The emergence of third-generation advanced high-strength steel, known as 3rd Gen AHSS, may have an impact on automotive manufacturing a trade group said.The new generation of steel permits “more elongation,” John Catterall, vice president of the automotive market for the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in an interview. “You can now stamp more complex parts. That maybe allows you to be more cost-effective.
“It allows the vehicle manufacturers to cold stamp some complex parts they couldn’t do in the past,” he added.
The institute conducted a manufacturing study. The group said there are new considerations for integrating the third-generation steel with other steels and automotive materials. Among them are flexible roll forming, roll stamping and cam bending.
“We have users developing technologies” for 3rd Gen AHSS, Catterall said.
The industry’s development of electric vehicles may also spur the use of the new steel, the trade group official said.
EV battery assemblies “need to be protected,” he said. “That plays very well into” using advanced steels.
EV development “also creates more demand for engineering support from the steel industry,” he added.
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