Impact of New Technology and 4th Industrial Revolution on Grease Industry for Electric Vehicles Dr. Jisheng E, GKN Driveline Technology Centre, Hauptstrasse 130, 53797, Lohmar, Germany Abstract Efficiency is one of the key factors for electric vehicles (EVs). This paper shows that an advanced design for grease formulation could provide good efficiency and improved life of power transmission systems based on better understanding of tribology systems and behaviour of thickeners, base oils, and additives in greases. For a company to stay, to grow and to develop in the grease industry, it needs to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its emerging technology breakthroughs in robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, etc. It is imperative to adapt new technology to understand the interactions between base oils, additives, and thickeners on a molecular level. For example, two grease samples with the same formulation but manufactured by two different companies could behave differently. Nano-FTIR and confocal Raman spectroscopy techniques could be adapted for understanding the different physical behaviour of these two samples. Their different physical behaviour might be related to different interactions between the same substances inside these two samples. A change of inspection philosophy - from the use of phenomenological measurement techniques to determine the macroscopic properties of greases to the use of 4IR technology to understand the behaviour of greases based on their composition and their molecular interactions - will improve the knowledge of greases and result in stronger links between formulation designs, manufacturing processes, laboratory tests, bench tests, and application performance. With the progress in the 4IR, expensive chemical analysis on a molecular level could become normal, daily analysis with lower cost than today. This could make it possible to better enable us to understand the behaviour of fresh and used greases based on integrative
materials models that cover the full range from molecular level to macroscopic performance. As a result, it is possible to use characteristic curves based on formulation design and manufacturing processes to provide customers quick and firsthand information about their specific tribology system. Introduction Robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles are important parts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for the automotive industry. McKinsey research suggests that the 4IR could raise productivity growth globally by between 0.8 and 1.4% annually, where the First Industrial Revolution raised it by about 0.3% [1]. Companies that actively involve new ways of thinking and working in coming years could develop and grow rapidly. An article by Schwab [2] stated that on the supply side, many industries are seeing an introduction of new technologies that create entirely new ways of serving existing needs and significantly disrupt existing industry value chains. Disruption is also flowing from agile, innovative competitors who, thanks to access to global digital platforms for research, development, marketing, sales, and distribution, can oust well-established incumbents faster than ever by improving the quality, speed, or price at which value is delivered to customers. A research report by Manyika [3] stated that technology-powered companies have also demonstrated the ability to make lightning-fast moves into new sectors—often to the delight of consumers and users, who flock to these new offerings for convenience, simplicity, or even free services. In other words, technology is one of the key driving factors for the 4IR. For a company to stay, to grow, and to develop in the grease industry during the 4IR, it is imperative to adapt new
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