Kazuki UEJIMA

Chanho BEKU
Euro Car Body 2014 Takahiro ONOE

Agenda

・Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ
・Ｄｅｓｉｇｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ
 Introduction

SUBARU History & Spirits
History             : SUBARU  Past and present
Spirits
・Enjoyment        : Agility, Stability and Ride Comfort
・Peace of mind  : Primary, Active, Pre‐Crash 
and Passive Safety

Introduce         New WRX  and  WRX STI

Development Target

Enjoyment Peace of mind

Sports driving Primary safety
・Agility ・Visibility
・Stability Active safety
・Ride Comfort ・Emergency handling
Pre‐Crash safety
Versatility ・EyeSight® system
Passive Safety

Power
 Agenda

・Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ
・Ｄｅｓｉｇｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ

BIW Design Concept

・ Dimensions & Concept for Lightweight Design
Principle Concept ・ Strategy for Material Adoption 

・ Strategy for Lightweight Design
Enjoyment ・ Light Weight Index (LWI)
Lightweight Design
・ Lightweight Design ; Closures

Low Center of Gravity ・ Low Center of Gravity
・ Stiffer Structure
Stiffer Structure
・ All Around Safety
Peace of ・ Strength Enhancement 
mind Strength 
Enhancement ・ Collision Mode Control
 Dimension & Concept for Lightweight Design
 Closures & Upper parts should be lighter to reduce Yaw inertia moment & Lower Center of Gravity.
 Platform should be stiffer, and total weight of BIW should be lighter.

1465(‐5) ; Roof height
Width : 1795

(‐5) 2650(+25) (‐5)

4595(+15)

Priority: Weight reduction Priority: Stiffer structure

Strategy for Material Adoption

Over AHSS is adopted for
AHSS,UHSS,PHS 
strength enhancement.
・Strength enhancement
・Lightweight design
Body frames
Over AHSS  : 45% in Body 
UHSS 4%
(without Closures)
PHS 2%
LSS, HSS, and Aluminum
・Lightweight design AHSS
・Lower center of gravity 39%
LSS+HSS
Upper parts & Closures 55%
Aluminum : 2% 
in total weight of BIW Aluminum is adopted for Material Mix without Closures
(Front Hood) weight reduction.
 Strategy for Lightweight Design
Performance enhancement
Safety, Stiffness, & etc. +16.4kg Optimization of material
‐23.1kg and structures
Previous Dimension +1.3kg

New
‐5.4kg

‐0.5kg
‐2.7kg Trunk Lid optimization
Front Fender, Front & Rear Door
optimization

‐10.1kg
‐9.8kg Rear Floor & Rear Bumper Beam optimization
Aluminum Front Hood
& optimization +16.4kg
Enhanced Safety, Stiffness, and NVH
(including reinforced parts for Small Overlap Frontal Collision)

Light Weight Index (LWI)

LWI M
LWI =
Heavy

‐33.0%
Ct ・ A
M 〔kg〕 ：BIW weight
Ct 〔kNm/deg〕 ：Trosional stiffness with glass A
Light

A  〔m2〕 ：Projected area on wheel base*tread
Previous New
5D
M:BIW weight Ct: Torsional stiffness Sedan
SUV
Body weight

‐1.4% Minivan New

+46.2% Subaru
New

D Seg
C Seg
Previous New Previous New B Seg
A Seg
Body Size
 Lightweight Design ; Front Hood
 Lighter Front Hood is more effective to achieve Lower Center of Gravity and optimal Weight Distribution.

Previous New
Front Hood  Aluminize & Optimized ‐9.8Kg
Aluminized ; ‐8.5Kg

A
Integrations ; ‐1.3Kg

Sec. A‐A

⇒Lower center of gravity ： ‐2.4mm

Lightweight Design ; Door & Trunk

 Lighter Closures Parts contributes to lower Center of gravity and Yaw inertia moment.

Previous New Front & Rear Door Optimized ‐2.7Kg

・Enhancement of Strength Members ; +2.4Kg
・Door out  & inner panel ; ‐5.1Kg
Impact beam added (against Side Impact)

Trunk Lid Optimized ‐0.5Kg
Trunk outer thinner than previous

⇒Lower center of gravity ： ‐0.5mm
 Low Center of Gravity
 Realize Low Center of Gravity by lower Floor parts and narrow Upper parts.

Lower floor pan & side sill Narrow section of Front Pillar

Center of Gravity is lower than 
previous model even with 
Increased Room space.

