Manufacturing of Lightweight Components by Metal Forming

M. Kleiner' (2), M. Geiger2 ( I ) , A. Klaus'

1
Chair of Forming Technology, Dortmund University, Germany
2
Chair of Manufacturing Technology, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

Abstract
Due to constantly increasing ecological concerns and demands for higher performance, lightweight construc-
tion is a key factor to success mainly in the transportation sector but also in general engineering, machine-
tools, and architecture. This paper deals with current and future contributions of forming technology to the
manufacture of lightweight components and structures. As design, materials, and manufacturing processes
have to be considered integratively, it is pointed out which issues arise in the production of load adapted de-
signs and using high strength materials. Frame and shell structure concepts as well as their related forming
processes are presented. Finally, fields of further research are identified.

Keywords:
Metal forming, material property, lightweight construction

1 INTRODUCTION weight components and structures in automotive applica-

In modern transportation engineering, the application of
lightweight components is a central challenge. Due to
economical and ecological reasons as well as to improve
product properties, a mass reduction is necessary. This
involves approaches from different engineering disci-
plines. Therefore, lightweight construction can be defined
as 'an integrative construction technique using all avail-
able means from the field of design, material science,
and manufacturing in a combined way to reduce the
mass of a whole structure and its single elements while at
the same time the functional quality is increased'.
Lightweight construction is crucial where mass is critical
to enable the product function like in aeronautical
applications. In case of masses subject to acceleration,
lightweight components can increase the product
performance e.g. allow higher revolutions with lighter
crankshafts. Driving comfort and safety can be increased
when unsprung masses are reduced like in a car chassis.
At least, reducing masses improves the fuel con-
sumption. (Figure 1)
Much effort is being put into the development of light-
tions. Firstly, lightweight construction deals with the use
of light materials. For example, the tailgate of the Volks-
wagen Lupo consists of a magnesium cast inner part with
an aluminum outer panel although severe corrosion is-
sues have to be considered [ I ] . DaimlerChrysler uses a
maintenance-free ceramic disc brake system in the
sports car SLR thus eliminating 20kg of unsprung mass
which significantly increases product costs [2].
Secondly, lightweight construction deals with different
design strategies. For example, the ULSAS study exam-
ined chassis design possibilities providing different levels
of suspension comfort, costs and weight [3] (Table 1).
Concerning the body structure of trains or cars, frame
and shell structures can be differentiated. Both design
strategies are commonly linked to a specific material:
aluminum in the case of frame structures [4], steel in the
case of shell structures [5]. Therefore, different manufac-
turing demands arise using different design strategies [6].
Design, choice of material, and manufacturing technology
are closely related as can be shown by wheel production,
for example. Weight reduction at wheels is important due
to its unsprung mass and the associated reduction of fuel
consumption and the better ride-and-handling comfort.
Especially in the front of the car, a weight reduction is
necessary to ease the critical mass distribution at the
front axle and therefore increase driving safety.

System type cost Mass

saving [%] saving [%]
Twistbeam 6 32
Strut & links 2 25
Double wishbone 0 17
Multi-link 30 3
(vs . al uminum benchmark)
Lotus unique 22 34
(vs. double wishbone)
Table 1: Cost and mass savings with
Figure 1: Purpose of lightweight components different suspension designs [3].
 Al Mg Steel Ti
P 2.8 1.74 7.83 4.5
E 70 45 210 110
Rm 150-680 100-380 300-1200 910-1 190

