Formed extrusions & high strength sheets:

latest aluminium innovations to meet

passenger vehicle lightweight needs

Automotive Circle

Insight Edition @ Ford USA

September 24, 2015

Constellium

A leader in innovative aluminium-based solutions

2

Design for weight savings with aluminium

Stiffness dominated

Body-in-White

Combination of

membrane and through-

thickness bending

Increase through-

thickness bending

component

Cantilever bending

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Thickness Multiplier

Dis

pla

ce

me

nt

(mm

)

Steel

Aluminum

3

Sheet or extrusions for Body-in-White structures?

Sheet and extruded components are complementary, allowing

the optimization of the performance/cost equation

4

Open/closed sections

Section type

Component thickness

Features & fasteners

Cycle time

Closed; easy to

implement.

Complex; multiple

chambers.

Constant along part.

Variable

Add cost

2 – 10 spm

Extruded components

Open; closed

sections require

assembly.

Multi-piece sections

necessary.

Variable along part.

Constant

Easy to implement

5 -25 spm

Sheet components

Constellium Automotive Structures

Full range of alloys and processes to accommodate the OEM needs

Major supplier of BiW structural parts in Europe and largest in North America

Crashboxes (CMS)

Bumper beams

Longitudinals

Engine cradle/Subframe

Cockpit carrier

Bumper beams (CMS) Add-on frames

Structural

components (BiW)

Ford F-150

5

Design & manufacturing with extrusions

Account for extrusion tolerances in component design

Design tools for variable blank geometry and thickness !!!

Sections length of line are constant

Moving away from this paradigm

Maximize the ability to pierce and trim for machining reduction

Scrap removal during piercing of closed sections

Intensive use of FE forming analysis tools

Evaluate the influence of variations in input geometry

6

Extrusion tolerances do not support BIW tolerances

7

Absorb extra tolerance in the assembly process

Calibrate important sections

Windshield header development

8

Extrusion post-processing summary

Product design w/ extrusion allows the use of closed, variable

thickness sections

Maximize through thickness bending

Several possibilities outside of hydroforming

Forming simulation tools are readily available

Forming tools to account for incoming cross section and thickness

variations

Required aging treatment after forming, tailored to performance

requirements

9

The right alloy for each application

Alloy

Strength

Shape

Complexity

C20

C22

C24

C28/

6082

HSA6

YS 200 6 YS 220 MPa YS 240 MPa YS 280 MPa YS 370 MPa (400 UTS)

Crush Strength

10

High strength crash resistance alloy – C28

C28 extrude beam

Bender mandrel r=0.4 mm

Yield stress: 280 MPaUTS: 310 MPa

End Forming of C28 extrusion

11

Ultra-high strength 6xxx extrusion- HSA6

Hollow

sections

YS

(MPa)

UTS

(MPa)

A50

(%)

Bending

(°)

HSA6 370-400 400-430 10 90

Novel and proprietary high

strength 6xxx alloy

With UTS 400 Mpa

Excellent corrosion resistance

Application to CMS: bumper

mass down by 15%

Key advantages in recycling

compared to 7xxx alloy

12

Constellium’s BiW sheet portfolio

13

FORMALEX®

Forming optimized

SURFALEX®

Perfect surface with excellent hemming

SECURALEX®Crash crushable alloy for

structural parts

STRONGALEX®

High Yield Strength

SECURALEX®P5/P6Pedestrian Safety alloy

SECURALEX® HSHigh Strength Crash Crushable

FORMALEX® PLUSExtra formability for complex shapes

5754, 5182

SURFALEX ® HSPerfect surface with High Strength.

SURFALEX ® HFPerfect surface with High Formability.