Previous
New
Previous
New
Previous New

‐3.5
‐16

GROUND LINE

Low Center of Gravity

‐10

New
Height of C.G. /Height of O.A.

Height of C.G. 

Passenger Car
SUV
Sport Car
Competitor
Previous
SSF5★ New
New
Tread
 Enjoyment ; Fun & Pleasure

Stiffer structure Best performance for sports driving
・Front Structure ・Agility
・Under Floor ・Stability
・Rear Bulk & Shelf Panel ・Ride comfort

Your Gears as your extension

Stiffer structure ; Front Structure #1

 Enhance Front Lateral Stiffness by strengthening joint of Front Bulkhead & Front Pillar.

Most important factor to realize linear and direct feeling.
Previous New
 Stiffer structure ; Front Structure #2

Front Lateral Stiffness Previous New

+26.2%

Section Section
Previous New

Stiffer structure ; Under Floor #1

 Enhance Torsional stiffness by strengthening joint of Rear Floor & Side Structure.
Room side
Important factor to realize ride comfort.

Under floor

Thickness of Front Floor is increased ; t0.65 → t0.9

 Stiffer structure ; Under Floor #2

Torsional stiffness Previous New

+46.2%

Previous New

Stiffer structure ; Performance

 Quicker and linear steering response similar to pure sports car.

Agility
Start of Start of ：Steering wheel angle
steering turn lateral G ：Lateral acceleration
Front Lateral Stiffness
Steering wheel angle

Lateral acc. (m/s2)

Lateral G delay

+26.2%
Delay time
Lateral G delay

Previous New

Time (s)
 Stiffer structure ; Performance
 Ride comfort compatible to premium cars by controlling vibration and roll angle.

Ride comfort Stability
Harshness V=40km/h with BPF 10~30Hz

Previous Torsional Stiffness
Vertical Acceleration

Roll angle at 5m/s2
New

Time [s] +46.2%

[m/s2]

Front tire gap Rear tire gap

Previous New

Stiffer structure ; Rear Bulkhead & Shelf Panel

 Enhance Torsional stiffness by strengthening joint of Rear Bulkhead & Shelf Panel.
 Eliminate vibration from premium audio system (sub‐woofer).

※Suppress vibration by Reinforced parts with closed section.

Sub‐woofer

Ref. model without mass
Ref. model with 2.0kg mass
Amplitude

New model

Ref. model
Frequency
 Peace of mind - Safety & Confidence
All around safety
0.Primary safety ; Visibility
1.Active safety ; Emergency handling
2.Pre‐Crash safety ; Anticipating hazards and reduce damage
3.Passive safety ; Protect Occupants and Pedestrianｓ
Strength enhancement & Mode control
・ Pedestrian Protection – Head
・ Pedestrian Protection – Leg
・ Front Crash Management
・ Small Overlap Frontal Crash
・ Side Impact Management
Enhancing safety by
maximizing driving performance

Primary safety ; Visibility

 Superior field of view with narrow front pillars
to help avoid hazards.

Previous New

‐0.4° 0° ‐0.9°

Previous New ‐1.3°

 Active safety ; Emergency handling
 Prominent handling performance by stiffer structure enhances Active safety.

New Front‐upper Rear‐upper

Front‐lower Rear‐lower

Active safety ; Emergency handling

 Emergency handling performance similar to pure sports car.
Slalom maneuver Double lane change
Pure Sports Car Passenger Car
Sports model
Velocity

Velocity
 Active safety ; Emergency handling
 Realize 7mph faster than previous model at Double lane change. 

Previous New

Passive safety ; Pedestrian Protection-Head

 Control deformation mode with Front Hood inner reinforcement to reduce HIC. 
Reinforcement for deformation mode control STUDY TEST

CAE
Acceleration

TEST

Time
 Passive safety ; Pedestrian Protection-Leg
New test method ; FLEX IMPACTOR (ENCAP & JNCAP)
Optimizing Structure & Materials to increase energy absorption.