R,/p“’ 54-243 57-218 38-153 202-264

E/p”’ 25.0 25.9 26.8 24.4
Figure 2: Lightweight wheels made of aluminum, steel,
and magnesium (from left to right) [7, 81. K p 9.3 11.2 4.4 7.7
Conventionally, two-piece steel wheels are manufactured
by deep drawing of the disk, profile rolling of the rim, and
f i / ~ (14.7
~’ 20.4 7.6 10.6
a subsequent bolting or welding operation to join both p Density [kg d m q , €Tensile modulus [GPa],
parts. This wheel type covers less than half of the market R, Tensile strength [N mm-2]
today. Customers demand wheels with a larger diameter (’) Specific strength [ l o 6 N mm kg-’1
and tires with a smaller cross section. Therefore, wheels (2) Specific stiffness [ I O9 N mm kg-’1
become heavier thus aggravating the above mentioned (3) Dent resistance [ l o 6 N112mm2kg-’1
problems [9]. The further development of forming tech- (4) Shell stiffness [ l o 7 N113mm713kg-’1
nology enables the optimized manufacture of lighter Table 2: Material properties.
wheels made of aluminum, magnesium, or even steel
(Figure 2). Unfortunately, a progress in alloy development in terms
of higher strength always results in lower nominal strain
As a technology for large-scale production especially for at fracture thus limiting their formability [ I I ] :
automotive applications, metal forming provides eminent
possibilities for the cost effective manufacture of light- steel: strength increases from 250 MPa up to
weight components. Advantages like work hardening and 1000 MPa but strain decreases from 45% down to
load adjusted material orientation offer additional poten- 12%;
tial for lightweight constructions. aluminum: strength from 150 MPa up to 530 MPa but
This paper focuses on the interrelations between light- strain from 30% down to 10%;
weight construction and metal forming. What are the magnesium: strength from 200 MPa up to 380 MPa but
related challenges to manufacturing processes and which strain from 20% down to 7%.
contributions can be given?
As a consequence, high strength alloys necessitate
Looking at material specific issues of metal forming, higher forces in forming operations as well as more rigid
common problems, and respective manufacturing proc- presses and more wear resistant tools. The latter can be
esses in section 2, the use of steel and aluminum as well achieved by ceramic inserts for forging [12, 131 or deep
as the recent use of magnesium for lightweight compo- drawing operations [14], for example.
nents are discussed. Section 3 deals with lightweight
At the same time, the low ductility restrains design possi-
structures and the manufacture of their particular work-
bilities. In order to obtain lightweight components, the
pieces. Frame and shell structures are discussed indi-
material distribution is crucial. The material used should
vidually, followed by aspects of joining by forming. Finally,
be distributed ideally according to the load applied to the
the field of further research is identified (section 4).
component. Recent developments employ more and
2 FORMING OF LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS more topological optimization using bionic methods [ I 51.
In a material based approach to the manufacture of In an iterative design process, material is added to a
lightweight components, the use of light metals - keeping component where required due to the load, and material
the same workpiece geometry - reduces the compo- is removed where it is obsolete. This process can be
nent‘s weight. Although the density of aluminum is a third compared to the growth of a bone or a tree.
that of steel, aluminum has only a third of the strength Casting processes offer ideal prerequisites to manufac-
and tensile modulus. As the use of light metals must not ture complex components designed by conventional or
decrease product properties, specific material properties bionic methods. Disadvantages can be found in the ma-
should be taken into account (Table 2). terial structure like the existence of pores and in the lim-
The tensile modulus is metal dependent and cannot be ited choice of cast alloys with lower yield stresses com-
changed by alloys or grades. An increase in specific pared to wrought alloys (Table 3). In contrast to casting
stiffness as needed e.g. for structural automotive applica- Material Cast alloy Wrought alloy Increase
tions can therefore only be achieved by larger hollow
cross sections. Relating the strength of a material to its Aluminum AICu4Ti Mg AIZn5,5MgCu 26-66%
density, high strength steel (HSS) and in particular 320-420 530
stainless steel become lightweight construction materials Magnesium AZ91 T6 AZ80AT5 27-44%
compared to some aluminum alloys. Depending on the
actual alloy and grade, steel and aluminum are likewise 240-300 345-380
‘light metals’ as well as magnesium and titanium. In addi- Table 3: Comparison of tensile yield stresses (in MPa) of
tion, compound materials like metal matrix composites high strength cast and wrought alloys [I61
(MMC) provide means for ultra lightweight components.
As for applications in shell structures with the lightweight
construction criteria dent resistance and shell stiffness,
aluminum and especially magnesium show much better
properties than steel as shells with the same area weight
have a higher wall thickness due to the lower density. In
the case of the BMW M3, the front hood made of alumi-
num is 42% lighter than the standard steel front hood Casting Cutting Forming
[ I 01. Figure 3: Schematic material orientation in
different manufacturing processes [29].
or cutting, forming processes enable a dense material
structure orientated parallel to the load path (Figure 3).
Furthermore, the already higher yield stresses of wrought
alloys designated for forming processes are yet in-
creased by the work hardening effect. Unfortunately,
forming processes especially sheet metal forming proc-
esses do not allow as complex shapes as do casting or
cutting processes. To overcome this restraint, one possi-
bility is to use semi-finished products that already provide
a suitable material distribution.
With tailored sheet metal products, where different di-
mensions, materials, alloys, or grades are combined
within a single workpiece, a more sophisticated product
or process design and more complex shapes can be
achieved. On the other hand, forming processes of such
semi-finished products require increased process knowl-
edge, the observation of different material behaviors, and
the development of designated adaptive forming proc-
esses and tools [ 17, 18, 19, 201.
High strength but low ductile materials used for light-
weight components moreover aggravate the problem of
limited material distribution options. In order to avoid this,
some solutions are at hand including:
forming at elevated temperatures,
incremental forming,
superplastic forming, and
thixoforming.
Elevated temperatures
Forming at elevated temperatures lowers forces and
increases ductility as additional slip planes are activated,
especially for magnesium [21]. Moreover, higher tem-
peratures decrease spring back which is an important
issue using high strength materials. But with the tempera-
ture being a sensitive factor in forming operations, proc-
ess parameter windows have to be carefully observed in
order to obtain reproducible results.
lncrem enta1 forming
Incremental forming processes are characterized by a
successive local forming of the workpiece instead of
forming the whole workpiece at one time. While spinning
allows the manufacture of rotationally symmetric hollow
products, the incremental sheet forming (ISF) process
and its derivatives allow the manufacture of complex
asymmetric shapes [22, 23, 241. With shear forming as
well as ISF, very high strains compared to conventional
stretching or deep drawing processes can be achieved
(Figure 4) [25, 26, 27, 281.
High achievable strains and a flexible manufacturing
method make this process very promising for lightweight
applications according to increased work hardening and
larger design possibilities. Due to the successive and
Figure 4: Incremental forming: process principle (left and
bottom) and high achievable strain (top right) [25].
local nature of incremental forming, the very complex
process modeling and simulation is just at the beginning.
Nevertheless, first results to predict forming limits by
means of finite element methods are being researched
[26, 301.
Superplastic forming
The superplastic forming eminently increases the nomi-
nal strain at fracture provided that preconditions like a
grain size below 10 vm, specific strain rates and forming
temperatures are observed. For some applications, this
process is mostly applied with aluminum and titanium.
Also magnesium sheet metal forming experiments are
being undertaken [31].
Thixoforming
Finally, to overcome low ductility, the material can be
formed in a semi-solid state. This so called thixoforming
[32] allows for example the forging of more complex parts
that can be produced net or near net shaped in one
process step and therefore offers opportunities for the
production of lightweight components [33]. Established
for aluminum and magnesium, this process still lacks
experience with steel due to specific die development
challenges [34].
2.1 Steel
With its high formability, steel is predestined for complex
sheet metal parts and hence for difficult forming opera-
tions. It offers reasonable freedom to the designer as less
manufacturing restrictions apply when choosing from
alloys in ultra high strength grade to those with enormous
ductility. Furthermore, sheets of different thickness, qual-
ity and surface coating can be welded together to achieve
an optimized weight and material property distribution
over the blank.
Stainless steel
Though high strength and ductility are usually mutually
exclusive properties, both are provided by stainless steel.
Due to its price, about five times that of regular steel, this
being even higher than the price of aluminum, stainless
steel is scarcely used in automotive applications com-
pared to the amount of carbon steel. Until recently, appli-
cations were limited to decorative use and products in the
exhaust systems due to its good resistance to thermal
fatigue, creep, and oxidation, here accounting for
300,000 tons/year in Europe (2002) [35, 361. Observing
suitable process parameters, the forming of stainless
steel grades is industrially applicable in large series.
Differences to carbon steels primarily refer to spring back
behavior which can be compensated by appropriate tool
development [37]. In Japan, all-stainless-steel railway
carriages today account for half of all carriage production
[38]. Their easy recyclability and their considerable
weight saving, even compared to aluminum carriages,
are of great advantage.
Stainless steel shows a strong tendency to work harden-
ing so that even at low strains, a significant increase in
yield strength can be achieved [39]. Combined with its
high formability, stainless steel enables new, more light-
weight product designs to be manufactured.
The bumper of a passenger car has to be very stiff con-
cerning crashworthiness reasons in order to lead primary
impact forces into the main crash structure. High strength
of the bumper is necessary to direct these forces on the
non-impact side in case of an offset crash. On the other
hand, a deformation zone between bumper beam and
bumper cover is desired to increase pedestrian safety. It
is assumed that up to 2,000 fatal casualties in the EU per
year could be prevented by appropriate car redesign. In
order to achieve this, the cross section dimensions of the
bumper have to be reduced without lowering the stiff-
ness.
A conventional bumper beam of a caravan vehicle is bent
from a flat blank, welded into a closed shape, and bent
slightly into the final form. A significant weight reduction is
possible by the use of stainless steel. Here, a bumper
beam design optimization introduced beads into the
cross section that have to be deep drawn (Figure 5). This
required for a material with higher formability but allowed
a smaller sheet thickness to be used due to higher
