Structural automotive body components in AHSS steel

BIW components with low weight, high safety, and high stiffness

Developing a car with low weight is easy; developing a car with high safety and stiffness is easy; doing all three simultaneously is a challenge. 

To achieve lightweighting, 5-star safety ratings, and superior handling means optimizing all your model’s structural components. Best practices include early involvement with your AHSS/UHSS manufacturer, who best understands how their steels work – as well as new grades under development you might want to use in the near future.

Roof rail improves car visibility via roll-formed 1700MS

An existing roof rail was a hydro-formed tube in CR100DP steel. The Tier 1 supplier, Shape Corp., proposed to Ford Motor Company a new roof rail using roll-formed and 3D bent Docol^® CR1700M. The new roof rail costs less, improves crash performance, reduces weight, and increases visibility – earning it the Swedish Steel Prize.

Car sill reinforcement uses CR1400M to replace costly hot-forming process

Always looking to reduce costs, an auto OEM took a serious look at the hot-forming process used to make its car sill reinforcements – the specialized presses and furnaces, the material handling, the energy use, the CO₂ emissions, and the extra production time. 

Looking for a material with performance that was comparable to the press hardened steel, the OEM chose Docol^® CR1400M. The cold-rolled 1400 MPa martensitic steel could be cold roll formed in a conventional forming line – eliminating all the disadvantages of PHS – and resulting in significant overall cost savings.

Front structure

Front bumper beam: M AHSS ≥1500

Crash box: CP AHSS ≥590

Front side member: DP AHSS ≥780

Upper front member or shotgun: DP AHSS ≥780

Front side member extenstion: M AHSS ≥1500

Firewall reinforcement: AHSS ≥1180

Frontside reinforcement: AHSS ≥1180

Upper structure

A Header: AHSS ≥1180

Cowl: AHSS ≥1180

A pillar upper: AHSS ≥1180

A Pillar lower: AHSS ≥1180

B Pillar inner: AHSS ≥780

B Pillar outer: PHS ≥1500

C Pillar: AHSS ≥1180

C Cross member: AHSS ≥1180

Cant rail: AHSS ≥1180

C Header: AHSS ≥1180

Get AHSS/UHSS samples – fast

In just one to two weeks, you can get trial samples of most of our commercially available AHSS/UHSS steel grades – plus some of our newest, not-yet-released steels.

Other automotive applications

Our steel grades serve specific design purposes and are chosen by designers for a wide range of automotive applications.