CERAMICS IN MOTOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURING
As important as ceramics are in automobiles, they're equally important in manufacturing parts for the automobile and in robotically assembling all of these parts.
Nearly every metal part in the automobile touches ceramics somewhere between the raw-material and finished-product the stages.
All of the metal parts are melted in ceramic containers in ceramic-lined furnaces, which often are heated with ceramic burners.
Some parts are cast into ceramic molds and machined to final shape with ceramic cut ting tools.
Others are hot-rolled, stamped, and welded to form the auto body.
Ceramics are used extensively in the welding operation and also in the final grinding and sanding operations.
We'll talk about the ways that ceramics are used in forming metals into useful shapes in the next two chapters.
Ceramics are even important in the synthesis and weaving of the textiles used in the interior of your car
They're also necessary in the chemical process that makes gasoline from crude petroleum.
These important applications of ceramics also are reviewed in the next few chapters.
OVERVIEW: MOVING DOWN THE ROAD
Were you surprised by many of the hidden uses of ceramics in automobiles and by all of the ways ceramics are necessary in manufacturing an automobile?
Today's automobiles wouldn't be possible without the many magical characteristics of ceramics.
But what's down the road for automobiles?
More magic! Just imagine... smart suspension systems that use piezoelectric ceramics to detect bumps in the road and automatically adjust the stiffness of the suspension system using other piezoelectric devices: advanced highways with cars that can navigate safely without a driver, cats with advanced-ceramic pollution-control systems that emit zero pollution: cars that run on hydrogen from water so that they're twice as efficient as present cars and emit no pollution. We live in an amazing and exciting age.