TRL‐PLI FLEX‐PLI
Ligament(2Places) Ligament(4Places) Absorber‐A (Metal)

Absorber‐B (Resin)
Absorber‐C (Resin)
Fracture(1Places) Fracture(4Places)

Passive safety ; Pedestrian Protection-Leg

 Using 3 parts to contact wider area of legs to reduce Bending moment & Elongation.
Ligament Previous New

STUDY
Elongation

Time
Tibia moment Previous New

TEST
Moment

Time
Contact 3 parts in same time
 Passive safety ; Front Crash-Full Lap
 Engine & Transmission falls down for deceleration at later stage of crash 
by deformation mode control of Front Frame.
Acceleration

Stroke

Passive safety ; Small Overlap Frontal Crash

 Increase energy absorption in early stage of collision by Front‐end‐Gusset. 

Control Load Path 
& 
Energy absorption

Final of Development
Energy

Start of Development

Body Stroke
 Passive safety ; Small Overlap Frontal Crash
 Adopted new production method to enhance strength of Cabin. 
Patchwork Hot Stamping

Patchwork（Spot welded)

Hot stamping Joint Development with

Short pitch spot welding
Spot Pitch
12.5～15mm

Passive safety ; Side Impact

 Realized better performance by adding Door Impact beam and strengthen Body structure.

Ring‐shaped reinforcement frame

Good
125‐

Marginal
0‐50

Acceptable
50‐125

Impact beam added
 Passive safety ; Summary
CRASHWORTHINESS
Small overlap front (overall) G
Structure and safety cage G
Moderate overlap front (overall) G
Structure and safety cage G
Side (overall) G
Structure and safety cage G
Roof Strength G
Head restraints & seats G

Agenda

・Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ
・Ｄｅｓｉｇｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ
 Production Plant
Gunma Plant, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
Body  Stamp
GUNMA PLANT MAIN PLANT YAJIMA PLANT

TOKYO Area 585,000 ㎡ Area 550,000 ㎡

Production capacity 200,000 units/yr.  Production capacity 420,000 units/yr.
Variation 4 models Variation 6 models 

Products & Platform series

IMPREZA WRX / LEVORG FORESTER / EXIGA

BRZ LEGACY
 Flexible manufacturing system

MAIN PLANT YAJIMA PLANT ♯1 YAJIMA PLANT ♯2

BRIDGE PRODUCTION BRIDGE PRODUCTION

Flexible manufacturing system

 Overview of BODY Shop Process & Layout

4% WRX EXCLUSIVE

96% MIXED
PRODUCTION

MAIN PLANT
 Stamping Technology for WRX
Design concept  Method for Achieving Stamping Technology
Aluminum ・Prevent serration
/ Front Hood of 5000 aluminum
Lightweight design
Enjoyment
Low center of gravity Shape & Thickness optimization ・Prevent spring back
/ Front Floor panel  ・Management of Force

Shape & Thickness optimization
/ Front pillar Reinforcement  ・Patchwork Hot Stamping 
Peace of Strength 
mind enhancement
AHSS
/ Center pillar Reinforcement ・Prevent spring back

Stamping Technology of Aluminum Hood

Development Target
 Prevent serration on outer panel with 5000 series aluminum
 Sporty design with sharp character line

Serration

HEM Bake Corrosion Cost

Alloy Elongation Serration
Forming Harding Resistance *include painting

5000 ◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
6000 ○ ○ ◎ ○ ○ ○
 Stamping Technology of Aluminum Hood
 Prevent serration on outer panel by FEM with Original Forming Limit Diagram (FLD)

Crack
Major Strain (True Strain)

Serration Crack
Risk

Wrinkle
GOOD

Minor Strain (True Strain)

Stamping Technology of Aluminum Hood

 Benefits of FEM with original Forming Limit Diagram (FLD)
Other Model （Before adopting original FLD） WRX
INITIAL FINAL (After adopting original FLD)

OK SS_mark NG OK SS_mark NG OK SS_mark NG

 Stamping Technology of Front floor panel
Development Target
 Prevent Spring back, Crack and Wrinkle
 Keeping the forming limit with thickened floor

Design Requirement t0.65⇒t0.9
 Enhancement of NVH
 Low Center of Gravity  t1.2

Previous
New

‐16
GROUND LINE

Stamping Technology of Front floor panel

 Control material flow with Cushion pad to prevent Spring back, Crack and Wrinkle

Accuracy Cushion Pad
+13%

Stamping Image
Previous New
 Stamping Technology of Front floor panel
Applying thicker metal material by balancing shape & performance design, within forming capacity

UPPER DIE

Shape change for Forming force reduction
Forming Capacity

Shape
t0.65 t0.9 change
Force

Time

Stamping Technology of Patch Work Hot Stamping

Development Target
 Prevent softening of spot weld to improve Crash performance
 Applying more spot welded for strength enhancement especially narrow section

