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www.toyota.com

Automotive Headlamp Condensation: Design Improvements Based on

Environmental Data, Manufacturability, and Cost

Description of Project

Condensation in automotive headlamps is a recurring issue throughout the industry which leads

to customer complaints and warranty costs. Environmental conditions leading to condensation

such as humidity and temperature can vary in different vehicle situations, seasons of the year,

and headlamp designs. We seek a robust solution to this problem that is easy to manufacture

and inexpensive.

The Toyota team will be divided into two sub-teams:

1) The headlamp design subteam

2) The headlamp manufacturability/purchasing subteam

The team will study the condensation phenomenon in detail by gathering and analyzing data

including temperature and humidity from inside and outside select headlamps lamps. This may

include taking new data both in the lab and in real world conditions as well as using existing

datasets. The team will use the Toyota practice of “Genchi Genbutsu” (go see for yourself) to

observe customer vehicle use. The team will also benchmark competitor vehicle designs to

understand how they address the condensation phenomenon.

The team will also benchmark different headlamp suppliers by mapping and comparing their

manufacturing processes. They will learn the headlamp manufacturing process and how each

component is made through “Genchi Genbutsu” at our supplier. They will create a model to

rate the difficulty and cost impact of modifying the existing design in terms of required addition

of equipment, people, cycle time, shift time, and line layout. They will learn how the overall

health of the supplier can have an effect on the process.

This data and benchmarking information will be used in the Toyota Business Process (TBP) to

break down the problem (who, what, and when) and pinpoint the prioritized problem at the

point of occurrence. The team will find the root cause and, collaborating with Toyota mentors,

suggest at least 6 countermeasures based on changes to the specific components that Toyota

mentors will choose. The changes could be mechanical, material, sensor-based, or some other

kind of solution.

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The team will analyze the suggested 6 designs and select the best two to be produced based

on estimated design effectiveness, manufacturability and overall cost. The two designs with the

highest potential will be prototyped with help of skilled Technicians at Toyota and/or our

suppliers. The designs will be tested for actual effectiveness in the last phase of the project. The

team as a whole will choose the best of the two designs based on effectiveness of reducing

condensation and cost.

Target Disciplines: Mechanical Engineering (2); Electrical Engineering (2); Supply Chain

Manufacturing, Industrial Operations (2).

Location Most project work will take place on campus, with periodic trips to the local Toyota development offices and laboratories in Ann Arbor and Saline, Michigan. Trips to nearby headlamp suppliers are also likely.

Project Sponsor Mentor Lead Project Mentor: Chris Grant (University of Michigan, BSME, MSME, Senior Engineer Body Design-Functional Parts)

Additional Project Engineering Support: Sunil Dalal (Wayne State University, MSME, Senior Engineer, Vehicle Performance Development 1), Chelsea White (Purdue, BSEE, Engineer Electronic Systems 1), Bryan West (University of Cincinnati, BSEE in Electrical Engineering; Manager, Supplier Engineering Development), and Liz Delozier (University of Cincinnati, BS in Industrial Management; Senior Analyst, Purchasing). Project Champions: Dan Neubauer (Purdue University, BSME, General Manager Body Design-Functional Parts), Madhan Ramaswami (University of Michigan , MSAero, MBA, Manager Vehicle Performance Development 1), Nick Sitarski (UM-Dearborn, MS Engineering Management, Manager Electronic Systems 1 ); Meg Wallace (Georgia Tech, MSME, Senior Engineer); Kim Engel (General Manager Supplier Engineering Development); Greg Laskey (General Manager Purchasing).

Project Faculty Mentor

Lin Van Nieuwstadt will be the returning Faculty Mentor for the Toyota project.

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Key Skills & Project Roles 1. Interest in cars and automotive engineering is key for this project

2. General Engineering: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Evaporation and Humidity

3. Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Industrial Operations

4. Business data analysis

5. Ability to work as a multifunctional engineering team and to present results concisely

Desired Additional Skills:

Strong Experimental or Analytical Modeling Skills, MATLAB, Mathmatica, Computational

Fluid Dynamics, Statistics, Handling Complex Data Sets, Simulink, Stateflow

Company Overview Toyota Technical Center (TTTC) is a division of a Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), established in 1977. TTC's Michigan R&D facilities are located in Ann Arbor, Saline, Plymouth and Livonia. In addition, TTC has testing facilities in Torrance and Gardena, California and a 10-mile oval test track in Wittmann, Arizona. TTC is engaged in engineering design, prototype building, vehicle evaluation and engineering, materials engineering, powertrain tuning and design, safety/crashworthiness, regulatory affairs and advanced research. TTC has development responsibility for vehicles such as the Avalon, Camry, RAV4 EV, Sienna, Tacoma, Tundra and Venza. Toyota is an Equal Opportunity Employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Legal Requirements Citizenship and Right to Work Options

� This project is open to all students regardless of citizenship status

� Students with long term work authorization are preferred.

Intellectual Property Agreements / Non-Disclosure Agreements

� Students will sign the standard MDP IP/NDA agreement

On the site, the file will be attached here: file location provided on active weblink

Internship Information � Summer Internships Available for all student participants on our student team

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