Low Impact Manufacturing

Introduction

A circular economy is referred to simply as an economic system that aims to minimize waste and make the most out of the resources. In the process of circular economy waste emission, resource input and energy leakage are minimized by closing, slowing and narrowing energy and material loops(Stahel, 2016).

Triumph motorcycle Ltd has been taken into consideration in terms of evaluating this report. Triumph Motorcycle Ltd is the UK’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, which was established in the year 1983 by John Bloor. During the period from June 2017, the company sold around 63,400 motorcycles and earned revenue of £ 498.5 million, moreover, the total number of employees within the organisation is 2000(Triumphmotorcycles, 2019).

Triumph motorcycle has taken up the initiative of developing new ranges of high speed limited edition motorcycles which are known as Triumph Factory Custom (TMC), the first model was known as Thruxton TFC, with the production capacity limited to 750 units. Whereas, the firm is also planning to introduce new motorbike during the year 2019, which is known as Rocket 3 TFC through their motorbike show at shoreditch, London.

This report will briefly explain about different components that are used in the product and how different components affects the suitability for the circular economy.

The main type of component that is used while manufacturing different electrical parts is structural parts, electrical parts and miscellaneous parts. With the help of electrical motorcycle Ltd, the concept of circular economy and its application on the different products will be evaluated.

Furthermore, as the study progress, it will also discuss the future sustainable industrial system in terms of determining the stages in the lifecycle of a typical product once the company’s energy and materials flows have been made circular as possible.

The stages of electrical motorcycle lifecycle will briefly explain about the fuel life cycle emissions, vehicle life cycle emission which comprises the stages of material production, vehicle assembly and distribution and finally vehicle operations.

This report will also shed light on short and long term steps will be described for the company which they should be requiring to maintain sustainability. Finally, at the end of the report standards, policies and regulations will briefly be explained which will help in conducting the report systematically.

Description of parts and application of circular economy concepts

A circular economy is known as the industrial system that is regenerative or restorative through design or intention, the process also replaces the end-of-life concept with a shift towards restoration or renewable energy.

The circular economy also aims towards eliminating waste through the superior design of materials, systems and business model or products. The circular economy also introduces strict differentiation between durable components and consumable of the product(Moraga, et al., 2019).

The different components that are used while manufacturing electric motorcycle include structural parts, electric parts and miscellaneous parts, this type of parts are mostly used to design the frame for an electric motorcycle.

All these parts are essential in terms of framing structure that will be most appropriate to mount the component required for electrical mobility such as chassis, wheels, suspension and seat assembly. The components of the motorcycle are designed in such a way which looks towards minimizing less wastage in terms of maintaining a circular economy.

Structural parts

Structural parts in the motorcycle components are used for manufacturing, engineering and assembling the motorcycle with maintaining aesthetics, designed performance and cost.

Chassis-The chassis of the motorcycle includes the suspension, frame along with the front folks of the vehicle.

Frame- Triumph motorcycle while manufacturing their electric motorcycle will be using steel or welded aluminium along with the rear suspension which will be an integral component in the design. Moreover, other components such as carbon-fibre, magnesium and titanium will also be used as expensive custom frames while manufacturing the motorcycles.

The chassis component of the frame will also be including the head tube that holds the front fork and allows it to pivot(Ballard, 2017). Oil-in-frame chassis will be used by Triumph motorcycle where the lubricating oil will be stored in the frame of the motorcycle. The manufacturer of the electric motorcycle will be upholding circular economy by using single-cylinder four-strokes that usually comprises of dry-sump lubrication for the external oil tank.

Wheels-The manager of Triumph has taken up the decision of using wheel rims which are usually made up of aluminium or steel. The steel or aluminium that are usually used in the motorcycle are machined aluminium or mag-type(Ridet, 2019).

Moreover, the wheels that will be used in Triumph electrical motorcycle will be forge from magnesium alloys ZK60 or MA-14. Moreover, the motorcycle wheels also used wire wheels that are built up from separate components such as carbon-fibre that improves the performance and durability of the wheels.

Suspension-Modern design motorcycle generally uses two types of wheel suspension that are connected to the chassis by a suspension arrangement.

The suspension that will be used by Triumph motorcycle will be built into a front fork that consists of telescoping tubes known as fork tubes which contains the suspension inside or through a multi-bar linkage that incorporates the suspension externally(Farajzadeh Khosroshahi, et al., 2018). Moreover, the suspension that will be used while designing the electric motorcycle will consist of several shock arrangements.