strength and a larger cross section area. At the same
time, the high ductility can absorb additional crash en-
ergy. Simulated drop tower test evaluated the crash per-
formance of the optimized design. In effect, to maintain
the same performance as conventionally designed
bumper, a weight reduction of 20% was achieved using
stainless steel AlSl 301L in cold worked condition CIOOO.
[40,411
For many years, fuel tanks for passenger cars have been
made of plastic by the blow moulding process, account-
ing for about 70% of all tanks produced. It allows the
manufacture of complex shapes required due to complex
package limitations. But legislation demands zero emis-
sion of hydrocarbon from tanks which plastics used at
present do not meet. Besides diffusion tightness,
stainless steel on the other hand provides high corrosion
resistance, outstanding formability, and high strength
compared to mild steel. Still, the manufacture of such a
complex shape could only be achieved by the intense
use of finite element simulation. In many optimization
steps,
the best suiting forming processes using conventional
and hydro mechanical deep drawing,
adequate parameters in the very small process window,
as well as
Figure 5: Stainless steel bumper beam - development
from original to final design [41].
Figure 6: Comparison between plastic
and steel tank [42].
tool and workpiece design
were achieved. As a result, the stainless steel tank is
20% lighter while providing 4% more capacity than the
conventional plastic tank due to smaller wall thickness
(Figure 6). [42]
Tailored blanks
A load adapted material distribution is the key to
successful lightweight components. In massive forming, a
complex material distribution can easily be achieved with
forging or extrusion processes. However, in sheet metal
forming, this is not applicable. Here, the use of tailor-
made semi-finished products enables the cost-efficient
production of weight and load-optimized workpieces. Not
only sheet metal of different thickness (tailored blanks)
but also of different materials grades (tailored heat
treated blanks), or even of different materials or alloys
(hybrid blanks) are available. Tailored blanks are usually
joined with a linear weld seam (tailor welded blanks), less
often with non-linear weld seams (tailor engineered
blanks, Figure 7). Furthermore, the varying wall thickness
can be manufactured by rolling (tailor rolled blanks) lead-
ing to a continuous thickness transition. In 1983, Thyssen
Steel were the first to manufacture tailored blanks today
accounting for 50% of a typical car body, e.g. as doors,
liftgates, floors and side beams. Although applicable to
non-ferrous metal as well, tailored blanks are currently
referred to as made from steel. [43, 441
Compared to conventional blanks with a uniform thick-
ness, tailor welded and even more tailor engineered
blanks provide the potential for a weight reduction of 20-
34% e.g. for a door inner panel [43]. When forming tai-
lored blanks, new problems arise: [I71
Tribology: different surface textures and coatings lead
to different friction in deep drawing processes thus in-
fluencing the forming result. Varying friction coefficients
require adaptive strategies;
Mechanical properties: the forming behavior cannot
directly be estimated from both single materials. The
Figure 7: Wheel arch made from
tailor engineered blank [18].
Figure 8: Cross section and yield stress
after flexible rolling [19].
 higher strength and lower ductility of the weld seam
cause much smaller yield strains in the tensile test of
probes with a longitudinal seam, combined with a dif-
ferent failure mode;
Material flow: Due to different wall thicknesses, the
binder force is only applied to the thicker sheet area.
This leads to wrinkling and cracks especially in the weld
seam. Moreover, the material in the flange preferably
flows in the milder part of the blank. Therefore, different
tool concepts for tailored blanks are necessary.
The flexible rolling process on the other hand allows the
production of blanks with almost arbitrary thickness dis-
tributions in the rolling direction by varying the rolling gap.
Hereby, multiple local sheet thicknesses can be ideally
adapted to the load. Due to work hardening in the flexible
rolling, the yield stress increases according to the cross-
section reduction (Figure 8). Applying a dome height test
using a hemispherical punch, tailor rolled blanks (TRB)
with a thickness transition length above 40mm reached
the same dome height as a regular blank. This is a great
advantage compared to tailor welded blanks due to
ductility reasons mentioned above [45].
Manufactured from such TRB, first prototype applications
and even a mass-produced part are examined. A weight
reduction of 25% compared to a regular sheet was
reached for a Mercedes-Benz E-class cross member
(Figure 9). This part has been stamped successfully from
TRB with thicknesses of 0.8mm and 1.25mm in tools
originally designed for TWB. In order to nevertheless
match the specific tools, the shortest producible thick-
ness transitions were chosen. An optimal lightweight
design would have been achieved if longer, load-adapted
transitions were used that then, however, would have
required a new tool set. [19, 451
For the manufacture of a bumper made from stainless
steel TRB, the air bending on a press brake and the
profile bending on a three-roll-bending machine was
investigated (Figure 10). lnhomogeneous springback due
Figure 9: Cross member made from
tailor rolled blank [18].
Figure 10: Bumper made from
tailor rolled blank [20].
to a continuously varying sheet thickness (1.02-1.22mm)
and strength required an individually designed die. Using
a regular punch, local variations of the die height preset a
varying punch displacement in order to compensate the
material behavior. Furthermore, for short transitions, a
segmented rapid tooling die was manufactured by laser
cutting v-shaped lamellas that were individually adapted.
Conventional steel wheels are still the cheapest in the
market (about 20 US$), compared to cast aluminum
wheels (about 40 US$) or even forged aluminum wheels
(about 70 US$). The disadvantage of heavier steel
wheels can be compensated by a better material distribu-
tion in the rim and the use of high strength alloys. A vary-
ing thickness over the rim can either be achieved by
flowforming or the use tailored strips.
While spinning the rim, a defined seamless thickness
distribution can be manufactured by a radial motion of the
forming tool towards the mandrel thus reducing the wall
thickness (Figure 11). In an application for a 15x6 base
wheel of a mid size car, the rim was manufactured from a
2.29mm thick sheet, with a spun thinned area of 1.55mm
thickness using a microalloy steel (Figure 12). This re-
duces the weight of the wheel by 20%. [7]
By the use of tailored strips (narrow tailored welded
blanks with multiple thicknesses) rolled into a tubular
shape, a similar weight reduction can be achieved under
economical conditions [43].
Forging
With the improved material structure of forged work-
pieces, the forming technology provides advantages over
competing cutting processes. Especially for the produc-
tion of bevel gears, forged components offer higher
strength and precision accuracy that lead to a power
density improved by 25% compared to conventionally
machined gears as
the grain flow in the formed teeth is parallel to the load
direction (Figure 13),
no fibres are open in areas of high load,
and ideal contact pattern can be achieved as all apexes
of all gears of the differential are in the exact same
point, and
Figure 11: Flowforming [46]
Figure 12: Microalloy wheel with non-uniform
wall thickness in the rim [7].
 the surface hardness is increased
The increased power density can be used for smaller and
lighter components. In addition, conventionally manufac-
tured gears and gear box end pieces are designed with
the cutting clearance for the hobbing of the splines. This
run-out length is necessary for machining but not for
forming. As a consequence, the cutting clearance can be
avoided thus saving additional weight and space (Fig-
ure 14). [47, 481
The technological, ecological, and economical benefits of
forged gears have led to a broad market. But the gears
require a precision forging process to meet the required
tolerances. This is usually achieved by a hot forging and
a subsequent cold coining operation. In order to apply
this forming technology to helical gears, a wide knowl-
edge of the essential process variables is necessary due
to the more complex tooth geometry and the higher sur-
face quality required. Therefore, the demands on the
precision forging process increase. Especially slug mass,
the slug temperature, and the energy of the forging press
have an important influence on the gear quality and the
tool stresses. By underfilling the tool edges not lowering
the tool function, a significant reduction of the tool pres-
sure, tool wear, and tool life can be achieved. [49]
2.2 Aluminum
In aircraft applications, weight saving enables longer or
faster flights while at the same time consuming less fuel.
Commercial flying therefore becomes ecologically and
economically more reasonable by allowing larger air-
crafts. As aluminum alloys have been the most widely
used structural material in aircrafts for several decades,
new alloys and engineered materials are emerging. Low-
density al uminum-lithium alloys, powder-metal Iurgy-
processed 7000 series alloys, the aluminum based MMC,
and metal-polymer hybrid composites have the potential
to replace the conventional 2000, 6000, and 7000 series
alloys. Demands for higher strength led to the develop-
ment of several new EN-AW7075 derivative alloys. The
Figure 13: Comparison of a cut (left)
and a formed (right) bevel gear [47].
Figure 14: Comparison of a cut (left)
and a formed (right) gear box end piece [48].
alloy EN-AW7055-T77 e.g. shows a yield stress of
603 MPa. This progress resulted largely from tighter
control over impurity levels and improvements in ther-
momechanical and heat-treatment practices. [50]
With rapid solidification processes (RSP) like spray
deposition or meltspinning, alloys with even higher yield
stresses become possible. At spray deposition, the mol-
ten aluminum is sprayed on a rotating table thus growing
a cylindrical billet. Hereby, materials that tend to segrega-
tion in casting processes can be produced. It is even
possible to add powders to the spray that would not blend
with the molten matrix. During the meltspinning RSP,
molten aluminum hits a fast rotating wheel and almost
instantaneously releases a continuous metal ribbon at
room temperature. This ribbon is converted into flakes
and finally into an extrusion product. At RSP, the sudden
temperature drop that takes place at a rate of more than
106"Cs-'. Due to this rapid quenching, a very small grains
size of about 2vm in comparison to a conventional alloy
with a grain size of about 100vm is produced. The yield
strength (RSA-707) reaches 800MPa while the fracture
elongation drops down to 2-5% compared to 10-14% of a
conventional EN-AW7075 alloy. [51]
Increased strength and lowered ductility requires devel-
opments in aluminum forming technology. The field of
ongoing research can be divided into
improvements in massive forming,
use of tailored blanks,
forming at elevated temperatures, and
superplastic forming.
Massive forming
The application of cold formed aluminum parts is signifi-
cantly increasing due to good formability and high
strength in the final product. Machined steel products are
replaced as e.g. in the case of a steering column (Fig-
ure 15). Made from EN-AW6082, this part is backward
can extruded followed by successive ironing operations
reducing the wall thickness down to 1.5mm thus enabling
a final forming of the bellow. This complex product design
not only allows a very lightweight component. As added
value beyond the reduction of weight, the design results
into improved security of the driver as a side bending of
the steering column is possible in case of an accident.
[521
In fact, cold forging allows for net shape forming with no
