Japan-based automobile manufacturer Honda has developed new technology to join steel and aluminum, which allows use of aluminum for an outer door panel.
The new technology will allow the steel panel and the aluminum to be layered and hemmed together twice.
The manufacturer will first use this technology in the new Acura RLX that is scheduled to go on sale in the US in March 2013, and later it will apply it to other models.
In order to implement the use of aluminum for an outer door panel the company developed three technologies that include technology to join dissimilar materials, technology to prevent electrical corrosion and technology to control thermal deformation.
Advantages of the technologies include elimination of a spot welding process required to join conventional steel door panels, while these can be made in the existing production lines as these do not require a dedicated process.
The company expects the new technology to decrease about 17% of the door panel weight that will improve fuel economy and performance of the vehicle compared to the conventional all-steel door panel, while focusing the point of gravity toward the center of the vehicle.
