• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.81-87
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• 2009

Lightweight board has been used for manufacturing various fields of automotive interior trims for years. The GMPU board was constructed with glass fiber mat, honeycomb and polyurethane foamed using polyol and isocyanate materials which were sprayed by robot that is interlocked foaming machine. For more lightweight and cost reduction this paper shows how to optimize GMPU process parameters that related to foaming condition, robot position and robot velocity for polyurethane weight. The results show that flexural strength and modulus of board's specimens were evaluated by robot velocity and moving pattern. Based on that, a innovative process was developed for more lightweight and cost reduction.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.41-46
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• 2007

Lightweight multi-layered boards with high stiffness for the automotive interior trims were developed, which were composed of a single material. The boards were constructed in the form of substrate/core/substrate with newly developed materials. The materials which have high tensile strength and elongation were selected for the substrate materials, and those which have high compressive strength and low density were selected for the core materials. 25 types of multi-layered boards were fabricated using the selected substrate and core materials. The compatibility with the skin materials, the formability and the tensile strength and flexural strength of the specimens were evaluated. The results show that three types of multi-layered boards(Kenboard/EPP foam/Kenboard, Twintex/PP honeycomb/Twintex, Curv sheet/EPP foam/Curv sheet) are appropriate for the automotive interior trims. Considering the ease of materials supply and the economical aspect, Kenboard/EPP foam/Kenboard is thought to be the most realistic alternative.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.538-542
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• 2014

Microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al-6Si-2Cu alloy for lightweight automotive parts were investigated. The test specimens were prepared by gravity casting process. Solution heat treatments were applied to as-cast alloys to improve mechanical properties. The microstructure of the gravity casting specimen presents a typical dendrite structure, having a secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of $37{\mu}m$. In addition to the Al matrix, a large amount of coarsened eutectic Si, $Al_2Cu$ intermetallic phase, and Fe-rich phases were identified. After solution heat treatment, single-step solution heat treatments were found to considerably improve the spheroidization of the eutectic Si phase. Two-step solution treatments gave rise to a much improved spheroidization. The mechanical properties of the two-step solution heat treated alloy have been shown to lead to higher values of properties such as tensile strength and microhardness. Consequentially, the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al alloy have been successfully characterized and are available for use with other basic data for the development of lightweight automotive parts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.330-335
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• 2003

Analysis and experiment on dynamic characteristics of automotive roof have been carried out experimentally and numerically to design a lightweight roof. Finite element analysis of a conventional steel automotive roof was verified by experiments on vibration characteristics. The dynamic analysis of carbon fiber reinforced composite automotive roof shows that the roof stiffness changes as the fiber orientation of the laminated panel changes. Optimization results yielded a composite roof, which was 52% lighter, than the steel conventional steel automotive roof. This paper addresses a design strategy of composite roof for weight reduction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 2014

Lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium have recently received much attention in the automotive industries because of environmental and fuel-efficiency concerns. Using the powder metallurgy (PM) process for these materials creates significant opportunities for the cost-effective manufacture of lightweight automotive parts. In the present study, an Al-Cu-Mg alloy was fabricated using conventional PM processes. Primarily, the effects of the alloying elements on the sintering characteristics and mechanical behavior after heat treatment were investigated. A microstructural analysis was performed using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope to investigate the behavior of liquid phase sintering, including the formation of precipitates. The dependence of the mechanical behavior on the alloying elements was evaluated based on the transverse rupture strength.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.214-218
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• 2011

In order to survive in turbulent and competitive markets, automotive part manufacturers try efforts to develop new manufacturing technologies for ultra-lightweight, high-intensity and environmentally-friendly parts. Most of front lower arm is manufactured by welding process between upper- and lower panel which are produced by press stamping process. Because lower arm mounted on the cross member parts is one of the important complementary parts. So, to improve safety and lightweight of these parts, hybrid technologies are used in this paper. As hybrid technologies are applied to be front sub-frame, rear cross member and other chassis parts as well as front lower arm, the 20% lightweight has been achieved compared with existing steel parts.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.160-166
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• 2011

Weight reduction while maintaining functional requirements is one of the major goals in the automotive industry. The use of lightweight magnesium alloys offers great potential for reducing weight because of the low density of these alloys. However, the formability and the surface quality of the final magnesium alloy product for auto-body structures are not acceptable without a careful optimization of the design parameters. In order to overcome some of the main formability limitations in the stamping of magnesium alloys, a new approach, the so-called "hybrid technology", has been recently proposed for body-in-white structural components. Within this approach, necessary level of mechanical joining can be obtained through the use of lightweight material-steel adhesion promoters. This paper presents the development process of an automotive hybrid hood assembly using magnesium alloy sheets. In the first set of material pairs, the selected materials are magnesium alloy AZ31B alloy and steel(SGCEN) as inner and outer panels, respectively. In order to optimize the design of the inner panel, the stamping process was analyzed with the finite element method (FEM). Laser welding by CW Nd:YAG were used to join the magnesium alloy sheets. Based on the simulation results and mechanical test results of the joints, the determination of die design variables and their influence on formability were discussed. Furthermore, a prototype based on the proposed design was manufactured and the static stiffness test was carried out. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed hybrid hood with a weight reduction of 25.7%.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.248-255
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• 2015

The warm drawing of magnesium alloy AZ31B sheet is affected by temperature because tensile elongation is changed due to the elevated temperature. In the current study, the effect of temperature was investigated for an automotive dash panel part by both experimental and FE analysis. Tensile tests were performed to obtain mechanical properties for various temperatures. AZ31B alloy sheet shows increased total elongation with increasing deformation temperature in the range of 200 to 300℃. The heating channel inserted into the die was used to regulate and to obtain an optimal temperature. A temperature controller was constructed to reduce temperature variation. Warm drawing of magnesium alloy AZ31B was performed to produce the desired shape of the lightweight automotive dash panel. The simulated results showed good agreement with the experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.43-45
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• 2005

For application of advanced high strength hot-rolled steels (i.e. DP590, DP780) to automotive lightweight chassis parts, various technologies from design to forming test, optimization of welding condition and investigation of coating properties were tried. The target part of this study was automotive rear sub frame and we could make $16.8\%$ weight reduction by reducing the material thickness and optimizing the design. In addition, the formability and weldability of the newly developed AHSS, DP780, were evaluated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.83-89
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• 1999

A seat frame structure in automotive vehicles made of polymer matrix composite to achieve weight reduction at low cost was developed. In order to design and manufacture the actual product studies on material selection and structural analysis were performed. Structural analysis was performed with a finite element method. The analysis was done for several cases suggested in various safety regulations. Each results was utilized to modify the actual shape to obtain a lighter, safer and more stable design. The final design was used to produce a sample bottom plate of the seat structure with reinforced by X-shape frame. Substitution of the material resulted in a weight reduction effect with equivalent strength fatigue and impact characteristics.