or very few machining and finishing operations. But high
forging pressures considerably lower tool life and the
lower formability at room temperature reduces the poten-
tial complexity of shape in cold forging. In case of a wheel
suspension arm, aluminum hot forgings replace conven-
tionally formed welded steel sheets. Over the past two
decades, the product complexity more and more in-
creases in order to save weight and space. In order to
furthermore improve material characteristics and concur-
rently reduce process steps and production time, the
Figure 15: Cold formed automotive steering column [52].
basic understanding of the material behavior with respect
to time, temperature, and forming are essential for the
development of new forging lines. Hot forging usually
requires a separate batch heat treatment process step
within the production line which causes the formation of a
material microstructure resulting in low strength in the
forgings. With an integration of the heat treatment into
the production line and a shorter ageing time, a fibrous
microstructure can be preserved in the material. As a
consequence, the mechanical strength is 10% higher
allowing for more lightweight components. [53]
A further alternative to hot forging is the warm forging at
intermediate temperatures. Sophisticated heat treatments
can be avoided as the forming process uses solution
treated and water quenched aluminum thus being in soft
but indeed unstable condition. In warm forging, flow
stresses are reduced and formability increased. Still a
precision forming is possible since the lower tempera-
tures compared to hot forging make it easier to adhere to
close tolerances. With a proper flow control, better me-
chanical properties can be obtained by preserving the
material orientation. [54]
Although the forming of aluminum provides the possibility
for the manufacture of rather elaborate components,
forming cannot compete with casting processes regard-
ing highest complexity of shape. Besides aspects of a
lightweight construction due to load adapted material
distribution, complex three-dimensional shaping of com-
ponents also enables an aesthetic design. Especially in
emotionally charged automotive applications, it can be
assumed that the wide use of cast aluminum wheels
does not necessarily derive from their quality being 40%
lighter [55] than conventional steel wheels. Less design
restrictions, personal distinction, and the sporting image
of a lightweight component are probably of more concern
for the consumer. Aluminum wheels made from sheet
metal blanks in the same way as conventional steel
wheels are lighter but unfortunately look the same which
leads to serious marketing problems.
Forged aluminum wheels on the other hand provide more
freedom of design compared to non-cast wheels. Addi-
tionally, forging saves 15% weight compared to cast
aluminum wheels, due to improved material structure,
high strength alloy, and work hardening. In case of
coaches with eight or trucks with twelve wheels, several
hundred kg can be easily saved. [55]
Tailored Blanks
Although tailor welded blanks (TWB) offer both potential
weight and cost benefits, the continuous weld-line and
thickness difference in TWB can often result in difficulty
in stamping. This problem is more severe in aluminum
because of its limited formability as compared with typical
drawing-quality steels. Additionally, welding of steel TWB
tends to increase the strength of the weld material which
helps prevent failure in the weld during forming. Alumi-
num TWB do not experience this increase in strength and
therefore may have a greater tendency to fail in the weld
[56]. Here, the weld line geometry and the weld heat
affected zone properties have to be taken into account
when modelling TWB forming. Specifically, the weld line
geometry was found to be more significant than weld
material properties in predicting weld line shift by means
of FE-simulation. [57, 581
A recently developed welding method uses two lasers
simultaneously. Instead of using a C02-laser with the
known restrictions in weld seam quality (Figure 16 left), a
Nd:YAG-laser is used for known deep-penetration weld-
ing while a second laser smoothes the weld seam at the
surface (Figure 16 right). This process is already used for
the inner wheel arch in the Audi A4. [56, 591
Figure 16: Comparison of C02-laser (left) and dual-laser
welded (right) aluminum sheets [59, 561.
Figure 17: Increase of limiting drawing ratio by locally
heat-treating regular blanks (left) and
tailor welded blanks (right) [61, 621.
Tailored heat treated aluminum blanks (see also 2.1)
offer another possibility in designing product and process.
Though sheet thickness remains the same all over the
workpiece, material disadvantages in low ductility can be
overcome by locally changing the mechanical properties
by C02-laser or Nd:YAG-laser induced heating. As a
result, this partial solution treatment induces a soft condi-
tion in the material and thereby reduces the flow stress in
the affected areas. After the cold forming process, the
material naturally ages back into the T4 condition within
seven days for precipitation hardenable alloys. Conse-
quently, the limiting drawing ratio (LDR) pmaxsignificantly
increases from 2.1 to 2.6 (Figure 17 left). [60, 61, 1371
This allows high strength aluminum alloys to be more
extensively employed. Furthermore, the local heat-
treating can also be applied to TWB thus easing the poor
weld seam properties and raising the LDR from 2.0 to
2.36 (Figure 17 right) [62]. As a consequence, lightweight
components with more complex shapes can be manufac-
tured.
Elevated Temperatures
At higher temperatures, the flow stress decreases hence
lowering the required forming forces and at the same
time increasing ductility. In warm forming processes like
forging or bar extrusion, this is commonly done. As more
and more sheet metal blanks of high strength alloys are
used to decrease product weight, the formability limits
can be extended by increasing forming temperatures. In
order to be able to design process and product, simula-
tion tools are employed that first and foremost rely on
suitable material data. A sound acquisition of the flow
curve prerequisites a suitable strain and temperature
measurement. However, commercially available set-ups
still lack to provide this.
Recently, a new method to properly determine material
data has been examined. Here, instead of assuring a
highly constant temperature distribution over the speci-
men, a defined gradient was produced and calculated
analytically. With a high resolution camera, the strain was
recorded online. As only the center of the probe was
 n
I
€ 4 I
1 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Flange Temperature in "C
DD =Deep-drawing
HM =Hydromechanical deep-drawi ng
0 DD: EN-AW 5083 punch diameter: 100mm
X DD: EN-AW 6016 die radius : 7mm
0 HM: EN-AW 5083 punch radius : 7mm
0 HM: EN-AW 6016 punch velocity : 5mmk
Figure 18: Increase of limiting drawing ratio by deep
drawing and hydro mechanical deep drawing
at elevated temperatures [63].
taken into account, reliable strain values could be com-
puted [64]. Another method to determine flow curves at
elevated temperatures is the hydraulic bulge test. In
comparison to the tensile test, it allows higher true
strains. Furthermore, it is in better accordance with deep
drawing operation as two-dimensional stresses are ap-
plied. Besides flow stresses, also friction and heat trans-
fer coefficients have to be considered in order to deter-
mine suitable tool and process parameters by means of
FEM simulation. [65]
Experiments show that the LDR in deep drawing is in-
creased from 2.1 to 2.8 by using a heated flange area at
a temperature of 300°C. The same increase in LDR can
be achieved in hydro mechanical deep drawing already at
a temperature of 200°C (Figure 18). The lower tempera-
ture is specifically of importance regarding problems with
thermal lubricants and the tendency for pick-ups. [63]
Superplastic Forming
At very low strain rates, extremely high deformation de-
grees at low stresses are possible that exceed conven-
tional forming processes by far. Using gas pressure, this
so-called superplastic forming (SPF) is carried out at
elevated temperatures where ductility is anyhow in-
creased relative to room temperature. Although not
common in ordinary metal alloys, most aluminum alloys
exhibit a superplastic behavior depending on metallurgi-
cal structure (grain size about IOVm), temperature
(35O0C-55O0C),and strain rate (about IO-5-10-2s-1). Due
to the lack of work hardening, enhanced ductility, and
significantly reduced springback, SPF allows for complex
shapes to be manufactured. Especially the complex
aerodynamic shapes are often difficult to produce using
conventional forming methods. Using SPF, dimensionally
accurate and high strength panels can be produced in-
cluding three dimensional ribbed stiffening panels. This
enables thinner and therefore lighter sheets to be used.
[661
Unfortunately, the slow strain rates result in long cycle
times. Therefore, SPF is currently used only for low vol-
ume production like aerospace applications, trains or
niche vehicles (Figure 19). For the use in automotive
mass production, a strain rate 100 times higher is re-
quired as such a rate can result in a production rate
above 20 pieces per hour. Conventional deep drawing is
even another 10 times higher but it often requires a se-
ries of progressive double die sets in comparison to SPF
where only a single die is used. At quick plastic forming
(QPF), the gas pressure increases at an appropriate
temperature within 2-3 minutes instead of 20-30 minutes
as at SPF. This comes with an increase of gas pressure
Figure 19: Superplastic formed aluminum sheets [66].
of about 2-3 times. Furthermore, in a combined process,
sheet metal blanks are first conventionally deep drawn to
some extent. Then, the final forming step is carried out
within the same die set with QPF. [31, 671
Another approach arranges the SPF in the first place with
a subsequent hydro mechanical deep drawing. Hereby,
SPF produces a preform without work hardening that can
afterwards be formed into the final shape. Due to the cold
forming in the second step, increased work hardening
and superior accuracy of shape is expected. [68, 691
As the flow stress is a function of temperature besides
strain and strain rate, an exact control of the temperature
during the forming process is necessary to avoid local
necking due to flow stress gradients. A variation should
not exceed f5K. With special fibreboards used as ther-
mal insulation between die and press, a temperature
deviation below f0.5K was obtained. [70]
By applying the SPF to tailor welded blanks, an even
more detailed, more complex and lighter component can
be produced. One significant complication that occurs is
the behavior of the weld seam. While the process pa-
rameters can control the superplastic behavior of the
uniform sheet parts, substantial grain growth in the seam
due to the welding process prevents the local SPF.
Hence, the deformation mechanisms during SPF will
cause flow stress differences between the weld and the
sheet material. [71]
Uniaxial tensile tests carried out under SPF conditions
examined differences in the flow curves between speci-
men without a weld seam, with a longitudinal seam, and
with a transverse seam. The transverse-weld specimen
exhibited strain in the sheet material uninfluenced by the
seam, thus behaving like to two monolithic specimen
undergoing series loading but separated by the weld. At
higher tensile stresses, the longitudinal-weld specimen
exhibited a significantly lower elongations of about 40-
60% compared to 220-360% of the parent material.
Therefore, the flow stress and ductility incompatibilities
have to be taken into account during component design.
[711
2.3 Magnesium
First applications of magnesium at Volkswagen started in
the 1950s and reached its climax in 1972 with a 42,000
tons yearly consumption. Primarily, engine and gearbox
casings from cast magnesium alloys AS41 and AZ81
were manufactured. Later on, less expensive and techni-
 400

