Forming of New Metallic Materials

Objective

All car manufacturers are concerned in weight decrease in
order to get lower fuel consumption and toxic gas
emissions. Numerous attempts were developped in each car
company; common research programmes such as the European
ones (BRITE, EUREKA) including car manufacturers and
material suppliers are now running. More performing
steels and now aluminium alloys and now stainless steels
are the most involved materials. In spite of some
endeavour for top class cars, difficulties remain
unsolved to use these w advanced metallic materials for
mass production. The aim of this Project is to study some
of them in view of short term applications.

The objectives of this project aim at reaching a weight
saving of 10 15% for a whole Body InWhite, up to 30% for
some given parts. Moreover, the Project will enable to
shorten the setting up of the industrial manufacturing
processes up to a 50% time and cost saving, which
represents 50 60 kEcu per part. The induced global
development cost per new vehicle can be reduced by 10 20
Mecu.

The materials involved are:
HSLA and very high strenght heat treatable steels,
uncoated and pre painted steel and aluminium sheets,
laminated steel and aluminium sheets and stainless
steel.
The three main phases of this project gathering 4
manufacturers, 3 two material suppliers, two software
companies and one Research Institute are:
better knowledge in material behaviour,
development and increase of performance of forming
processes focusing on numerical simulation,
production of industrial parts with mass production
tools.

At the end of the Project, most of present difficulties
will be solved and the setting up of these materials will
be greatly facilitated and used for industrial
production.

Programme(s)

• FP4-BRITE/EURAM 3 - Specific research and technological development programme in the field of industrial and materials technologies, 1994-1998

Topic(s)

• 0302 - Transports

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

REGIENOV - RENAULT RECHERCHE ET INNOVATION

Address

9,Avenue Du Golf 1
78288 Guyancourt
France

Participants (8)

AB Volvo Technological Development

Sweden

Address

20,V Stor Gatan 20
293 80 Olofström

AUTOFORM ENGINEERING GMBH

Switzerland

Address

9,Technoparkstrasse 1
8005 Zurich

Alusuisse Swiss Aluminium Sierre Ltd.

Switzerland

Address

3965 Chippis

CENTRO RICERCHE FIAT S.C.P.A.

Italy

Address

Strada Torino 50
10043 Orbassano

ENGINEERING SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL SA

France

Address

Rue Saarinen 20, Silic 270
94578 Rungis

Mercedes-Benz AG

Germany

Address

71059 Sindelfingen

Sollac SA

France

Address

17,Avenue Des Tilleuls 17
57191 Florance

Universität Stuttgart

Germany

Address

17,Holzgartenstraße 17
70174 Stuttgart