Living in a Material World

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MIT Technology Review: These Engineering Tricks Are Helping Automakers Build Greener Cars

The 2017 GMC Acadia SUV makes use of an advanced adhesive, similar to that used by airplane manufacturers, to hold together its subframe. Unlike the usual rivets or spot welds, glue holds the entire seam of a join together, increasing stiffness. In turn, that allows the manufacturer to use thinner steel. Along with other weight-saving measures, that allowed the Acadia to shed 700 pounds.

www.3ders.org: NextGen spaceframe by EDAG - trends in the technology of laser melting of metals in automotive manufacturing

Technology example: NextGen spaceframe: Functionally integrated, bionically optimized lightweight vehicle structure manufactured flexibly: the bionically optimized spaceframe concept produced by hybrid additive manufacturing highlights a new way in which an adaptable and extremely flexible production concept can be implemented to produce bodyworks that are designed to be suitable for different load stages.

Popular Mechanics: Scientists Invent a New Steel as Strong as Titanium

...one of the biggest steel breakthroughs of the last few decades: an altogether new type of flexible, ultra-strong, lightweight steel. This new metal has a strength-to-weight ratio that matches even our best titanium alloys, but at one tenth the cost, and can be created on a small scale with machinery already used to make automotive-grade steel.