Wheeling Ahead With In-house Capability Build-up
Auto Tech Review|February 2019

Rockman Industries, a part of the Hero Group, is a leading supplier of aluminium die casting components, machined & painted assemblies. With two-wheeler alloy wheel penetration reaching as high as 90 % of the market, Rockman Industries is going full throttle to make the most of this growing demand. Auto Tech Review recently visited the company’s Bawal facility to know more about its operations and manufacturing prowess.

Anirudh Raheja
Wheeling Ahead With In-house Capability Build-up

Rockman Industries’ Bawal facility has been producing alloy wheels at a rather feverish pace. Starting from raw materials to a finished product, the batch of alloy wheels passes through the manufacturing line and follows a 12-hr cycle at Rockman Industries’ Bawal facility. Built on a land spanning across five acre, this facility rolls out a fresh batch of around 200 units in approximately 43 min, and a cumulative 3,500 sets of alloy wheels in three operational shifts a day.

Out of the cumulative annual capacity of 5.6 mn alloy wheels rolled out by the company, the Bawal facility manufactures 1.8 mn units of 12-inch and 18-inch diameter wheels, with the remaining contributed by Rockman’s Haridwar facility.

Rockman imports raw material for its alloy wheels in the form of ingots under the A356 nomenclature of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The primary alloy ingots are checked with the spectrometer for their chemistry. Once a quality check of ingots is undertaken, they are subjected to two melting towers, which operate at 650-700 °C to convert ingots into molten metal. The liquid is then passed through degassing operation, where inert gases like nitrogen are passed through the metal. The operation gets rid of trapped gases like hydrogen in metal and avoids development of porosity during casting of wheels. Two-wheeler alloy wheels follow different nomenclatures for front and rear alloy wheel. Thus, Rockman’s engineers conduct similar wheel processing in the same line for monitoring quality levels.

Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Auto Tech Review.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Auto Tech Review.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA AUTO TECH REVIEWSe alt
Sound Generation For Enhanced Road Safety
Auto Tech Review

Sound Generation For Enhanced Road Safety

With an ever-increasing number of fully electric and hybrid vehicles entering the market, we are witnessing a change in the acoustic experience in and around the car. The silent nature of the electric powertrain means that other road users miss the familiar acoustic cues that warn them of an approaching vehicle. To remedy this situation, Harman is working on various noise management solutions.

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2020
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE SAFETY CONTRIBUTION OF TODAY'S AUTOMOTIVE HEADLAMPS
Auto Tech Review

OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE SAFETY CONTRIBUTION OF TODAY'S AUTOMOTIVE HEADLAMPS

Good lighting makes a major contribution to road safety. In 2011, the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) presented an evaluation system for headlamps that can objectively assess the quality of illumination and glare limitation. New light sources like LEDs and lighting functions (glare-free high beam, partial high beam) have been available for several years, so that an extension of the proven CIE method is necessary, which takes into account, among other things, changed switch-on and service lives of new lighting functions and represents a generally understandable evaluation system. An evaluation system presented in the following by the Technische Uni versität Darmstadt, which was developed by an encompassing expert commission, is intended to provide representative data and enable an objective evaluation of headlamp performance.

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2020
RAPIDO RE-INNOVATES TO CATER TO POST COVID-19 LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY
Auto Tech Review

RAPIDO RE-INNOVATES TO CATER TO POST COVID-19 LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY

The rapid pace of urbanisation in the country has witnessed cities expanding and subsuming surrounding villages and smaller towns, evolving into Tier II and III cities.

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2020
FUNCTIONAL SAFETY STANDARDS TOP PRIORITY FOR FUTURE AUTOMOTIVE DEPLOYMENT
Auto Tech Review

FUNCTIONAL SAFETY STANDARDS TOP PRIORITY FOR FUTURE AUTOMOTIVE DEPLOYMENT

Increasing levels of electronic content in vehicles result in a large amount of software that is required to run the scenes behind the mechanical aspects of a vehicle. Electronic systems in automobiles are part of every section, from the powertrain to comfort and convenience systems as well as all types of safety equipment. This makes electronics and the software running these systems a critical part of the equation for future mobility solutions. In addition, putting standards in place to measure methods of developing, testing and functioning of such electronic systems also becomes highly relevant.

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2020
“BYD'S EV STRATEGY TO ENCOMPASS MOST FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION NEEDS IN INDIA”
Auto Tech Review

“BYD'S EV STRATEGY TO ENCOMPASS MOST FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION NEEDS IN INDIA”

The country’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is grappling with a plethora of challenges even as it is striving to wriggle itself out of the ‘nascent stage’ tag. In an exclusive chat with Auto Tech Review, Zhang Jie Ketsu, Executive Director, BYD India shares his perspective on the current EV scenario and how the company intends to progress faster in the Indian automotive industry

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2020
SAFETY IN ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS CARS – SIMULATION OF COMPLEX CRASH SCENARIOS
Auto Tech Review

SAFETY IN ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS CARS – SIMULATION OF COMPLEX CRASH SCENARIOS

Electric and autonomous vehicles allow for novel seating arrangements and packaging strategies, presenting new safety challenges. Physical crash testing must be supplemented with virtual simulation to ensure vehicle safety on shorter development cycles. With its Simcenter Madymo MBS software, Siemens provides improved runtimes and the Active Human model, enabling accurate and rapid occupant safety analysis in complex crash scenarios.

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2020
KIA SONET – A MIGHTY OFFERING IN THE COMPACT SUV SEGMENT
Auto Tech Review

KIA SONET – A MIGHTY OFFERING IN THE COMPACT SUV SEGMENT

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Kia Motors India has taken the Indian market by storm in less than 12 months of its presence in the market.

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2020
NISSAN'S NEW DIRECTION: ARIYA ALL-ELECTRIC
Auto Tech Review

NISSAN'S NEW DIRECTION: ARIYA ALL-ELECTRIC

Marking a key milestone in Nissan’s transformation strategy, Ariya ticks a lot of boxes highlighting the strengths of the global automotive giant.

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2020
BETTER SAFETY WITH EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST FOR MOTORCYCLES
Auto Tech Review

BETTER SAFETY WITH EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST FOR MOTORCYCLES

Rear-end collisions with a slower vehicle suddenly cutting into the lane and intersection accidents with cross-traffic are among the most frequent motorcycle accident types. Continental is now developing an emergency brake assist, which detects an imminent collision with a vehicle ahead or with an obstacle, warns the rider and supports him during braking

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2020
ADAS WILL SERVE AS CATALYST FOR IMPROVED VEHICLE SAFETY
Auto Tech Review

ADAS WILL SERVE AS CATALYST FOR IMPROVED VEHICLE SAFETY

The automotive industry across the globe is increasingly focussing on safety.

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2020