Design Requirement Previous New

 Improve crash performance 
 Good visibility 

Previous New
 Stamping Technology of Patch Work Hot Stamping

 Prevent softening of spot weld by assembling the parts before Hot Stamping
 Saving Cost by Patch Work Process

Conventional
Process

SUBARU
Process

Blanking  Welding  Hot Stamping Assembly Products

Stamping Technology of Patch Work Hot Stamping

Benefits of Patch work stamping
#1 prevent softening of spot weld
#2 More strength spot than after hot stamped

Spot-weld after Hot Stamping

Hv

Spot-weld before Hot Stamping

Base Metal
HAZ Nugget

Cost
‐30% Assembly
Stamping
: for Patch Work Material

: for Crash performance
Conventional SUBARU
Process Process
#3 Saving Cost ▲30% from Conventional Process
 Stamping Technology of AHSS
Development Target
 Prevent spring back of Center pillar reinforcement with AHSS (980MPa)
 To decrease spring back less than 50% against conventional stamping

Stamping Technology of preventing spring back

 Method of preventing spring back
Conventional ； Predict the spring back and stamping (reactive)
SUBARU ; Cancel* the residual stress by pre‐forming before drawing (proactive)
* : Indicate spring back portion and intentionally make shapes
Conventional SUBARU
Pre‐forming Area

Dimensional precision +
Estimated spring back
Design Data
Drawing
Residual stress Canceling 
Product
0 tolerance

590MPa(TS) 980MPa(TS)
Trimming
Estimated spring back
-
 Stamping Technology of preventing spring back

 Benefits of canceling the residual stress

Residual stress Dimensions accuracy
Conventional Pre‐forming Conventional
Pre-forming
(Predict the  residual stress)
Design Data

Spring Back

Dimensions accuracy
Big
‐70%
Residual stress

Pre‐forming Conventional
Small

Welding Technology for WRX

Design concept  Method for Achieving Welding Technology

Enjoyment Stiffer structure Enhancement of joint strength ・One Side Spot Welding

/ Front Structure

Peace of Strength  Enhancement of joint strength ・Short Pitch Spot Welding

mind enhancement / Front pillar lower
 One Side Spot Welding Technology
Development Target
 Stable welding quality 
Purpose of adopting one side spot welding 
 Improve stability & productivity  Arc Welding one side spot weld

One Side Spot Welding Technology

 Method of Stabilization of the Welding Quality

CROSS SECTION WELDING IMAGE
 One Side Spot Welding Technology
 To stabilize welding quality with a special shaped electrode and optimize the welding condition
Adopting a multiple impulse welding condition
Using a narrow tip shape electrode to prevent welding defect.
to concentrate current  density.

Current
Time (Cycles)

Welding defect

Short Pitch Spot Welding Technology

Development Target
 To stabilize welding quality of Short Pitch SPW 

Design Requirement Previous SPW
 Strength enhancement for Small Overlap Frontal Crash. Short Pitch SPW

Pitch
12.5–15mm
 Short Pitch Spot Welding Technology
 Method of Short Pitch SPW 
By controlling welding electric current, prevent imperfections caused by shunt current

Nugget
Nugget Nugget
Nugget

Control welding Current Convention ( without Control )

WELDING IMAGE

Short pitch Spot welding Technology

 To stabilize welding quality by control welding current

Control welding current
Supplement additional current to keep enough
current against drop current by shunt current Effect of Control welding Current

Input current with auto control
Nugget Diameter (mm)
Current

Target effective current
standard

Control welding current

Effective current without control Convention (without control)

Time Spot Welding pitch (mm)
 Short pitch Spot welding Technology
 Welding Quality Assurance System of Short pitch Spot welding Current wave
PLANT SERVER
PASS

Current
A‐Process
Target

PASS
Traceability Time
Abnormal current fall
REJECT
VIEWER
B‐Process

Current
Target

REJECT
Time

Agenda

・Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ
・Ｄｅｓｉｇｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ
・Ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ
 Summary
 Challenges…Maximizing Enjoyment and Safety (=Peace of mind), Cost saving, 
Using Existing manufacturing Process (96%) 

Enjoyment Peace of mind

Good
Light Weight
visibility
Evolved stamping and welding
technology of Steel

Low center  High Strength
of gravity  & Mode control
High Stiffness