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Current sustainability challenges and the systemic transformation required highlight the need for innovations at multiple levels. The global regulatory framework is driving new environmental design methods and practices. At the European level, based on the European Green Deal, the 8th Environment Action Program (EAP) entered into force on 2 May 2022 as the EU's legally agreed common agenda for environmental policy up to 2030. The EAP forms the EU's basis for achieving the United Nations' 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. In 2020, the European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan, which provides measures throughout the product life cycle and aims to prepare the European economy for a green future and strengthen competitiveness, while protecting the environment and giving new rights to consumers. In 2023, the European Council adopted its position on the proposal for a regulation establishing a framework for the stability of eco-design requirements for sustainable products. The automotive industry is trying to cope with these regulations and at the same time to remain competitive in terms of costs. Also, it is a landmark in forming sectoral models of eco-innovation and eco-design due to its role in modern societies, positively as the main choice of transport but negatively in terms of environmental damage and the intensive use of non-renewable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of the double digital and climate transition is imposed by the realities we are going through. At the European level, this double transition is carefully planned and monitored. The automotive industry is part of the category of the main contributors to economic growth, to the increase in the standard of living, but it is also responsible for the generation of a large amount of waste. Car manufacturers invest around a third of EU spending on research and development, specifically to boost vehicle circularity, taking better account of the increasing complexities and specificities of vehicles, including longevity, durability and repairability. Digitization was quickly introduced by the major car manufacturers, but also by the other actors in the value chain associated with the automotive industry in order to improve their operational efficiency. The article addresses the relevance of a synergy between the Circular Economy - part of ensuring sustainability requirements - and the rapid technological developments manifested in the automotive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses an important problem in the industry, that of automation precision measurement and control processes. These are the sealing systems of certain products, such as pistons, valves, syringes, housings, etc. In the automotive industry, the majority the housings are made of cast aluminum. Indeed, cast aluminium transmission housings and pistons have been used in cars and trucks and nowadays castings account for more than 50% of the aluminium used in cars. The casting operation presents the risk of inclusions which may occur due to leakage. These can cause major problems during operation. Because it is very important to check the tightness. There are at least two methods of checking a tightness: Air-water microleakage measurement, where the operating space is water and the check is air; Air-to-air microleakage measurement where both the operating space and the agent of verification are air. In the first type of air-water machines, verification is done by visual inspection of the presence of bubbles. In the second type, the check is carried out with special equipment for microleakage measurement. The air operated electronic device is designed for fracture detection using pneumatically actuated microleakage measurement for walls of a work pieces. It is used in industry, especially in the automotive industry, for presence detection of fractures in castings from high productivity production units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a complex mechatronic equipment which can perform predefined sequential motion cycles. The equipment comprises two parts: an automation panel and a pneumatic assembly. The Master Control Unit of the automation panel is programmed to run a specific software application that ensures the proper fulfilment of the motion cycles. The MCU is connected to a Radio Frequency transceiver and could be easily connected to IoT and/or LAN using a wired network controller. The input data has the following sources: the remote RF sensors' data, the position of the proximity sensors (placed on the pneumatic cylinders), the numerical codes transmitted by the IR remote control and/or by IoT connection and the current motion cycle's settings. The output data consists of digital output signals (send both to the solenoid valves for actuators through relays and to the status lamps) and text messages written onto a LCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]