Page 40 - MetalForming April 2020

Hot-dip galvanizing of steel coils at ArcelorMittal. New third-generation advanced high-strength steels, promis- ing greater elongation and the ability to form more com- plex, stronger parts, challenge those tasked with design- ing, forming and joining. A host of resources, including the 2020 Great Designs in Steel event, can help meet those challenges. Photo courtesy ArcelorMittal
Third-Gen. AHSS
Arrives in Automotive
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MetalForming/April 2020
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Now entering the production realm and adding to a rapidly changing automotive landscape, these wonder materials enable new designs, and task metal formers and assemblers with forming and joining challenges.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
It’s not news to state that the auto- motive industry is all about change these days, and we’ll detail some of these changes, and what they mean for OEMs and designers, and part providers. Also undergoing change, Great Designs in Steel (GDIS) an annual event that explores developments in the automotive/steel relationship and its hosting organizations. Dr. Jody Hall has just retired as vice president of the automotive program for the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI, formerly the Steel Market Development Insti- tute), where she also led the Automo- tive Applications Council and coordi- nated the steel-member-company collaborations for the Auto/Steel Part- nership. In steps John Catterall, a four- decade auto-industry veteran who most recently has served as executive
director of the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP), which should ensure a smooth transition. (Note: Catterall speaks on New Steels for Automotive at the Pre- cision Metalforming Association’s Auto- motive Parts Suppliers Conference, rescheduled for this fall in Detroit MI— visit www.pma.org/apsc for details.) As for GDIS, it has a new 2020 home: the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI, on May 20.
To gauge the current relationship of steel and automotive, MetalForming interviews Catterall, and he has plenty to say on third-generation advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), including joining and tooling issues; hot stamp- ing; electric vehicles; the trend toward automotive modular systems and prod- ucts; and more.
“More and more third-generation