U.S. Vehicle Sales Surge Past Expectations Once Again

U.S. vehicle sales rose 3.1% month-on-month (m/m) in April, increasing to 18.5 million (SAAR) units, defying consensus expectations for a modest pull-back to 17.6 million.

Unadjusted volumes totaled 1.51 million in April, 111.4% above year ago levels, which would have represented the peak shutdown period due to COVID-19 restrictions. Relative to April 2019, sales were up a healthy 13.9%.

Passenger cars (+5.1% m/m) saw stronger growth than light trucks, which still posted a +2.4% gain on the month. Light trucks accounted for 77.6% of sales in April, down 0.2 percentage points from its share a year ago but still 6.8 percentage points higher than April 2019.

The early registration list for the PowderMet2021/AMPM2021/Tungsten2021 conferences is now available.  The conferences will be held one month from today, on June 20-23 at the WDW Swan and Dolphin Resort, in Orlando.  One registration fee gains access to the 3 big conferences, attracting the world’s leading industry-technical minds, promoting PM technology advancements from nearly 30 countries.

Delegates will transfer knowledge as they attend technical sessions, Special Interest Programs, and view the international poster display, in-person or online. All full conference registrants will have access to the on-demand videos for 2 weeks following the conferences.

We haven’t been able to get together in 2 years – don’t make it even longer…

If you are not on the list, register today!

GE engineers switched four existing parts from castings to metal 3D printing and see potential for hundreds more as AM competes with casting on cost alone.

Most manufacturers would never dream of switching an existing part from an investment casting to one made by metal AM.  But that is exactly what GE Aviation engineers are doing with four bleed air parts for a turbine engine. The decision was based on cost and time-to-market, even though the casting molds were already made.

This Self-Study Course provides a broad introduction to the fundamental principles of powder metallurgy. The user will gain an understanding of basic science and engineering as it relates to the technology. Practical applications of metal and alloy behavior, various manufacturing processes, and management objectives will be explored. This technically in-depth Course provides valuable knowledge for career development.

This Course contains 30 pre-recorded videos that average 60 minutes each. The Course will be open to the student for 6 months from the date of purchase.

The Binder Jet Metal AM process at Cummins. Photo via Cummins Inc.

Founded in 1919, Cummins Inc., Columbus, IN, has designed, manufactured, and distributed a broad portfolio of diesel, natural gas, electric, and hybrid powertrains. They also produce related components for filtration, fuel systems, turbochargers, automated transmissions, batteries, and fuel cells. Now they can add metal additive manufacturing (AM) to their portfolio as they are in the process of final approval for its first metal AM production part.

The part is a Cummins Emission Solutions (CES) lance tip adapter, a critical part that atomizes and injects diesel exhaust fluid into a high-horsepower engine, reducing nitrogen oxides emissions. Production is slated for later this year. Producing the lance tip adaptor through binder jet AM provided several benefits over traditional manufacturing techniques, such as a lighter-weight design, improved geometry for fluid and air flow, and removed the added complexity of cross-drillings.