2 300
H
.-S
;200
g!
*
v)

g 100 1 1 1 1 I

-
L
Deformation rate =0.8 l / s

Figure 20: Activation of additional sliding planes for

OO 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
magnesium at elevated temperatures [73].
Degree of deformation
cally more advanced aluminum alloys superseded the
use of magnesium. [72] Figure 21: Flow curves of AZ61 in compression test [78].
With a density of 1.74kg/dm3, magnesium is approxi-
mately 35% lighter than aluminum. But due to the closed
packed hexagonal (cph) crystal lattice structure at room
temperature, magnesium provides only low ductility for
cold forming operations. At temperatures above 225"C,
additional sliding planes are activated thus increasing
ductility and lowering the yield stress, besides the con-
ventional temperature effect on ductility and yield stress
(Figure 20). [73]
Furthermore, disadvantages of magnesium comprise
poor creep resistance at temperatures above about
100°C as well as corrosion. Here,
chemical corrosion due to environmental influence e.g. 0
' 50 100 150 200 250 300 3 j0
salt, Temperature in "C
electro-chemical corrosion due to a high electro nega- Figure 22: Dependency of elongation on temperature
tivity compared to aluminum and steel leading to severe (pure magnesium, tensile test) [78].
problems in joining, and larger degree of deformation up to 20%. But at a HT of
stress cracks corrosion due to variations in stress 0.32, high deformations at very low flow stresses are
achieved (Figure 21). This is due to the additional sliding
are of main concern.
planes and dynamic recrystallization. [78]
Nevertheless, the production of magnesium automotive
As ductility is critical, the prediction of workpiece failure is
parts is currently experiencing a rapid growth which re-
essential. Under the simplified conditions of the com-
sults mostly from high pressure die castings accounting
pression test, the occurrence of cracking relates well to a
for 95% of the 120,000 tons magnesium worldwide yearly
calculated maximum tensile stress [21]. This makes it
used (numbers by 2000). So far, only a limited number of
possible to design appropriate forming conditions. Be-
different alloys is available compared to aluminum alloys.
sides temperatures and strain, frictional behavior is
Therefore, much effort is being undertaken in alloy de-
investigated. The oxides that magnesium quickly tends to
velopment improving material properties especially con-
develop at elevated temperatures enormously increase
cerning higher creep resistance at elevated temperatures
friction. Processing in non-oxidizing atmosphere there-
[74] or the increase of formability by the introduction of
fore plays an important role besides tool coating, heating,
lithium as an alloying element [75]. Wrought alloys on the
and the use of appropriate lubricants [81].
other hand did not experience this dramatic growth al-
though they generally offer better mechanical properties In contrast to massive forming where semi-finished prod-
that can even be enhanced by adequate heat treatment. ucts are commercially available as cast slugs, rods, or
Here, AZ80A and ZK6OA show excellent values regard- bar extrusions, magnesium sheet blanks are not yet
ing high tensile stresses and elongation [76]. available in large quantities. But as workpieces with thin
walled and large areas provide best lightweight potential,
Due to raised ductility above 225°C and the importance
rolling of sheet metal blanks and their properties are
of formed magnesium parts for lightweight applications,
subject of current intense research. As rolling involves
many investigations are being undertaken to gain a
high deformation ratios, special attention has to be paid
deeper knowledge about the specific material behavior.
to microstructure as well as intermitting heat treatment,
Especially flow curves and their dependencies from tem-
and the resulting mechanical properties. Here, knowledge
perature, strain, and strain rate have to be carefully ob-
of the metallurgical and material physical characteristics,
served prior to all forming experiments. Also specific
thermodynamic conditions, and the state of stress during
effects like work softening have to be taken into account
forming is required. [78]
when theoretically describing the forming behavior for
simulation purposes [77]. In accordance to the compression test, the tensile test
also shows a significant leap of strain at increasing tem-
In massive forming, these influences can be examined
perature (Figure 22). Moreover, the grain size shows an
under varying conditions by recording the flow curves
influence on formability much larger than in body centred
with the uniaxial cylinder compression test [79]. At room
cubic materials as smallest grains allow for highest
temperature, magnesium is deformed with serious work
strains (Figure 23). By an adapted multistep forming and
hardening from 150 to 380 MPa until brittle fracture. With
heat treatment process, the cast semi-finished product
an increase of the homologous temperature (HT) up to
with large grains can be transformed into a sheet metal
0.26, the compression test exhibits basically the same
material behavior at lowered flow stresses and a slightly

