February 2022 Volume 4

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

For decades automotive companies have been seeking ways to reduce the weight of various classes of vehicles in the interests of improving vehicle efficiency and fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions. Recently, the forging industry has taken a closer look at its technologies and processes to see how it can best help this effort. Both globally and in North America, forging companies are engaging in lightweighting through part redesigns, and the substitution of lighter weight materials, such aluminum and high- strength steels. Update on Automotive Lightweighting for Forgers By Dean M. Peters

Everything that falls under the category of automotive fuel economy is based on one simple principle of physics: given a roughly equivalent aerodynamic design, and regardless of the energy source of the vehicle, it takes less energy to accelerate a lighter vehicle than it does a heavy one. This is obvious to any high school student of Newtonian mechanics, but in recent years the automotive industry, in partnershipwith its supply chain partners, has taken a closer,

more detailed look at how to eliminate every ounce or gram of excess weight in the interests of vehicle efficiency, fuel economy, and lean manufacturing. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “lightweight materials offer great potential for increasing vehicle efficiency. A 10 percent reduction in vehicle weight can result in a 6-8 percent fuel economy improvement.” And, incidentally, even if you are cruising along at a constant speed

and hit neither the brake nor accelerator, your vehicle is continually accelerating against the roughness of the street, internal friction in the car, and aerodynamic drag, in which more energy is dissipated the heavier the car is. Advancements in alloy metallurgy have permitted the replacement of ferrous castings and forgings and traditional steel components with lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, advanced

Though the distortions of panoramic photography make this aluminum forging line at Bharat Forge Aluminum USA (North Carolina) line look curved, it is actually straight, long and narrow. The two Lasco 4,000-ton Screw Presses are the heart of the production line. Courtesy of Bharat Forge AluminumUSA.

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