Key Benefits of Using Lighter Aluminum in Automotive Industry
The use of aluminum foil in the automotive industry is no longer a novelty, all or a large part of us know that aluminum is one of the most important materials that intervened as raw material in the manufacture of a car; however, we do not know what are the main benefits obtained by doing so. Here is a small list that will help you to know.
Maximum rigidity:
Aluminum is softer than steel. The bodies of the automobiles have preferred to be composed of aluminum, mainly because it assimilates high resistance impacts on the front and rear parts of the same. Today, the fact of having a greater technology, aided by modern computer systems, makes possible the design and construction of a three-dimensional structure with a torsional stiffness 40% higher than its equivalent in steel and 60% more light
Does not harm the environment:
Aluminum producers and car manufacturers that use this material are also reducing carbon dioxide emissions related to the production of aluminum components.
Lightness:
Manufacturers make numerous efforts to reduce the weight of their cars and know that aluminum can offer them. Aluminum weighs 35% less, per unit volume, than steel, so that parts manufactured from this material lighten the weight of the vehicle.
The current trend is to reduce weight and today the assembly companies are concentrating efforts to replace the metallic structure of the vehicle with aluminum.
It is easy to work:
Aluminum is a light, ductile and malleable metal, but alloyed can reach strengths of up to 600 MPa at traction. It is easy to work so it can be rolled up to 0.004 mm thick. On the other hand, it is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity; it can also be welded using TIG and MIG systems.
Now that you have a clearer idea of what the benefits of using an aluminum foil in the automotive industry are, it’s time to start taking advantage of them. Aluminum is the most commonly used metal in the manufacture of modern cars after steel and, for example, vehicles manufactured in large series .
Properties of Aluminum:
High thermal and electrical conductivity:
Around 4 times greater than the conductivity of steel due to this high conductivity, there is an important dissipation of heat in the processes of fusion welding, so it is necessary to provide more energy than in the case of steel welding.
Aluminum reacts easily with oxygen, coated with an oxide layer, alumina, which makes it very resistant to corrosion. However, in case of combining the use of aluminum with other materials whose electrochemical potential is different, galvanic corrosion processes can occur and lead to the destruction of aluminum.
Low mechanical resistance:
The tensile strength of aluminum is considerably lower than that of steel, so it requires treatment to be increased, for example, by alloys or by increasing the thickness of the piece. In this sense, the control of the efforts applied to the piece in the repair processes is particularly important. The SAF aluminum foil of Cymat Technologies for automobiles is used to make the floor of the car, the lining and the sandwich of the door.