10 100 1c 3
Medium grain size in pm
Figure 23: Dependency of elongation on grain size
(pure magnesium, tensile test) [78].
Figure 24: Grain size before (right) and after (left)
rolling of magnesium sheet [80].
Figure 25: Partially heated deep-drawing tool [73, 771
blank with fine grains and a stabilized structure (Fig-
ure 24). [82, 801
As cold forming of magnesium is hardly realistic, deep
drawing of magnesium sheet also has to be carried out at
elevated temperatures. Due to the significant sensitivity
of formability to temperature, partially heated blank hold-
ers are able to control the forming process very accu-
rately especially for complex geometries. In straight
flange areas, mainly radial stretching with less true strain
occurs. The corners are dominated by an overlapping of
radial stretching and additionally a tangential compres-
sion with high true strains thus requiring higher formabil-
ity. Here, a partially heated tool set provides a suit-
able temperature distribution and therefore a distribution
Figure 26: Parts made from AZ 31B using an
axisymmetric tool 0150 mm, formed at
room temperature (left) and at 230 "C (right) [138].
in flow stress and formability necessary for the distinct
extension of the forming limits of magnesium (Figure 25).
[771
Hydroforming at elevated temperatures also offers addi-
tional forming possibilities of magnesium sheet. At room
temperature, the low ductility causes a failure of the com-
ponent at the tool radius where tension and bending load
can be detected at an early stage of forming (Figure 26
left). At elevated temperatures, a good form-filling can be
reached using tools and hydroforming fluid heated up to
230°C (Figure 26 right). [I381
Despite the above mentioned limitations, cold forming of
magnesium has been investigated. In cup drawing test,
only small limiting drawing ratios between 1.1 and 1.5
were obtained. Nevertheless, in some applications for
products with simple geometry, this ductility might be
sufficient for cold forming operations like 3D-bending,
coining, die pressing, and raising. In those cases, a pro-
duction rate comparable to aluminum sheet becomes
possible. [83]
In applications like motorsport where the importance of
low component weight excels all other issues like long-life
reliability, first commercial formed magnesium products
appear. In motorcycle racing e.g., forged magnesium
wheels have to compete even with carbon composite
wheels. For the 2000 championship, 70% of the wheels
used were made of cast magnesium, 20% of carbon
composite, and 10% are forged magnesium wheels. Still,
the demand for forged wheels rises due to their weight
Figure 27: Application of forged magnesium
wheels in motorcycle racing [84, 851.
Material Process Weight in kg Rel. Weight
Steel Stamping, (14.2)' 100%
rim rolling
Aluminum Casting 8.5 60%
Aluminum Forging , (7.2)' 51Yo
rim rolling
Magnesium Casting 3.9-4.2 -28.5%
Magnesium Forging , 3.2-3.5 -23.6%
f lowforming
Carbon 2.9 20.4%
Composite
Table 4: Comparison of 6x1 7" motorcycle
racing wheel weight [82, 83, 851.
' Weight estimation for steel and forged aluminum based on
general weight reduction for wheels
improvement over cast versions (Table 4)
Similar to the manufacture of forged aluminum wheels,
the process chain of forged magnesium wheels consists
of forging the wheel disc and flow-forming the rim from
the flange of the disc. Both process steps have to be
carried out at temperatures above 225°C. The flow-
forming itself runs in three steps: splitting up the flange,
flow-forming the rim, and calibrating the rim contour.
Depending on the required material properties, the wheel
can afterwards be stabilized, aged, or heat treated. Af-
terwards, the wheel is machined by turning the face sides
and the rim, milling the spokes, and drilling the valve hole
as well as coating and painting (Figure 27 right). As a
consequence, the magnesium forged wheel at a weight
of 3.2kg is 1kg lighter than the cast version [82, 851. Only
the carbon composite wheel is yet another 10% lighter
~31.
2.4 Titanium
Apart from conventional and commonly used lightweight
metals, various other new materials offer the potential for
lightweight components that require forming operations
and appropriate process knowledge. First of all, titanium
is used in extreme applications that concern lightweight
aspects. Furthermore, sandwich and foam materials
become more and more available.
Titanium offers supreme properties which amongst oth-
ers include
a density near half that of steel,
highest strength,
corrosion and high temperature oxidation resistance,
and
a modulus of half that of steel
Unfortunately, titanium is extremely expensive with about
30-120 US$ per kg compared to about 1 US$ per kg
carbon steel (prices for sheet metal blanks). Therefore,
titanium is only considered in lightweight applications
where weight saving yields an outstanding economical
benefit like in the aerospace industry, an edge in compe-
tition like in motorsport, or a product value like for pros-
thesis due to its tissue compatibility. In motorsport, tita-
nium is ideal for products in the exhaust system, springs,
connecting rods, pistons, valves, and many more. As a
consequence, such items have become available com-
mercially.
In the aerospace industry, titanium products are widely
used but not so much for lightweight reasons. In the main
structure of the Airbus A330/340, titanium only accounts
for 7% of the weight, in contrast to the engine where
titanium is the main material in terms of volume (Fig-
ure 28 left) [84]. This is first and foremost due to its high
strength at high temperatures even compared to Ni-
based superalloys. Furthermore, in the application of a
helicopter rotor head, titanium is used for its highest
durability under dynamically changing loads (Figure 28
right) [85].
The material properties and forming behavior of titanium
alloys are well documented in many research studies
Figure 28: Titanium applications in
the aerospace industry [84, 851.
carried out to support the aerospace industry. This in-
cludes most of all the manufacture of spherical vessels
where SPF is commonly used e.g. for satellite or rocket
tanks [86, 871. In order to avoid a fusion welding process
decreasing material properties, the SPF of a diffusion
welded double sheet is being investigated. On the basis
of numerical and experimental investigations, the manu-
facture of flangeless spherical vessels has been demon-
strated [89]. As commercially pure (cp) titanium shows
high anisotropy, finite-element models are being im-
proved in order to optimize forming processes and work-
pieces [88].
As mentioned above, high material costs have excluded
the use of titanium in high-volume automotive applica-
tions. Nevertheless, with the current trend in vehicle
warranties climbing to a 10 year / 150,000 mile level in
the US, vehicle manufacturers must consider the long-
term cost associated with less durable materials. Having
this in mind, titanium quickly becomes the lowest-cost
option for some applications. [go]
In order to provide appropriate forming processes for
such applications, the deep drawing of cp-ti sheets is
being analysed. In the exhaust system, titanium is able to
gain a weight saving of 40-50% and a better corrosion
prevention. To replace stainless steel with cp-ti, the
manufacturing process demands new concepts and pa-
rameters. For such development, knowledge of the mate-
rial behavior, an optimized tribological system, and im-
provements of the process limits are necessary. At room
temperature, the examined titanium materials showed a
higher limit drawing ratio in comparison even to stainless
steel. [91, 92, 931
In order to reduce production cost, also the forming of
titanium sheets using rubber as a flexible media was
investigated. Different concepts with male and female
rubber dies were verified by numerical models and ex-
periments. It could be shown that the elastomer behavior
is predictable and that the component could be manufac-
tured. [94]
3 FORMING TECHNOLOGY FOR LIGHTWEIGHT
STRUCTURES
Lightweight constructions are optimal if material is used
only in component areas where stresses appear and if
the material used is charged near yield stress. Therefore,
such a structure is primarily designed for strength i.e.
the structure does not fail. This design principle is fol-
lowed by in aerospace applications where materials with
highest specific strength are used like the 680 MPa alu-
minum alloy EN-AW7449 in the wing up side of the Air-
bus A380. In automotive applications, structures are
additionally designed for stiffness i.e. the structure
does not elastically bend too much. Whereas it is spec-
tacular but irrelevant that an airplane wing tip bends
several meters before failure, stiffness is a major comfort
element in automotive applications. This additional re-
quirement naturally increases the structural weight. Only
crash relevant structures are solely designated for ab-
sorbing crash energy by deformation and therefore are
designed for strength.
Depending on the purpose of a lightweight structure, two
main construction principles are employed overlapping
each other to a certain degree. As long as a structure
only has to carry a given load, frameworks are used e.g.
in cranes (Figure 29 left), scaffolds, bridges, or monu-
ments like the Eiffel tower. A shell structure on the other
hand is used if the structure has to seal against e.g.
pressurized water, fuel, or air (Figure 29 right). Usually,
lightweight structures combine both concepts, either by
increasing sheet stiffness by sheet or massive profiles
(e.g. car body-in-white, fuselage), or geometrical ele-
ments within the sheet like beads (e.g. cans), or
 covering a structural framework with sheet thus
enhancing stiffness if, additionally, shear stresses are
induced into the sheet.
While frameworks mainly involve the use of beams like
tubes or profiles, shell structures deal with sheet metal
blanks.
3.1 Frame structures
Concepts and semi-finished products
In most cases of the above mentioned applications,
straight semi-finished products are joined to complex
structures. As steel is much cheaper than other metals
with almost identical specific properties, those structures
are nearly all made of steel. In contrast, in the case of
transportation applications, curved profiles and tubes are
necessary due to aerodynamics, structural properties,
and design reasons. Here, a commercially driven compe-
tition of materials has developed. Conventional steel shell
structures are being replaced by aluminum frame struc-
tures. Achieved weight savings over existing structures
are accredited to the employed lightweight material. At a
closer look, however, each new design generation is
lighter than the one before. Therefore, rather the im-
proved design than the actual material is accountable.
In contrast to automotive shell structures, only simple
geometries are used in frame structures. In many appli-
cations, most of the members are tubes with round or
rectangular cross sections. Welded round tubes are very
common in axle tubes, bicycle frames, garden chairs, or
ski sticks. Extruded tubes are used in simple space
frames like the BMW C1 (Figure 30). Unfortunately, they
may show variations in wall thickness of up to 20%.
Therefore, a subsequent cold drawing is applied to addi-
tionally yield closer tolerances and better mechanical
properties. At least, seamless tubes offer best mechani-
cal properties. Due to high cost, they only account for a
small market segment like in helicopter landing vats,
drive shafts, or hydraulic pipes. [95]
In automotive applications, single hollow extrusions pre-
vail. Especially in low volume productions like prototypes
or niche cars, more and more space frame body-in-
whites are made from aluminum extrusions (Figure 31)
[4]. This is mainly due to the fact that extrusions offer
excellent cross section design possibilities to include
additional functions together with the mere structural
property of high moment of area inertia [96]. Due to low
tool costs, straight profiles are more economical in low
batch sizes compared to conventionally deep drawn
double half shell workpieces like e.g. roof rails or cross
members that require more expensive tools [4]. On the
other hand, deep drawn parts offer a better material dis-
tribution because complex 3D parts can be manufactured
whereas extruded profiles are symmetric on the longitu-
Figure 29: Frame and shell structures.
dinal axis. This symmetry restricts design options. Fur-
thermore, deep drawn parts can be directly manufactured
in a curved shape while extruded profiles usually require
a subsequent bending operation to obtain a curvature.
Here, expensive tools raise the minimum economical
batch size.
Magnesium is also taken into account for the application
in frame structures. Although specific stiffness of alumi-
num, magnesium, and steel are alike, magnesium offers
a considerably higher specific strength compared to steel
and regular aluminum alloys. In case of window frames,
seats, or supporting structures where tensile strength and
bending stress is relevant, the use of magnesium can
contribute to weight saving. Although a car body is de-
signed rather according to stiffness considerations than
to strength, magnesium is also used in a first research
demonstrator. In the Volkswagen one-litre car (one litre
fuel consumption per 100km equals 16.4miles per gal-
lon), 36kg of magnesium as thin-walled casting nodes,
extrusions, and sheets were employed thus accounting
for 13kg of weight saving compared to an aluminum
space-frame. [97]
In contrast to aluminum and magnesium, steel cannot be
extruded into hollow profiles with walls thin enough to
meet car body requirements. Therefore, space frames
made of laser welded steel tubes are considered [98].
Because of low material cost and inexpensive tools, the
use of straight tubes is very economical. However, a
maximum weight saving is only possible if high strength
steel tubes are hydroformed to appropriately vary the
cross section achieving best load adaptation. In addition,
hydroformed dents can trigger deformation and therefore
direct crash energy. Again, this subsequent forming op-
eration uses expensive tools and requires a sophisticated
process design. In the full production chain, 2/3 of the
total cost are determined by the hydroforming operation
50% of which are caused by the tooling [99]. Therefore, a
weight saving of 35% to comparable cars is only ex-
pected at a cost increase of 15% for a production volume
Figure 30: Tubular frame structure of the BMW C1
Figure 31: Profile based frame structure
of the Ferrari F360 Modena [4].
up to 100,000 per year [98, 1001.
In steel tube making, continuous and discontinuous proc-
esses can be distinguished. The conventional first variant
continuously feeds a sheet strip from a coil into a profile
rolling tool set. These endless tubes then are laser or
high-frequency welded in-process and cut into customer
size workpieces. This process is limited to uniform cylin-
drical tubes that, however, can be joined to tailored tubes
with different wall thicknesses, materials, or material
properties.
The discontinuous second variant uses sheet metal
blanks being bent in three steps on a press brake into
open tubes that are subsequently laser welded. Due to
lower tooling and investment cost, this process offers an
economical benefit at lower batch sizes. Additionally, for
a better load adaptation, conical tubes can be manufac-
tured. By the use of tailored blanks, this technology is
also suitable for the production of tailored tubes. Fur-
thermore, the process can be applied to materials like
stainless and high strength steel, aluminum, or titanium.
[99, 1011
Advances in forming technology
In contrast to the sheet metal half shells of conventional
car body manufacture, the aluminum profiles already
show a high stiffness. Therefore, the handling equipment
cannot assure defined gap geometries by applying forces
to the workpiece. As a prerequisite for automated alumi-
num welding, a maximum gap of approximately a third of
the wall thickness is required. In case of the aluminum
extrusions of the Audi A8, taking into consideration han-
dling tolerances and welding distortion, straight and
curved profiles must meet the required contour toler-
ances of 20.3mm. As conventional profile manufacturers
cannot fully reach this requirement due to limitations in
the extrusion process and bending deviations caused by
springback, curved and even straight profiles in some
cases have to be calibrated expensively by hydroforming.
Achievements in forming technology by increasing the
accuracy of curved profiles contributes to lightweight
forming because additional cost especially in low volume
production prevent lightweight components to be eco-
nomically manufactured and used throughout the market.
By employing curved tubes, simple bending operations
can be integrated into the hydroforming process. Al-
though the tube might wrinkle in the curvature radius
during pre-bending while closing the die, this effect is
eliminated by the main hydroforming process step. [98,
1001
Complex 3D bending of tubes and profiles requires new
process technology. One approach uses a fixed tool and
a moveable die. The die is positioned in six axes by a
parallel kinematics that is determined by the required
bending space and resulting bending forces. By variably
adjusting the die position to the axial feed of the tube, the
workpiece can be bent in a variable 3D shape (Fig-
ure 32). [I021
Another kinematic approach in flexible 2D and 3D bend-
Figure 32: Complex 3D bending of tubes [I021
ing of structural profiles and tubes uses a polyurethane
matrix. A vertically adjustable rigid roll presses the work-
piece against the matrix casing. The elastic matrix de-
forms and thus bends the workpiece. By a longitudinal
movement of the casing, a curvature is manufactured
over the length of the workpiece. A variation of the roll
adjustment and of the forces applied on each side of the
roll results in a variable 3D curvature. The maximum
length of the curved workpiece is however limited by the
length of the matrix casing. [I031
In conventional stretch bending, the accuracy of shape
can be improved by an adaptive process control. Usually,
the springback is taken into account in the tool design so
that the profiles are over-bent. With the assumed spring-
back, the desired shape is achieved. But variations in the
bending behavior resulting from different wall thicknesses
as well as quenching or heat treatment conditions may
lead to varying springback behavior. By measuring the
applied forces over the tool movement during the first
bending phase, the material and springback behavior can
be estimated. As the springback is also determined by
the axial tensile stress, an adaptation of the tensile force
to the estimated springback behavior improves the shape
accuracy of the bent profile (Figure 33). [104, 1391
An innovative extrusion process variant [ I 051 produces
curved profiles directly at the press. The strand exiting
from the die is inserted into a guiding tool. By moving the
tool to a numerically controlled lateral position, a resulting
force is applied to the profile. As a consequence, the
profile exits the die in a rounded shape (Figure 34 left).
The forming mechanism consists of two effects that take
place (Figure 34 right):
Applied on the strand over the distance of the guiding
tool from the die, the lateral force leads to a resulting
moment on the material flow inside the die. This mo-
ment leads to pressure stresses on the inner side, and
tensile stresses on the outer side of the profile.
The lateral force leads to a higher surface pressure on
the bearing and thereby a higher friction force on the
inner side of the profile. The lower surface pressure on
Figure 33: Adaptive stretch bending [104, 1391

