The concept of life cycle engineering is discussed as it applies to plastics, materials with characteristics that are particularly interesting for applications where weight savings, design freedom and processing cost savings are important, such as packaging and transport.
Interesting adaptations were considered for new designs, and weight-saving technology could allow increased efficiencies to be achieved from the older Maine class design, which was closest to the weight goal.
Improved aerodynamics and weight-saving measures have been crucial to the design, and Renault says that the car's development has meant about 100 technological innovations.
The accepted design included two 0-6-0 steam bogies with weight-saving sleeve valves and chains to couple the driving axles.
The Clan Class was based upon the Britannia Class design, incorporating a smaller boiler and various weight-saving measures to increase the route availability of a Pacific-type locomotive for its intended area of operations, the west of Scotland.
The all-glass structures are designed for maximum durability but also weight savings, with designs that fuse pieces together to avoid having to use a single heavy block of material, and internal structures like fused-on ribs and reinforcement points, also made of glass, placed at key points where structural integrity could be weaker.
A maker of aeroplanes as well as trains, Bombardier has designed its new Innovia Monorail 300 using weight-saving ideas borrowed from aerospace engineering.
These cars exemplify modern weight-saving construction.
It uses Volkswagen's radical weight-saving MQB architecture.
Despite the weight-saving construction, the Drophead still tips the scales at 5,776 pounds.
Built with weight-saving mesh, these shoes are cooler than your average clunker.
