Alumobility, a global association committed to helping advance the adoption of aluminum by automakers, announced it will be presenting a webinar July 6 at 10 a.m. EST that will reveal the benefits of converting a steel-intensive body-in-white (BIW) to a fully aluminum BIW. The presentation is based on a recent technical case study conducted by the association.
“This webinar is an ideal forum for sharing our findings, which reveal that shifting from steel to aluminum-intensive BIW delivers 40% weight savings for the same attribute performance, while reducing the total number of parts and joints,” said Professor Mark White, technical director of Alumobility. “Our goal is to inform the automotive industry on the benefits of aluminum, which is the material of choice for producing lighter, safer, smarter and more sustainable vehicles.”
In this free, 60-minute webinar, White will provide the following key topics and takeaways:
- Aluminum offers a 40% weight savings versus a steel-intensive vehicle (SIV) BIW reference while achieving all safety and BIW performance targets
- Converting steel parts and designing for aluminum can reduce overall part count
- Converting from a SIV BIW to an aluminum-intensive vehicle, AIV BIW allows for a reduction in overall joint count
- Aluminum BIW offers a significant reduction in gauge and grade complexity versus a steel-intensive reference
The project focused on a hypothetical conversion of all the steel parts on a mixed material production body-in-white (BIW) to a full aluminum BIW, which resulted in a 40% weight savings for the sum of the converted parts while also maintaining or improving the specified BIW attributes for safety, noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). It further revealed that, when compared to steel-intensive mixed material BIW, aluminum-intensive BIW offered complexity reduction opportunities and reduced the total number of parts and joints while also lowering the gauge and grade combinations.
In terms of process, the study’s first phase consisted of a geometry carry-over with a gauge and grade conversion, and its second phase focused on topology, optimizing geometry along with gauge and grade.
The study was conducted in conjunction with a leading global automaker, using one of its latest steel-intensive mixed material production battery electric vehicles (BEV) BIW structures.
The Alumobility webinar, which is part of an ongoing series, supports the organization’s mission to advance the use of aluminum in vehicles through technical studies, collaboration, information and sharing valuable insights. The webinar replay will also be available through the Alumobility website.
To register for the webinar, click here.
