Hirschvogel Automotive Group (Denklingen, Germany):

Raedt H.-W., Dr. Eng.

Deutsche Edelstahlwerke (Siegen, Germany):
Wilke F., Mag. Eng.

fka (Aachen, Germany):
Ernst Ch.-S., Dr. Eng.

E-mail (common): info@massiverleichtbau.de

A group of German specialists have examined realization of Lightweight Forging Initiative (LFI) formulated in 2013 by 15 metal working and 9 metallurgical companies under I<U and VDEh leadership. Potential possibilities of mass decrease for freight trucks with small loading capacity are examined in this article. Potential ways of automotive construction weight decrease via material replacement is also considered. Correlation between the level of steel mechanical properties and weight of automotive components is displayed. The Lightweight Forging Initiative has demonstrated on two different vehicles (passenger car and light commercial vehicle) that modern forging materials and forging technology can significantly contribute to lightweighting efforts in the automotive industry. In its second phase, the importance and effectiveness of high-quality steel in transmission applications has been more intensively highlighted. The optimum combination of component design, materials and manufacturing technology ensures the development of a high-quality lightweight solution in mass production and at a competitive lightweighting cost. In order to deepen and intensify the field of lightweight forging, a federally funded research project with ten research institutes and 58 participating companies started on 1 May 2015. The project focusses on the development and validation of high strength steels, on new forging methods as well as on the difficulty of implementing lightweight ideas in a manufacturing chain involving many partners.

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6. www.fva-net.de
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8. www.massiverleichtbau.de (as of 12 July 2015)