Body-in-White sheet key driver: no compromises

SAFETY

LIGHTWEIGHTINGSTYLE

DESIGN

14

Elongation

Isotropy

Strength

Work

hardening

Energy

absorption

Thermal

stability

Paint bake

response

Ductiliy

Corrosion

resistance

Hemming

Roping

Character

lines

Development of high strength structural alloys

15

Standard Today High Strength Ultra High Strength

YS [MPa]

Formalex®Plus

Formalex®

6016-X

6016-DRX/RSX

Strongalex®

Ultralex®V1

Ultralex®V2

Strongalex®Plus

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Steel equivalent

by density ratio

7000-series

6000-series

5000-series

1000 /

3000 /

8000 -series

High strength 6xxx aluminium alloys

* 2% + 20’@185°C

6xxx-alloys offer unmatched corrosion

resistance for cosmetic, intergranular- and

stress corrosion cracking

They are formable and joinable by

conventional mechanical joining and welding

joining techniques

They are ideally suited for uni-alloy concepts

and closed loop recycling

Strength Ductility Status

YS @T4 YS @PB* YS @T6 A80% @T4

Securalex® ~100 ~180 250 25 Serial

Strongalex® ~140 ~260 300 25 Serial

Strongalex®Plus ~160 ~300 330 23 Industrial trials

Strongalex®380 ~170 ~310 350 23 Industrial trials

16

Ultra high strength 7xxx solutions: Ultralex®

Ultralex® v1: complies to AA7075; long experience and reference

data (processing, corrosion) coming from aerospace applications.

Ultralex® v2: still in development; target is highest strength with

excellent stress corrosion performance and easy implementation in

hot stamping lines

Strength Ductility Status

YS @T7 YS @T6 Rm @T6 A80 @T6

Ultralex® v1 480 MPa 530 MPa 580 MPa 15%Industrial

available

Ultralex® v2 560 MPa 620 MPa 675 MPa 13% Lab trials

17

Forming technologies for Ultralex®: hot forming

Part

Picture

B-pillar trials at Constellium

Blank heating during few minutes at SHT temperature

Transfer

Stamping in cold dies

Press quenching (die closing maintained)

Total forming cycle time ~20 seconds

Heat-up time: 8 minutes per batch

Ultralex v1 & Ultralex v2

18

Forming technologies for Ultralex®: hot forming

Thickness

white= experimental

red = numerical

1.94/

2.0

1.52/

1.72

1.62/

1.7

1.94/

1.91

1.62/

1.59

1.79/

1.81 1.81/

1.83

1.85/

1.891.97/

2.0

1.89/

1.95

1.84/

1.9 1.99/

2.0

1.66/

1.74

1.61/

1.54

1.67/

1.7

Simulations of hot forming

B-pillar trials with Autoform

thermosolver

Consistent with experimental

results

19

Main concern for 7xxx-series structural alloys is to be safe from

catastrophic stress corrosion cracking failure in service.

We test materials under multiple stress loading modes beyond plastic

yield and in different corrosive environments to ensure immunity to SCC

or hydrogen embrittlement in service.

Ultralex® copper containing 7xxx-series alloys in overaged tempers

provide robust resistance in these tests.

Ultra high strength 7xxx-series alloys: corrosion

U-bend test specimen,

2-3% plastic deformation

Ultralex®v1. No failure

ASTM G85-A2 640 hours

Reference Alloy. Fully cracked after

167 hours ASTM G85-A2

20

New Constellium-UACJ plant in Bowling Green, KY

Joint venture between Constellium and UACJ to meet the growing

demand for automotive body sheet in North America.

Devoted to aluminum automotive body sheet

240,000 square feet

Full portfolio of 5xxx and 6xxx alloys

In-line pretreatment and lubrication

Maximum width: 2200mm

Maximum gauge: 3.2mm

Separate coil completion line

21

Summary

Sheet and extruded components will continue to share the car

design space in Body-in-White construction.

Advancements are focused on extending the strength spectrum to

achieve further weight savings.

Constellium has established a joint venture with UACJ for auto

body sheet in North America.

A new greenfield plant in Bowling Green, Ky., will start

production in 2016.

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Thank you for your attention!