learn more about tabletop exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, or to discuss customizing a program to meet your specific needs, contact:
Kelly Thomas
Exposition Sales Manager
440-338-1733
Cleaning Requirements for Heat Treatment – Developments and Applications
October 29-30, 2008
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, Mass.
Sponsored by ASM Heat Treating Society
Contact Customer Service Center, ASM Intl., Matls. Park, Ohio
800/336-5152 (ext. 0) or 440/338-5151 (ext. 0)
customerservice@asminternational.org
www.asminternational.org
Learn more.
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ASM Education Finds Its Way to Saudi Arabia
Later this year, ASM International will bring its brand of Lifelong Learning and Training to Global Suhaimi with Custom On-Site Training on Oilfield Metallurgy, Introduction to Heat Treating, and Advanced Heat Treating.
Learn more.
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©2008 ASM International |
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