• Dual shocks, which are placed at the far ends of the swingarm
• Traditional mono-shock, which are being placed at the front of the swingarm.
• Softail style suspension, where the shock absorbers are being mounted horizontally in front of the swingarm and operate in extension.

Seat assembly- The seat assembly that is used for motorcycle manufacturing is dual saddle or bench seat that is used to carry out passengers. Triumph motorcycle manufacturer will be using R1200RT which is latest in design and will be carrying up to two adjacent passengers with each other.

Electrical parts

Electrical parts in a motorcycle are termed as electromagnet through which the start button and other staring circuit are enforced to generate electromagnetic force that helps the motorcycle to operate smoothly.

Motors- The electrical motorcycle manufacturer Triumph will be using Brushless DC series motor while manufacturing their electric motorcycle as because it makes it a suitable option for traction application.

The commutation process in the motorcycle is done electronically in this type of motor as because the BLDC is maintenance-free(Daniewicz, et al., 2017). Furthermore, Triumph motorcycle also uses BLDC motors as because it has traction characteristics such as high starting torque and higher efficiency around 95-98%.

Switches- Most of the electric motorcycle uses a low current switch which is designed to work relays or an M-Unit that helps the electric motorcycle manufacturer to push-to-connect buttons and use it like domestic plugs. Triumph while manufacturing electric motorcycle uses each button which is of 60 watts and are tired to lighting current.

Wires- Triumph while designing electric motorcycle uses wires which are channelled through the wiring harness that is designed specifically for the two-wheeler model in terms of supplying electrical power(Sakamoto, 2017).16 gauge to 18 gauge copper wire insulated with plastic are being used while manufacturing electrical motorcycle in terms of handling the loads.

Circuit board- Printed circuit boards are usually used while manufacturing electric motorcycle that holds chips along with several other electronic components and interconnects that are functional with each other.

Triumph uses printed circuit boards that comprise of more than two to ten layers and can withstand extreme heat, connecting the components through copper wires.

Batteries- Lithium-Ion batteries are being used by Triumph while manufacturing electric motorcycles(Kim, 2016). The usage of Lithium-Ion batteries helps in maintaining a circular economy because it helps in emitting less pollutant and are equipped with emission control technology.

Miscellaneous parts

Miscellaneous parts in the manufacturing process are termed as the parts that are sourced from various parts that are used to manufacture various auto parts.

Tyres-Most of the electric motorcycle manufacturer uses pneumatic tires which are filled with tire mousse and are unculturable.

Triumph also uses pneumatic tires while manufacturing electric motorcycle, the most common type of characteristics of this type of tyre is contact patch which becomes beneficial in terms of providing maximum grip to the motorcycles(Ono, et al., 2018).Furthermore, this type of tyre is made up of hard rubber that accounts for long term durability and controls the optimal operating temperature.

Transmission- Triumph motorcycle will be using sequential manual transmission which is useful for the process of manufacturing electric motorcycle. The sequential manual transmission provides power to the engine and typically arranges for plates stacked in terms of boosting the performance of the motorcycle.

Bodywork-The motorcycle bodywork is generally made up of aluminium or steel which makes the body of the motorcycle hard and increase its resiliency. The bodywork is mound and is turned into steel frames that are attached to the body of the motorcycles to increase its durability.

Upholstery- Upholstery in manufacturing motorcycle is termed as the process of arranging seat and pads that are used to design seat in the motorcycles(Jeyapandiarajan, et al., 2018). Triumph motorcycle also uses soft saddle in their electric motorcycle so that people can enjoy comfort while driving the machine.

Description of the future industrial system and life cycle stages

The transportation sector in all over the world is considered as the major contributor to global climate warming and greenhouse gas emissions. During the last 10 years, the rate of CO2 emission has increased from 13% to 25%. Internal Combustion Engine is considered as main power type in the vehicle and contributes to the total number of CO2 emission in the transportation sector.

Therefore, lifecycle stages of an industrial system which in maintaining the concept of a circular economy by eliminating the risk of waste and foster a clean and green environment. Life cycle stages include all the steps which are required to produce fuel, operate and maintain the vehicle through its lifetime and recycling at the end of the lifecycle process(Simboli, et al., 2015).

