How Fastener Makers Are Doing Their Part to Support CAFE Standards

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced new fuel economy standards to drive American leadership forward on clean cars. The new standards will make vehicle miles per gallon (mpg) more efficient, save consumers money at the pump, and reduce transportation emissions.

The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards will require an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 50.4 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2031. These new standards will increase fuel efficiency 10% annually for model years 2030-2032 and 8% annually for model years 2033-2035. Strong fuel economy standards strengthen U.S. energy independence and help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Since original CAFE standards were signed into law in 1975, the standards have reduced American oil consumption by 25%, or approximately 5 million barrels a day since then.

In addition to fuel efficiencies, these efforts go a long way to addressing environmental issues as well. A study by the International Transport Forum examined how lowering vehicle mass can reduce CO2 emissions from road transport. The study states that lowering vehicle mass to levels observed in the mid-1970s could reduce vehicle emissions substantially and help meet European Union targets such as the 60% reduction in transport CO2 emissions by 2050. Based on different scenarios, this study shows that mass reduction across all vehicle technologies has potential to reduce the gap between such ambitions and the current trend and would financially benefit the vehicle user.

While much of the attention under the standards is increasing fuel efficiency through innovations in power sources, engines, or motors, another key effort is reducing the weight of vehicles to drive better mileage. Optimas, along with others in the fastener industry, is working hard to play its part in helping manufacturers meet these standards with innovative technology, better engineering practices, and creative thinking about weight reduction. 

How fastener manufacturers can help meet CAFE

The fastener industry, including Optimas Solutions, is working with manufacturing customers to seek new ways to reduce vehicle weight by reducing the number, type, and weight of fasteners. Fasteners, in terms of number of parts in a vehicle, can be up to 50% of the vehicle’s bill of material (BOM). Reducing the number of fasteners and innovating fastener technology can go a long way to helping manufacturers meet these CAFE standards by 2026.

There are several ways fasteners makers are helping automotive OEMs inject innovations in fastener technology to improve performance. These include: 

At Optimas Solutions, after cold heading bolts are manufactured, refinements are made. OPTIMAS SOLUTIONS

Alternative materials

Optimizing production with advanced raw materials allows manufacturers to produce high-performance, cost-effective lighter weight products. The pursuit of lightweight and high-strength materials is a key trend in 2024 for OEMs and TIERs in the automotive industry. Manufacturers increasingly use materials such as carbon fiber, high-strength steel, plastic, and aluminum to reduce vehicle weight, improving fuel efficiency, and enhancing performance. While particularly important for battery EVs, this trend of reducing weight helps to extend range and is just as crucial for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles to improve performance.

Engineering as a service 

More and more vehicle manufacturers are calling on fastener engineers to work in an integrated fashion that combines design, analysis, and optimization techniques for lightweighting products. This approach enables manufacturers to identify and respond to process inefficiencies and material waste, resulting in lighter, more efficient, and less costly components. By optimizing the composition, structure, and manufacturing processes, engineers, such as those at Optimas, also help OEMs and TIERs achieve desired strength-to-weight ratios without compromising the structural integrity of the final product. A study conducted by MIT showed that reducing the weight of conventional cars guarantees better fuel efficiency: every 10 percent reduction in weight provides a 6-7% improvement in fuel economy.

Robotics are used frequently in the manufacturing of fasteners such as this CNC automated robot. OPTIMAS SOLUTIONS

Fastener redesign

As manufacturers work to reduce costs, especially in assembly, redesigning fasteners can be instrumental in helping address this aspects of product production. For example, moving to lightweight materials, such as going from steel to aluminum, can reduce weight in areas such as in non-structural rivet applications.

In larger joints, working with the manufacturer to understand the application, using BOLTCALC or other specifying tools, and including durability testing are a few ways to verify weight reduction projects. Also, depending on the critical nature of the fastener, the diameter and grade can be reduced to save weight. For example going from an M8 to M6 fastener can lead to a weight savings of up to 30%. Utilizing smaller fasteners can also mean a reduction of installation space, leading to smaller and lighter products overall.

Rationalization and/or consolidation programs can be completed to reduce the number of fasteners in a product as well. A redesign or re-specification of fasteners may have a profound effect on how the manufacturer factors them into production and product performance. 

Conclusion

These new CAFE standards come as the automobile brands are retooling production for future models in response to rapidly growing market demand for cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Nearly all auto manufacturers have announced new electric vehicle models.

As manufacturers increase vehicle efficiency and reduce fuel use, American consumers will save money at the pump and on their electric bills. New vehicle buyers in 2031 will get 8% more miles per gallon (ICE) and miles per gallon equivalent (EV) compared to the performance of 2021 models. This means 2031 vehicle drivers will only have to fill/charge up three times as compared to every four times 2021 vehicle drivers will do for the same trip.

As part of CAFE efforts, the fastener industry is doing its part to introduce methods to reduce weight in vehicles by consolidating parts, redesigning and re-engineering fasteners, using alternative materials, and generally thinking of new ways to reduce weight and increase performance. These efforts support vehicle manufacturers and their customers and will pay off for the environment for future generations to come.