February 2022 Volume 4

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

powertrain components has already started. It is today’s metaphorical equivalent of the challenge presented to metal forgers when additive manufacturing (AM) processes started coming into their own about 25 years ago.

From Poulain’s perspective, those who simulate processes and model efficient parts can get a leading indication of what is trending within the industries they serve. “We are gettingmore requests for simulating manufacturing processes for aluminum than any other lightweight metal, and the

backlogs of the aluminum forgers we work with are growing rapidly,” he observes. And so, during the best of economic times and the worst of pandemic times, we offer the following question: What do Brand- Erbisdorf, Germany, and Sanford, North Carolina, USA, have in common?

Left, a simulation of the cross wedge rolling of aluminum preforms (right) for final forging. Courtesy of Transvalor Americas Corp.

transformed from a steel forge to aluminum in 1996 and became a supplier of aluminum components to the automotive industry. Under the Bharat Forge banner this company became known as BF-AT. During subsequent years, investments in BF-AT improved the plant’s capacity and efficiency through automation and other investments. In 2019, BF-AT completed the installation and commissioning of a major melting facility to produce HCM (Horizontal Cast

Material) feedstock to the plant. In 2019, BF-AT started the commissioning the new forging line in Brand-Erbosdorf. The success of the BF-AT operation in Brand-Erbisdorf, coupled with increased global demand for aluminum automotive components, got Bharat Forge thinking of starting up its first aluminum line in the U.S. In September 2019, Bharat Forge America Inc. announced its acquisition of a 92-acre greenfield site in Sanford, North

A Tale of Two Cities On November 23, 2003, Bharat Forge Ltd., Pune, India, a leading maker and exporter of crankshafts and axles, officially acquired the assets of Carl Dan Peddinghaus GmbH, one of Germany's biggest forging firms. As part of this transaction Bharat Forge (a Kalyani Group company) acquired Peddinghaus’ aluminum division, CDP Aluminiumtechnik, located in Brand- Erbisdorf, Germany. This facility was

incorporated new dimples and fluting within the part to save weight without affecting part strength or performance. Conceptually redefining parts was also considered, such as in the use of a Hirth gear assembly for torque transfer. Phase I of LFI showed that a weight reduction of 42 kg was clearly possible on the vehicle that was studied. The implementation of these lightweight designs would be best achieved early in the design phase of each part and, of course, cost considerations are always a part of the entire lightweighting effort. With the promising results and interest generated by Phase I, the LFI team decided to proceed with Phase II, in which a year-old light commercial vehicle (LCV) with 23,000 miles on it was subjected to the same engineering analysis as the diesel auto in Phase I. However, LCVs have had a history of increasing in weight over the years, generation to generation. Also, the cost of vehicle ownership is more important to LCV owners and vehicle weight reduction means a higher payload can be transported. During two workshops, engineers examined about 2,500 parts and classified them according to weight reduction impact, cost impact

Germany’s Lightweight Forging Initiative In 2013 a group of German forging companies and steel producers formed a privately funded research effort called The Lightweight Forging Initiative (LFI) to study lightweight forging design in automobiles. The group, sponsored by the German Forging Association and the VDEh steel institute, purchased a diesel car and engineers from the sponsoring companies basically disassembled the car, all the while looking for areas and techniques in which forged products could be redesigned for lighter weight. Using this methodical and hands-on approach, engineers studied forgeable powertrain components accounting for slightly less than half of the vehicle’s weight, and some fasteners as well. There are a few directions from which to approach the weight reduction of automotive components – material selection, design modifications, and conceptual modifications. They can be used individually or in combination. In this diesel car, for example, engineers felt that a rear axle chassis bearing could be switched from steel to high-strength aluminum, along with some weight saving geometric modifications. The re-design of existing parts often

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2022 14