First enacted by Congress in 1975, the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations tasked automakers to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. More recently, the automakers have been given a deadline, requiring them to nearly double the average fuel economy of cars and trucks by 2025.
In an effort to meet these requirements, GM has expanded their manufacturing process to include hybrid/electric cars. Their newest innovation, their GFE product, is a Global Front Wheel Drive Electric transmission, that requires a valve body machined from aluminum. With the 2025 deadline looming, GM knew they needed to push the production of these parts into high gear.
GM looked to Enshu for help. With our long-term relationship with GM, and extensive experience handling valve bodies, we knew we could provide a solution to meet their needs. After reviewing their production facilities and tooling and part requirements, Enshu recommended the JE50S horizontal machining center. Although it is no longer available for the standalone market, this fixed table 40-taper ram-type HMC has proven reliable in any production environment. With 500mm x 500mm x 500mm travels (X, Y, Z) and a 12,000 RPM max spindle speed, the energy efficient JE50S offers increased productivity with ease of set up, all within a narrow footprint to accommodate a line-type configuration.
By incorporating a manual conveyor with the four new JE50S modules, GM can now run two shifts a day, machining approximately 150,000 to 200,000 valve bodies a year, putting them well on their way to meeting the CAFE deadline.
