Premium Vehicle Lightweight Technologies - PVLT
Premium Vehicle Lightweight Technologies (PVLT)
Introduction
As one of WMG's Centres of Excellence, the Premium Vehicle Lightweight Technologies (PVLT) project helped to develop global initiatives to lower carbon emissions from vehicles through innovative research and development with industrial partners in the West Midlands.
Funded by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) in partnership with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the project researched sustainable new technologies to reduce the weight of vehicles whilst continuing to offer premium customer choice.
Research
There were three main strands of work within the PVLT Centre of Excellence:
Forming >>
The most crucial aspect of reducing a vehicle’s weight lies in the materials used in the main body-in-white structure. But new lighter materials need to have the same forming qualities as older ones.
Joining >>
The decision of which type of join to use in manufacturing processes is never straight forward one. The Joining team at WMG aims to make that judgement easier for manufacturers by presenting accurate, detailed information about each type of joint.
Simulation >>
The practice of producing physical prototypes in the automotive manufacturing design process is slowly coming to an end. In its place are simulated prototypes.
Project Partners
Crucial to this project were its industrial partners. Jaguar Land Rover was the primary partner, while others include Stadco, Sertec, CovPress, Whiston Industries, and the Premier Group.
Working closely with its partners, the project sought to embed new technologies within industry to provide sutainable innovation to make a real difference.
