EOW March 2014

Transatlantic Cable

† Aluminium manufacturers will, he said, struggle to properly recycle their material: “They can’t achieve the recycling they want to without a great increase in demand, and they can’t achieve the emissions drop they want to without a great increase in recycling.” He proposed a way to avoid a ‘Catch-22’ situation: “With steel, you melt it, you build it, you use it, you melt it, it becomes something else. There’s no issue there.” In Mr Kavanagh’s view the argument for the use of aluminium in automotive applications is only persuasive if its proponents make “a big gain in market share.” Signs are strong that that is exactly what the aluminium people have in mind. † Possibly the greatest attention-getter at the Detroit auto show was not a sleek newcomer but the new Ford F-150, the workhorse pickup truck which for years has commanded the top of the sales charts in its category. While not notably di erent in appearance from the previous model, the 2015 F-150 has a body built almost entirely of aluminium – for a weight savings of up to 700 pounds. Ford claims that its star is tougher, smarter and more capable than ever. And the new version can be expected to deliver dividends in performance, handling characteristics, e ciency and, of course, corrosion resistance. But whether the reduction in weight will tip the balance in the competition between steel and aluminium for automotive applications is an open question. The full-size truck body of the F-150 still sits on a steel chassis. † “What is most surprising in these data is that the automotive industry – which less than ve years ago was struggling with declining sales, bankruptcy, government bailouts and quality issues – is today seen by nearly six in ten Americans as being a driver of innovation,” said Billy Mann, the president of global market research rm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB). “Clearly, the American people believe the industry has rebounded and are optimistic about its future.” ( BWWGeeksWorld.com , 19 th January) The reference was to a nationwide online survey of 1,000 American consumers conducted 2 nd -6 th January by PSB, which disclosed a widely held conviction that the domestic automotive industry is as strong a driver of innovation as technology, telecommunications and energy. According to the study, commissioned by Ford Motor Co, more than In brief…

Automotive

How low can they go? ‘Lightweighting’ pervades the rivalry between steel and aluminium for rst place in Detroit

“As we methodically eliminate the lightweighting advantage of alternative materials, we increase both the cost advantage of our material and the life cycles emissions advantage of our material.” Speaking at a press conference during the North American International Auto Show (18 th -26 th January in Detroit), Lawrence W Kavanagh, president of the Washington-based Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), seemed con dent of the continued pre-eminence of steel in automobile manufacturing despite the steady incursion of aluminium alloys and carbon bre. As reported by Nathan Laliberte in American Metal Market , Mr Kavanagh pointed to the 2014 Cadillac ATS. Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) account for some 40 per cent of the vehicle, he said. At an average strength of a little over 400 megapascals – down from the 800 megapascals stipulated in the WorldAutoSteel “Future Steel Vehicle” project of 2007 – the steels in the ATS provided an example of the lightweighting that has become the watchword of the contest between steel and aluminium for preferment with major auto makers. (“Steel Unfazed by Auto Aluminum Gains,” 16 th January) In an interview with AMM , Cadillac’s chief engineer for the ATS, Dave Masch, described the multiple grades of AHSS utilised in its design. These include steels, in front in the motor compartment rails, meant to withstand high crash deformation; ultra-high strength steels in the side frame; and others in the B-pillar, the rocker, and in the roof-pillar areas of the vehicle. He also noted that the ATS utilises lower-grade steel for some of the body panels – “speci cally to get crisper lines and for formability reasons.” But while steel will continue to be heavily featured across the Cadillac array, Mr Masch acknowledged to Mr Laliberte that aluminium is not without its attractions. In fact, almost the entire front suspension of the ATS is aluminium, and its use by the company will likely increase over the next few years. According to Mr Masch, “purposeful material application” – informed by considerations of lightweighting, fuel e ciency and performance – will guide the selection, every time. † AMM reported that Mr Kavanagh of SMDI closed the press conference at the auto show with a warning about end-of-life issues with aluminium-bodied vehicles.

Image: www.bigstockphoto.com Photographer Zsolt Ercsel

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March 2014