Abstract
Keywords - Ultra High Strength Steel, Cold & Hot Forming, Hydroforming, Roll Forming, Beam Doors.
Abstract - In the continuous struggle to improve car body properties, ability to combine materials-products-processes is a major topic. The possibilities for materials and processes are rather large: steel, aluminium and magnesium for materials, stamping (cold and hot), hydroforming and roll forming for processes. Regarding products, there are no limits but the ones arising from design and the restrictions imposed from both material and processes.
The new Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS) developed by the steel industry together with new process technology is a field of development and innovation for the coming future. The new UHSS, with amazing values of tensile strengths (above 1000MPa) but with the drawback of lack of formability and springback, together with the roll forming, hydroforming and hot stamping processes, give chance to produce automotive pieces designed for passive safety requirements, with no cost-penalty and great potential for weight reduction.
There are still many problems to overcome for this combination material-process. This paper tries to summarise Gestamp Automoción experiences in this field. The paper deals with all steps for automotive pieces production
Pure material selection.
Product design (concepts, engineering and simulation tests).
Process design and development, including tooling design.
Economical feasibility studies. showing Gestamp Automoción resources from pure design to final industrialization.