Product: Gestamp Aluminum hot stamping technology
Description
In recent years, with the increasing demand from OEMs for further weight reductions on vehicle bodies, the aluminum hot stamping technology has become one of the most popular lightweighting technologies in the market. The aluminum hot stamping technology involves the solution treatment of aluminum material in the furnace for a certain period, then transferring the blank to the mold for one-stroke forming and cooling process. Additionally, the strength of the components can be further enhanced by the artificial aging process. The aluminum hot stamping technology can improve the stamping formability of aluminum alloy and the design flexibility of it. Moreover, this technology effectively reduces the spring-back of aluminum alloy, ensuring the dimensional accuracy of the final products. Also, compared to hot stamping steel products, it achieves remarkable weight reductions.
Unique advantages
(1) Formability. The aluminum hot stamping technology can significantly enhance the material's formability, reduce forming/drawing operations, and increase the design flexibility of components. (2) Dimensional Accuracy. The hot stamping technology can greatly reduce the spring-back of aluminum alloy, ensuring the final products have excellent dimensional accuracy and meet the assembly requirements of OEMs easily. (3) Lightweight. The aluminum hot stamping technology can achieve up to 40% weight reduction compared to traditional cold forming steel solutions while meeting equivalent performance requirements at the same time. (4) Safety. Different grades of aluminum material can be selected flexibly, and the overall strength of the 6/7 series aluminum alloy is higher, which can improve the crash safety. In addition, the artificial aging process can further improve the strength of the components.
Application
Applied to the BIW side body structure components for weight reduction. And also applied to door inner panel components, achieving excellent formability and design modeling.
Prospect
In the transition driven by electrification and decarbonization in the automotive industry, lightweight vehicle body has become an unstoppable development trend. In response to this, Gestamp has introduced its aluminum hot stamping technology, which not only enhances stamping formability but also significantly achieves weight reduction for components. Moreover, it fully meets the requirements of OEMs in terms of safety and component assembly functionality, while positively contributing to environmental initiatives. This makes the Gestamp aluminum hot stamping technology highly competitive in the market.
