On April 11, 2023, VAMA&GONVVAMA Innovative Steel Technology Day was successfully held at Nio International Business headquarters and global R&D center for mass production vehicles. Automotive industry experts gathered in Shanghai to discuss the application of innovative steel technology in future automobile manufacturing. To continuously provide customers with high-quality products beyond market demand, with a variety of product solutions to drive the electric, digital and intelligent life of the automobile. "VAMA and GONVVAMA's innovative steel solutions deliver the ultimate safety and green experience behind the wheel," said Pedro Raiser, VAMA's Director of Sales and Customer Technical Support, in his welcoming remarks.
Gary Hughes, Senior Director of New Product Introduction at Nio, thanked VAMA and GONVVAMA for bringing the latest products and technologies to Nio. "VAMA Advanced steel Usibor® and Ductibor® have been widely used in Nio's mass production and development models. We hope that VAMA and GONVAMA will have more in-depth technical exchanges with the Nio Shanghai and Hefei teams in the future.“
With EVI's early involvement, VAMA can advance the design and development of new materials and processing packages based on actual and potential customer needs, and support automotive manufacturers in considering material strategies for joint engineering projects.
"Arcelormittal continues to push the envelope in the development of materials with high strength and toughness," said Michael Yang, Director of Customer Technical Support at VAMA. "The third generation of hot-formed aluminum silicon coated Ductibor®1500 is expected to be ready for mass production at our headquarters this year. At the same time, VAMA has made new breakthroughs in key technologies for Usibor®2000 extreme specifications through localized development, which can be further expanded in thickness, providing a broader design space for automobile manufacturers."
In response to the demand for supply chain integration and modular body design in the Chinese market, a new multi-part integration (MPI) solution has been developed. Adhering to the design concept of "putting the most appropriate materials in the most appropriate place", adjusting the weld position, combining materials of different thickness and different steel types to achieve the best collision safety of parts. "The integration of components in the lower body is more complex, which requires a higher level of integration throughout the supply chain," said Yannick Yin, chief technology officer of GONVVAMA.
Arcelormittal's newly developed S-in motion® small electric SUV solution uses advanced high-strength steel, such as the second generation of aluminum-silicon coated hot-formed steel Usibor®2000 and the third generation of cold-formed high-strength steel Fortiform®, to reduce emissions significantly compared with other lightweight materials during the manufacturing phase. Greening can be achieved throughout the life cycle of automobile use, recycling and other processes. Chen Yongzhi, EVI engineer at ArcelorMittal in China, said, "For the first time, collision compatibility assessment is taken into account, while the best performance steel is used in key body parts such as the mid-floor module, side wall module and rear end module, to better meet the automaker's demand for a balance between cost economy, weight reduction and safety."
At the same time, the thermoforming tray shown to the public for the first time on site is only 1mm thick, 2110*1523mm in size and 115mm in depth, which can meet the needs of all electric models on the market at present. Compared with ordinary steel trays, it can achieve better geometric precision control. Compared with aluminum, the cost can be reduced by 40% and the weight difference can be effectively controlled within 15%. The Alusi® coated cold water plate has excellent anti-corrosion properties and has been tested for air tightness and feasibility evaluation of production equipment. Another highlight of the scheme is the use of hot-formed steel for the first time in the bottom shield, replacing traditional DP steel and achieving a 30 percent or more lightweight effect, said Liu Xiang, EVI engineer of ArcelorMittal China.“
Going forward, VAMA and GONVVAMA are also committed to continuously innovating industry-leading technologies to create added value for a good automotive life. We hope that the three parties will continue to have in-depth communication and apply VAMA and GONVVAMA's latest products and integrated solutions to new project platforms in the future. Billy Ma, GONVVAMA's CMO, said after the meeting.