The importance of life cycle in the circular economy is the means of assessing the environmental impact that is associated with all stages of the product life. The LCA approach helps in identifying the climatic change, ecotoxicity and ozone depletion that impacts on achieving the future sustainable industrial system.

Life cycle stage is also termed as inner circle approaches that are used for redistribution, repair and reuse this is in terms of reducing the amount of waste that generally arises within the management so that sustainability within the manufacturing company can be achieved.

Triumph while manufacturing electric motorcycle has also maintained life cycle stage which includes closed-loop system that includes products designed to reduce waste and pollution, remanufacturing and recycling of the auto parts goods, keeping the materials and products in use for as long as possible and use of renewable energy(Sopha, et al., 2017).

With the assessment of life cycle stages for the components used for manufacturing in an electric motorcycle, it has been determined that a stronger circular economy can result in decoupling rising prosperity that includes in rising resource consumption along with delivering substantial change.

In terms of accessing the life cycle of electric motorcycle it has been noted that the extraction of copper, CRMs and nickel helps in determining the impact of sustainability for future sustainable industrial system such as resource-intensive extraction process, risk of releasing toxic materials into water and risk of soil contamination which makes it difficult to attain future sustainability industrial system(Kerdlap & Gheewala, 2016).

The concept of the circular economy also helps the electric motorcycle manufacturer to uphold the concept of reuse and recycling of the electric batteries that aims to reduce down the risk of REEs and CRMs. In terms of maintaining and encouraging recycling of the auto parts of the electric motorcycle, it easies up the process for the manufacturing firm to develop more sustainable components that apprehend the production of the electric motorcycle.

The stages of the life cycle for the manufacturing of electric motorcycle company Triumph are as follows.

Fuel life-cycle emission-Fuel life cycle emission is also known as a well-to-wheel cycle which includes fuel transportation, distribution and combustion. Triumph enterprise uses GREET (Greenhouse gases regulated emissions and energy consumption in transportation) in terms of calculating the emissions of the fuel life cycle(Chau, et al., 2015).

Through the help of the GREET model, combustion CO2 emission is being calculated by using carbon balanced approach in terms of determining volatile organic compounds.

Material production- During the life cycle stage of the electric motorcycle the life cycle of the materials are being determined which comprises of Body, doors, chassis, brakes and exterior and interior body parts.In the process of electric vehicle materials used for battery production such as lithium iron phosphate are being taken into consideration.

While calculating the life cycle stage of the electric motorcycle the emission of carbon dioxide for materials production along with the energy consumption and mass of material are also being calculated(Artz, et al., 2017). Furthermore, during the lifecycle stages, it has also been identified that there are two emission factors one is thermal energy another one is electricity generation.

While assessing the life cycle stage for the manufacturing of electric motorcycle it has been noted that carbon emission due to material production of electrical vehicles emits less ICE that helps in maintaining circular economy while manufacturing the electric motorcycle.

Battery production- In the life cycle stage of manufacturing electric motorcycle, it has been identified that battery production constitutes a large fraction up to 25% of the mass of the vehicle which involves energy-intensive processes.

Triumph organisation has taken up the decision of using Ion lithium battery in their electric motorcycle primarily because of their superior energy density and long term durability as compared to their previous battery technology. The electric motorcycle manufacturer Triumph has taken up the decision of preparation of anode and cathode materials, combining both the electrolyte in terms of producing cells.

Battery type-The impact also depends upon the battery configuration as because some of the batteries require more energy-intensive production process or materials. Triumph will be using lithium Ion batteries that provide high energy density that is used to increase the performance of the batteries(Astrup, et al., 2015).

Moreover, it has also been noted that a higher cycle life expectancy can also reduce down the environmental impact of battery production as it lowers down the rate of carbon emission and improves the performance of the battery.

Manufacturing energy efficiency-Another impact of reducing the impact of BEV production is that it takes advantages of economy of scale and uses it for the full capacity of production plants to reduce down the energy consumption per vehicle or battery produced. It has been noted out that Triumph organisation consumes between 530 and 1670 MJ/Kwh in terms of improving the overall performance of the battery.

Electricity generation mix-A large proportion of the emission from BEV production results from the production of electricity to power energy-intensive processes.

Triumph organisation supplies most of their auto parts from different locations such as from Japan, South Korea and China where the production of the batteries was more but the cost associated with manufacturing batteries are low(Asdrubali, et al., 2015).

