
The energy-saving implications of such projects should attract private capital and not require taxpayer subsidies according to critics.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) announced today that the company has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop an energy-efficient method for micro-machining complex shapes. Using laser technology, the new manufacturing process will enable enhanced production in Delphi’s gasoline direct injection (GDi) fuel injectors. The Obama Administration’s DOE grants are politically contentious in this election year, of course.
The process will increase laser machining energy efficiency up to 25% compared to standard practices while eliminating secondary processes such as etching, deburring or surface cleaning, Delphi claimed.
“This project has energy-saving implications and applicability across numerous industries and our working relationship with the Department of Energy is critical to advancing these important initiative,” said Jeffrey Owens, chief technology officer, Delphi Automotive.
The former component arm of General Motors is working with Raydiance, Inc. and Microlution, Inc. in the development of this new system. The project’s prototype platform will be developed and verified at Delphi’s Rochester, New York facility.
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.