trimming
properties of materials
Pressed
steel
frames
steel sheets
galvanized
steel body
Aluminium
space frame
Carriage
manufacturing
Line assembly
Selfsupporting
body
Higher
strength
thin steel
sheets
Front
compartment
Centre floor
Rear
compartment
Underbody
assembly
Side panels and
roof Body in
white
Space Frame
It is concept based on the skeleton design which has been in use
since the beginning.
A steel or wood skeleton forms a solid structure onto which the
secondary and tertiary body parts are mounted as non carrying
parts by means of different joining methods.
Here, a tubular space frame made of steel was covered with
aluminium sheets.
Bionics
Until now the hot rolled steel are used but efforts are
being made to downscale these massive ladder frames
with consideration being given to using newer material
thinner gauges, e.g. HSS up to 300 N/mm2 (TRIP steels
up to 590 N/mm2 are now being used for 80 chassis
parts on the Mitsubishi.
Design modifications being made to accommodate the
thinner gauges to alternative material such as
hydroformed sections which could be used to bolster
stiffness and crashworthiness.
the use of tailored blanks again offers an alternative
approach giving the engineer strengthening exactly
where required and opportunity for parts consolidation
reduced weight.
Durability is satisfied by the use of hot-dip or ironzinc
alloy coating as steel substrates replace the use of
requirements of body
structure materials
good formability,
impact
Corrosion
resistance
resistance
yet maintain
recyclability.
sufficient survivable
sufficient strength space for occupant
protection,
lower density
structure should be
materials
controlled deformations
under load to absorb
crash energy,
lightweight to
reduce fuel
consumption
Magnesium
Thermoplastics
application for structural foams
Disadvantages
Poor wear abrasion and repeated impact
Poor fatigue resistance
Advantages of amorphous
thermoplastics
Relatively dimensionally stable
Competition cars
Sandwich materials
Al
Cost analysis
the selection of material type is based on careful
consideration of the improved fuel economy derived
from the use of lightweight materials versus the
increased costs that are often incurred
For given panel, increased cost of plastic compared to
zinc coated steel may be lower when manufacturing in
excess volume. This is because although tooling costs
for plastics are lower than for zinc-coated steel,
raw material costs are higher. Thus, as total vehicle
volume increases, the cost benefit derived from
polymeric panels decreases until a certain break-even
volume when steel becomes the most economical
solution.
Key points
Existing investment in automotive facilities associated
with sheet steel will favour its continuing use as the
predominant high volume material, and high strength
and zinc-coated variants will allow medium lightweight
and durability targets to be met
Down weighting the body structure beyond 30 percent
will increasingly call for alternative materials but these
will require more radical changes to both manufacturing
and recycling procedures.
Maximum productivity relies heavily on uniformity of
properties, dimensions and finish.
Polymer panels have the great advantages of cost
(especially at lower volumes) and shape versatility but