Page 18 - MetalForming July 2010

Vehicles of the future will not be shaped and assembled like they are today—that’s the message that rang through the halls of the Great Designs in Steel conference held in June, where automotive engineers learned how rollforming, hot stamping and other forming processes will make their presence felt sooner rather than later.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Associa- tion, has presented findings on the progress of FutureSteelVehicle (FSV) Phase 2, a global steel-industry effort to develop advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) architectures for electrified vehicles. The group presented interim results at the Great Designs in Steel event, held May 5 in Livonia, MI. Jody Shaw, chairman of the FSV program and manager of technical marketing and product research at U.S. Steel Corp., described in detail to the more than 1000 engineers in the GDIS audience the optimization of multiple manufac- turing solutions (including stamping, hot stamping and hydroforming) for seven different subsystems: the rocker; B-pillar, roof, rear and front rails, front upper load path, and battery-tunnel load-path members.
The FSV Program is midway through its second phase, designing optimized AHSS body structures for four pro- posed 2015 to 2020 year vehicles. Gen- eral results include a new benchmark in weight reduction achieved through AHSS optimized structures, enabling power-train downsizing for affordable electrified vehicles; a portfolio of inno- vative steel solutions that apply to a
Critical to the Future Steel Vehicle
full range of electrified or internal- combustion-engine vehicles; and a new design methodology to realize the best environmental solution for compliance with future vehicle-emission regulations.
“Because of steel’s flexibility, we were able to produce a broad bandwidth of solutions, all of which were evaluated on the basis of cost versus weight and CO2 equivalent emissions,” said Shaw. “With- in this portfolio of solutions are appli- cations that all vehicle manufacturers and segments will find relevant.”
The FSV is achieving its results through the use of a broad range of avail- able steel grades and a design-optimiza- tion process that develops non-intuitive solutions for structural performance, including optimized shapes and com- ponent configurations. FSV’s steel port- folio is utilized during the material selection process with the aid of full vehicle analysis to determine material grade and thickness optimization.
A “Mass Paradigm Shift” Coming Soon
GDIS attendees were treated to a handful of slides (three are included here) showing alternative design con- cepts for rockers, front and rear rails, tunnel support rails, roof side rails and B-pillars. Designers looked at stamping, hot stamping, rollforming and hydro- forming of advanced high-strength steels, and the use of aluminum stamp- ings and extrusions.
Body Structure Sub System—Rocker Solutions
Stamping AHSS
Rollforming AHSS
Hydroforming AHSS
Extrusion Aluminum
The design and development process was expedited, we learned, by use of the Accelerated Concept to Product (ACP) process developed by Engineering Technology Associates, Inc. (ETA), Troy, MI. The ACP process incorporates the Heeds Professional software package from Red Cedar Technology, Inc., which allows FSV developers to automate the design- optimization process. Thus, they’re able to quickly and efficiently analyze
16 METALFORMING / JULY 2010
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