Spanish automotive supplier Gestamp is looking to develop advanced high strength steels, with improved stiffness and reduced weight, fit for chassis manufacturing.
As part of the project co-funded by Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI) under the EEA Grants backed by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, efforts are on to come up with innovative ideas for manufacturing lightweight steel for automotive sector.
The initiatives involve finding ways for developing and implementing new steel forming process at certain temperature zones which do not affect the internal structure of the alloy.
The process, known as warmforming, could not only lead to more complex shapes but also improve tolerances due to reduced spring back. Moreover, zinc coating could be applied as protected sheet with a view to avoid scaling.
Initial trials with sample materials have estimated that the optimum temperature for warmforming lies in the range between 500 degree Celsius and 700 degree Celsius, while the elongation of the materials is either lower or they become too soft.
In that temperature range, the internal structural phase does not change while the stamping feasibility gets improved, Gestamp said in a statement.
"The conclusions and lessons learned from this project will be taken as reference knowledge for future development projects," the company added.
