AP&T’s solution recently won the prestigious 2017 Altair Enlighten Award competition in the ‘Enabling Technology’ category. The competition recognises important innovations that can contribute to lighter and more energy-efficient cars. Among the 29 finalists, FCA, Toyota and Faurecia were also named winners in other categories.
A complete production line based on AP&T’s process technology was unveiled to customers and other stakeholders in Ulricehamn, Sweden on October 4 and 5.
AP&T’s solution allows structural parts that have previously been manufactured from sheet steel or cold-formed aluminium to instead be produced from hot-formed high-strength aluminium. This means material thickness can be reduced and component weight can be lowered by between 30 and 50%, while material and impact safety are improved.
Says AP&T CEO and managing director Magnus Baarman: “Our research and development of new materials and production processes helps our customers produce increasingly lighter, safer and more energy-efficient products. This is an important aspect of the transition towards sustainability that is currently underway in the car industry.”
Adds AP&T CTO, technology development, Christian Koroschetz: “Our process technology considerably increases the material’s formability, which means we can also use high-strength aluminium for complex-shaped parts and integrate more functions and properties into one single component.”
Among other things, this means that components that are currently manufactured from several joined parts can now be produced in far fewer steps, and a more rational process also results in cost advantages.
Concludes Koroschetz: “Fewer parts, fewer manufacturing steps and fewer required tools, combined with more efficient handling, logistics and assembly result in a decidedly lower production cost than the current level — despite higher costs for production equipment and materials.”
