By: Bruce Grant of COE
November 2017 – With the focus on lightweighting across industries, especially in automotive, the use of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) with tensile strengths of 1,000-plus MPa has increased exponentially. Recent analyst forecasts predict that these steels will represent 40 percent of vehicle content on body and closures by 2025. Although proven as a reliable solution for reducing weight while retaining crashworthiness standards, the properties of AHSS present significant challenges in terms of formability. These higher-yield-strength grades have a greater tendency to retain coil set and tighter tolerances between yield and tensile strength.
Nearly a decade ago, Coe Press Equipment observed its customers struggling to flatten these materials adequately for effective…