Figure 34: Process principle rounding during extrusion
the outer side of the profile leads to a lower friction
force.
Both effects result in a velocity profile of the material flow
that is different from conventional straight extrusion. The
material velocity on the inner side of the profile is lower
than on the outer side. This causes the profile to exit the
die in a rounded shape. As a consequence, rounding
during extrusion is not a bending process. Referring to
DIN 8586, bending is defined as a forming process where
plasticity mainly results from a moment applied. The
contour radius of the curved profile hereby is solely de-
termined by the position of the guiding tool in relation to
the die. Process or material related parameters like ex-
trusion temperature, velocity, or alloy generally do not
influence the profile curvature. The position of the guiding
tool necessary for a desired radius therefore can be
geometrically calculated.
While rounding during extrusion, plasticity results from
the extrusion process itself, not from the lateral force.
Therefore, the properties of curved profiles manufactured
Figure 35: Rounding during extrusion of a variably
curved bumper (top left and bottom).
Originally stretch bent bumper (top right).
by rounding during extrusion are better than those of bent
profiles:
High accuracy of shape is possible: As the process
shows basically no springback, curved profiles with
highest contour accuracy can be manufactured.
Minimal cross-section deformation: The curvature of the
profile is formed inside the die where the cross-section
is still guided through the bearing. Therefore, the cross-
section deformation of rounded and straight profiles are
almost equal.
Reduced residual stresses: As there is basically no
springback at rounding during extrusion, no forming in-
duced residual stresses remain. Only very low thermally
induced stresses remain in the profile.
Unreduced formability: Rounding during extrusion is an
integrated forming process leading to no reduction of
formability. Subsequent forming operations like hydro-
forming can therefore make use of unchanged material
properties. Furthermore, even highest strength alloys
like sprayformed aluminum or magnesium can be pro-
duced into curved profiles. [106, 1071
Still, the exact positioning of the guiding tool is crucial to
manufacture profiles with extremely narrow contour toler-
ances. In order to obtain a process control for the tool
position, a contact-free online radii sensor that deter-
mines the curvature by means of three laser sensors has
been developed. By variably CNC-adjusting the guiding
tool over the extruded length, a profile with a variable
curvature can be extruded (Figure 35). Resulting forces
in the strand due to the acceleration by the tool can be
calculated and compensated to a certain degree. [I081
This process is currently in development to achieve an
industrially safe process chain including high precision
curved extrusion, automated cutting and handling opera-
tions, and an extrusion press design dedicated especially
to rounding during extrusion. [I091
As magnesium provides low ductility at room temperature
(ref. 2.3), conventional cold bending of magnesium pro-
files if limited. However, a very fine grain size of about
5pm achieved by drawing and annealing of magnesium
tubes allows for the bending at a radius-diameter-ratio
down to 2.8 without fracture [IIO]. As an alternative, a
warm bending process can be applied. Due to the par-
ticular forming mechanism by changing the material flow
inside the die instead of bending the profile afterwards,
rounding during extrusion also allows for the production
of curved magnesium profiles, providing a very high po-
tential for lightweight applications.
Sheet metal members of a frame structure are conven-
tionally deep drawn using a rigid punch and a rigid die.
For double half shell workpieces, two sheets have to be
individually formed using at least four rigid tools. In con-
Figure 36: Hydroforming sheet metal pairs - process
principle (left) and applications (right) [ I 1I ]
trast, for hydroforming of sheet metal pairs, only two tools
(upper and lower die) are necessary (Figure 36 left).
Furthermore, trimming and joining of the sheet metal pair
can be integrated in a single hydroforming process step
leading to a more robust and shorter process chain. [ I 1I ]
As this process makes use of sheet metal blanks, it is
also predestined for the manufacture of hollow lightweight
components as substructures (Figure 36 right) or larger
shell structures.
3.2 Shell structures
In contrast to frame structures used for small- and me-
dium-lot production, shell structures for automotive car
body applications are established for large-lot production.
In contrast to casting processes, only forming technology
is able to provide large thin walled hollow components
with a surface quality suitable for outer skin panels.
As the material price accounts for about 50% of the total
vehicle cost at large-lot production [lo], steel is com-
monly used. With the need for weight reduction particu-
larly in the front of the car, more expensive materials like
aluminum and even magnesium are considered for sheet
metal applications. Although providing the same specific
strength and stiffness, their lower density results in a
higher sheet thickness at the same weight per area thus
considerably increasing specific dent resistance and shell
stiffness. Due to this shell related material properties,
weight savings of around 50% compared to steel and
20% compared to aluminum can be achieved using mag-
nesium in applications without strength requirement like
front hoods, trunk lids, and doors [97]. Whereas in crash
relevant components like a B-pillar bottom reinforcement
contributing to crashworthiness especially in pole
crashes, ultra high strength steel grades like CP 800 in
case of the DaimlerChrysler S-class coupe are employed
[ I 121.
Different studies have been carried out to investigate the
feasibility of ultra lightweight car bodies. While the
ULSAB consortium propagates the mono-use of steel
(Figure 37 left) [113], Ford developed the P2000 as an
all-aluminum car body in a shell structure design (Fig-
ure 37 right) [4, 1141.
With the demand to decrease costs in lightweight struc-
tures, sheet metal parts have to become larger (Fig-
ure 38) as
Figure 37: Full steel and full aluminum
car body concepts [ I 13, 41.
Audi A8
Audi A2
Figure 38: Multi part (top) and single
part (bottom) side panel [ I 151.
joining processes and auxiliary joining parts decrease,
logistics and finishing operations get easier, and
the process chain becomes shorter. [ I 12, 1151
By this on the other hand, the workpieces and their re-
spective forming processes are getting more complex
and difficult not only due to the size but also because of
the use of tailored blanks. Whereas before, parts of dif-
ferent thicknesses were joined in the assembly, now
single parts consisting of different wall thicknesses are
used as semi-finished products (Figure 39) [ I 131.
From the material used, specific forming problems arise
in deep drawing and related processes. In aluminum
concepts, close attention has to be paid to the specific
forming behavior of aluminum. Aspects like adapted
drawing depth, larger radii, and a homogenous feed are
to be taken into consideration. [ I 151
Furthermore, aluminum is extremely sensitive to surface
defects caused mainly by its high adhesion tendency and
the deposit of workpiece swarf. Once the lubrication film
discontinues, aluminum instantly adheres to the tool
surface. Subsequently, this leads to grooves and
scratches on the workpiece as well as to an increase in
tool wear. Additionally, due to the sensitivity of aluminum
to slight changes in the cutting clearance, the cutting
punch can generate swarf that is pressed into the work-
piece surface. The use of modern tool coatings, tool
adjustment, and lubricants helps to prevent high scrap
rates. [ I 121
Also in the processing of steel sheets, the use of high
strength grades leads to significant challenges as higher
tool stresses result. In order to prevent wrinkling, the
binder has to apply higher forces causing relevant tool
wear and making premium tool material, tool coatings, or
even the use of ceramic inserts necessary. The high
strength of the material is also responsible for an in-
crease in springback that has to compensated by a pro-
gress in the use of FEM-simulations [ I 161. Aggravatingly,
slight batch changes in the material behavior cause the
springback to vary significantly thus requiring the opera-
tor to compensate this effect by changing the binder force
distribution or the local lubrication. [ I 121
Due to the mentioned lightweight aspects, much effort is
put into investigating the forming of magnesium sheets.
First warm rolled sheet metal blanks with a homogenous
material structure of 15pm, an anisotropy comparable to
mild steel, and an elongation up to 16.8% are industrially
available though at a price yet much too high. Here, the
development of a continuous cast rolling process prom-
ises a less expensive production of the blanks. [I171
Despite low formability at room temperature (ref. 2.3),
first demonstrator parts have been deep drawn at ele-
vated temperatures without cracks like a door inner and
outer panel. But customary magnesium sheets are cur-
rently not capable of meeting the corrosion resistance
Figure 39: Use of tailored blanks for side panel [ I 131