The electric motorcycle manufacturer has eyed upon using electricity generation mix as because it intends towards proportioning renewable energy that increases the durability of the batteries along with keeping the performance high for the electric motorcycle.

Description of short and long term steps, and policies & standards

The short and long term steps for the identified for structural, electrical and miscellaneous parts are as follows.

The structural parts that are used while manufacturing electric motorcycle are chassis, suspensions, wheels and seat assembly that are used to apprehend durability within the motorcycles.

The motorcycle frame is composed of complete metals, wheels and tires made up of rubber. The processing unit of designing the auto parts through integrated manufacturing process it helps Triumph to develop power system that comprises of the four-stroke engine that controls the air-fuel ratio, drum brakes and transmission(Wu, et al., 2015).

The transmission system contains the clutch, metal plates and flyweights that makes the body of the motorcycle durable. The manufacturing system of electric motorcycle in Triumph also consists of designing the structural parts that comprise of chassis, wheels, suspension and seat assembly.

The suspension system that is used in designing the electric motorcycle is used to develop oil-in-frame chassis that increases the suspension power of the motorcycle and also boost up the performance in terms of increasing its efficiency(Farzaneh & Farjah, 2018).

Whereas, the wheels are designed in a mag-type cast or machined aluminium that built up separate components for increasing the performance of the motorcycle.

The short term process of structural parts are as follows it increases the complexities for the electric motorcycle manufacturer as because it takes time to assemble the resources and then carrying out the process which makes it difficult to align task and complete it systematically.

It has also been identified that during the short term process the manufacturing begins with the computer-controlled fabrication that is made out of tubular metal and is very difficult to perform the task systematically. Moreover, the fabrication process also uses the high-pressure form of trim parts that pressurized system evenly across the metal frame.

The long term process for electrical parts which comprises of motors, switches, wires and batteries are a cylindrical piston that is made up of aluminium alloy and because it is lightweight and conducts heat, therefore, it becomes an essential component of the engine(Matsuda & KK., 2015).

The electrical parts comprise of cast iron that develops crankshaft and crankcase that are made up of aluminium and contains a cylinder barrel. Furthermore, during the long term process, it has also been noted that raw materials, as well as components and parts that are used in the manufacturing plant, are used for the just-in-time delivery system which makes most of the resources and increases the durability of the electric motorcycle.

Whereas, the short term life cycle that is associated with electrical parts are used for resin pellets along with melted and injected moulds that are known for increasing the thrust capacity in the engines(Bell, 2018). Moreover, the short term process for the assembly department also comprises of the fitted component of motorcycle that provides flexibility to the wiring cables, exhaust pipes and seats and saddlebags.

The long term process for miscellaneous parts includes retaining the quality control within the auto parts that are used to design an electric motorcycle. The quality within the motorcycle is being maintained to inspect the acceleration of motorcycle from 0-60 mph that boost wheel alignment, taillight alignment and functions(Matsuda, 2016).

Moreover, the finished products are designed with standard quality that helps in maintaining international standards for maintaining performance and safety.

While developing the components it has been identified that the electric motorcycle manufacturer has maintained EU regulations in terms of minimizing the effect of carbon emission from the electric motorcycle.

The regulatory body of EU has initiated compliance which all-electric vehicle has to mandate that includes emission rate for the electric vehicles must be within 60 and 76 Gco2e/km. Moreover, policies have also been implemented where it has been stated that fuel consumption and transmission must be used efficiently so that the best utilization of the resources can be performed in terms of achieving high success rate.

Conclusion

This report was based on evaluating the different components that are used to design the product and the degree to which the designing of the component affects the suitability of the circular economy.

During the initial stage of the report, the concept of circular economy has been briefly explained which aims towards reducing the wastage from the society. A case of Triumph motorcycle has been taken into consideration which has made it easier to perform the report systematically.

Structural parts that are associated with the manufacturing of electric motorcycle has been briefly explained in this report which includes wheels which are mostly manufactured by steel or aluminium that provides durability to the wheels.

Electrical parts such as circuit boards and batteries have also been evaluated during this study which has made it easier to identify the essential parts that become necessary during manufacturing electric motorcycle.

Furthermore, lifecycle stages related to the components of the auto part has also been discussed during this report. Developing the lifecycle of the electric auto parts it has also been identified that t makes it easier to assemble the part and use it to increase the performance of the electric motorcycle. Finally, at the end of the report policies and regulations has also been explained briefly.

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