Figure 40: Deep drawing of unfoamed sandwich sheet
(top and middle) [120], deep drawing of foam
using cover sheets (bottom) [60].
and surface finish requirements placed on the vehicle-
body outer skin. While formability and corrosion protec-
tion are issues that are dealt with currently, the future
success of magnesium sheet applications solely depend
on competitive price and surface quality. [72, 971
As an alternative for magnesium sheet, sandwich panels
comprising two thin layers either of steel or aluminum
with an plastic layer in between are being developed. The
aluminum sandwich has a density and shell properties
comparable to magnesium but without the corrosion and
surface quality problems. It offers good ductility at room
temperature while some process restrictions apply. [ I 00,
98, 1181
High shell stiffness is required in the application of con-
vertible cars. Here, the loss of the roof structure heavily
affects the body stiffness. A comparable stiffness near
the non-convertible version can only be achieved by
currently 100-150kg of additional weight [ I 191. In order to
decrease this high amount, shell elements with highest
specific stiffness are essential. Here, metal foam struc-
tures on aluminum base possess a large potential. They
are characterised by a very small density, high rigidity,
good energy absorption, and good recycling behavior.
Deep drawing of aluminum foam sandwiches into 3D
parts can be done in two ways:
Firstly, the unfoamed double sheet is deep drawn using
regular tools (Figure 40 top and middle). In this case, the
forming behavior of the sandwich sheet with the com-
pressed aluminum powder in between compares to a
standard aluminum sheet of identical wall thickness. After
forming, the workpiece is preheated for about 40s,
foamed within a tool set for 45s, and solidified in another
30s. A post-processing is not necessary in most cases.
But indeed, process time is still too long to be industrially
used in large scale under economical circumstances.
[ I 201
Secondly, at increased temperature, the forming of the
foam itself is possible without damage of the foam struc-
ture due to the increase of ductility and reduced flow
Figure 41: Different multipoint blankholders [121, 1221
Figure 42: Process principle of
HMD (left) and HBU (right).
stresses. Using sheet metal parts as deep drawing tools,
they are welded or diffusion bonded with the foam serv-
ing as cover plates for the whole structure (Figure 40
bottom). Subject of current research is the determination
of appropriate process parameters such as forming force,
velocity, and temperature in order not to damage the
structure. [60]
For materials with limited formability or which require
higher forming forces, deep drawing and its related de-
rivatives provide different approaches for the manufac-
ture of lightweight components. In conventional deep
drawing, the use of multipoint blankholders permits
elaborate control of the material flow in the flange region
(Figure 41) [121, 1221. By an appropriate determination
of process parameters over the process time in the dif-
ferent segments, wrinkling and cracks can be avoided
within extended forming limits. In the same way, the use
of active drawbeads increases the limiting drawing ratio
[ 1231.
Forming by using working media and their relation to
lightweight construction have been extensively discussed
in a recent keynote paper [124]. In pneumo-mechanical
deep drawing, the pneumatic preforming can be used to
cause additional work hardening in the sheet metal or to
pre-distribute material for the subsequent deep drawing
operation [ 1251.
In hydro mechanical deep drawing (HMD, Figure 42 left),
the die is replaced by a fluid [126]. In high pressure sheet
metal hydro forming (HBU, Figure 42 right), it is the
punch that is replaced [127]. HBU allows for an increased
work hardening in sheet metal by a distinctive stretching
operation. Furthermore, if warm forming is desired, the
use of warm working media is preferable to warm rigid
tools in both processes (refer 2.2, elevated tempera-
tures). As an advantage of HMD, a higher limiting draw-
ing ratio can be achieved because of the higher surface
pressure in a larger contact area between punch and
workpiece which enables higher drawing forces to be
transferred. On the other hand, HBU allows for an arbi-
trary distribution of stretching and deep drawing portions
over the draw depth. Furthermore, a better shape accu-
racy is attained compared the conventional deep drawing
[121].
3.3 Joining
Depending on the geometry of the lightweight structure
and the material used, different joining processes can be
 Figure 43: Friction stir welding process principle (left)
and deep drawn FSW part (right) [TWI].
applied. Joining by forming is an alternative to estab-
lished resistance or arc welding techniques especially in
case of limited fusion weldability. Mechanical welding
processes like stir and inertia friction welding have
advantages as a solid state process, clinching and
riveting are also applicable to hybrid structures [128], and
electro-magnetic forming in addition provides a high
velocity and contact free forming principle.
Friction stir welding
Developed by TWI, friction stir welding (FSW) uses a
wear resistant rotating tool which moves along the joint
between two components. The tool shoulder being in
close contact with the surface plastifies the material be-
neath while the tool pin traverses through the joint line
thus creating heat by friction (Figure 43 left). As a solid
phase process, FSW operates below the melting point of
the workpiece material. It can weld all aluminum and
magnesium alloys, including joining dissimilar alloys and
those materials that cannot be conventionally fusion
welded such as aluminum-lithium alloys. No shielding gas
or filler is required. Material properties of welded alumi-
num alloys show tensile strength similar to the parent
material after heat treatment although full elongation is
not restored. [129, 1301
As the weld seam still shows good formability and energy
absorption for crashworthiness, FSW sheet metal blanks
can be easily used as tailored blanks for deep drawing
(Figure 43 right) or spinning [131].
Inertia friction welding
Spindles as a chassis component serve as the main
f’nterface between non-driven wheels and the suspension
system. Traditionally, spindles are manufactured by
machining a single-piece steel forging or
joining a machined steel shaft to an iron spindle
The spindle body, however, can be produced in alumi-
num with a 30% weight reduction while maintaining all
structural requirements. Inertia friction welding was ex-
amined as an alternative joining method. In this process,
one component is held stationary while the second is
rotated at a controlled velocity. The faying surfaces con-
tact each other under the applied pressure and create
heat. The aluminum spindle body becomes plastic at the
interface, filling the gap to the shaft. [132, 1331
Electro-magnetic forming
In electro-magnetic forming, the energy of a pulsed mag-
netic field is used with a contact free tool to join metals
with a good electrical conductivity, such as aluminum.
The sudden discharge of a high voltage capacitor
through a tool coil causes the generation of an intense
magnetic field inside the coil. This magnetic field in-
creases within a few microseconds up to its maximum so
that, in turn, an eddy current in the workpiece is induced
generating a second magnetic field reversely directed to
the tool coil field. The forces acting between tool coil and
L -- m- --ton -1
Jdnhp-
Figure 44: Electro-magnetic forming -
tool coil with workpiece (left) and
m-1
different joining principles (right) [135, 1361
Figure 45: Structural joining B-pillar to rocker (left),
prototype vehicle (right) [136].
workpiece are determined by the current density and the
magnetic flux density. [I341
Amongst others, tubular components can be narrowed or
expanded by this forming process. This forming can be
used to join two workpieces (Figure 44). As only one of
the parts has to be primarily formed, the other workpiece
to be joined may consist of an arbitrary material. There-
fore, electro-magnetic joining offers advantages in the
joining of hybrid structures.
As electro-magnetic forming is a process where extreme
strain rates of IO4s-’ and above can be achieved, FEM-
simulations cannot make use of the generally employed
material behavior data gained by e.g. tensile tests. In
order to overcome this restriction, it is proposed to de-
termine relationships between stress and strain and,
even more important, between stress and strain rate by
an iterative recursive calculation method matching calcu-
lated deformations to measured ones obtained through
an electro-magnetic tube compression forming. [ I 351
As electro-magnetic forming offers advantages as a cold,
fast, and clean process that supports a flexible assembly
of modular car body structures, this joining technique has
been investigated for feasibility in an a-class car at Ford
(Figure 45). [I361
4 NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
With the effort of achieving more lightweight components,
it can be observed and anticipated that materials with
hcreasingly worse forming behavior will have to be dealt
with, like
high strength steel and aluminum,
magnesium,
titanium,
metal foams, and
compound materials like e.g. sandwich panels or metal
matrix composites.
Additionally, new alloys and material compositions will
arise. As a common challenge, those materials exhibit
decreasing ductility at increasing forming forces. The
application of warm forming operations or superplastic
forming therefore will have to continue as these tech-
niques assure the extension of forming limits. Eventually,
localization is a potential solution. Local forming like e.g.
incremental forming or rotary forging, local heating, or
local heat treating achieve higher strains. Meanwhile,
new and yet uncommon materials for some products will
allow new designs that cannot be manufactured with
conventional material e.g. the growing use of stainless
steel of titanium in applications where carbon steel is
widely employed.
At the same time, more complex shapes will have to be
manufactured by forming processes as a consequence of
an integrative lightweight construction. Only workpieces
which are ideally adapted to the given load distribution
and which use the best material available will succeed in
lightweight construction. Forming processes here will
have to ensure feasibility. Furthermore, in order to attain
optimal load adaptation of producible workpieces, a com-
bined product and process design by means of finite
element simulation or the use of bionic methods is favor-
able.
This includes concurrently the use of more complex
semi-finished products like tailored or hybrid parts. How-
ever, those products require an increased process
knowledge and the observation of different material be-
haviors. Here, adaptive processes and tools and the yet
increasing use of simulation software is advantageous.
Variations in manufacturing processes lead e.g. for ex-
truded profiles to
variations of about 210% in wall thickness because of
the extrusion process and
variations of about 210% in material properties be-
cause of the quenching conditions.
Designing a lightweight workpiece, these variations have
to be observed as a worst case assumption hence giving
away potential 20% of weight saving. By achieving close
tolerances in manufacturing processes and in the predic-
tion of the workpiece behavior e.g. effects of differences
in work hardening, additional lightweight potential can be
activated. This also relates to increasing demands for
close-tolerance semi-finished products accompanied by
the necessary knowledge of the specific product history.
The need for high accuracy forming faces a steady
growth also due to other reasons and therefore becomes
growingly relevant. However, it prerequisites appropriate
modeling as well as the acquisition of more exact and
better suiting material properties.
Finally, the reduction of component weight alone will not
be sufficient in the future as the benefit of less weight
usually does not justify the often associated increase of
cost. On the one hand, the reduction of cost e.g. by
shorter or more flexible process chains is crucial. Mean-
while, especially ultra lightweight components require
flexible processes as they are generally manufactured in
smallest batch size due to their limited applicability. On
the other hand, added value beyond the mere reduction
of weight will legitimize the use of more sophisticated
processes, materials, and products. This potential added
value can comprise issues such as:
safety,
size, or
durability.
The aluminum steering column provides driver safety as
it bends sideways in a crash accident. Safety is further-
more increased if higher crash energies are absorbed as
in case of the stainless steel bumper beams. The use of
titanium springs, aluminum wheel suspensions, stainless
steel tanks, or precision forged gears allow for a smaller
package and a better product function i.e. larger volume
and thus range in case of the tank. Using titanium for
heat shields of a catalytic converter e.g., increased dura-
bility can decrease maintenance costs if prolonged war-
ranties are considered.
5 CLOSING REMARKS
Forming technology can substantially contribute to light-
weight construction. This paper describes necessities
and functional aspects if lightweight construction as well
as the common problems in manufacturing lightweight
materials, semi-finished products, components, and
structures. It is pointed out how load adaptation is the
central key to success. Therefore, a wide range of solu-
tions are discussed in order to overcome limitations in
forming. Here, innovative processes play a major role.
Finally, fields of potential further research are identified
and discussed.
6 AC KNOWLEDGE MENT
The authors would like to give special thanks to the fol-
lowing persons who have contributed to this paper (CIRP
members denoted by *:
N. Bay*
E. Doege*
H. Flegel
F. Gabrielli*
P. Groche*
J. Jeswiet*
M. Kiuchi*
R. Kopp*
R. Neugebauer*
K. Osakada*
K. Sieged*
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