No lightweight ambition
Andrew Allcock takes a look at a UK development in hot forming of lightweight aluminium auto parts and
the ambition that the process’s owner has to carve out a signifi cant place in a global market, driven by
automotive OEMs’ lightweighting efforts
highly capable process, with production tools being right
rst time.
“In terms of weight saving, ITL refers to replacement
of aluminium cold formed parts, with HFQ achieving on
average a 20% saving, although savings of up to 33%
have been achieved. Versus steel parts, ITL has shown a
potential of up to 50% saving.”
And to the best of its knowledge, ITL says it is the
only company producing hot-formed aluminium parts
(using the HFQ process) for commercial automotive
applications. Any other similar process development is
“not to the same level of technical capability and
dimensional quality as HFQ; moreover, it is not a robust
process that could be adapted to global customers and
platforms”. The main commercial customers for HFQ are
Aston Martin Lagonda and Lotus, though ITL says it has
several major OEMs with HFQ in their launch
programmes.
AP&T and Schuler, apart from processing a different
material, are also press makers rst, meaning that hot
forming is not their sole focus. ITL, is the opposite. It is
the HFQ process IP owner and does not make presses.
Instead, it will develop partnerships with press line
suppliers; indeed, it already has. It has a relationship
with US-headquartered Telos Global, IMG (which focuses
on small line integration), Fagor (which supplies hydraulic
HFQ (hot form quench) technology sees hot
aluminium blanks formed at high speed in a
press, with these then quenched in the press tool,
followed by arti cial ageing to achieve full strength,
delivering tensile performance elevated above the norm.
It enables extremely complex aluminium parts to be
formed in a single press operation, whilst achieving high
levels of strength in the nished part using standard
grades of aluminium.
The process originated under a range of programmes,
initially out of the University of Birmingham and later at
Imperial College London. Relevant EU- and UK
government-funded programmes that helped develop it
include LoCoLite and LoCoMaTech, although most of the
early work was undertaken within Birmingham and
Imperial. Coventry-based Impression Technologies Ltd
(ITL) was set up in 2013 as the exclusive
commercialisation route for HFQ technology.
Now, there are other hot forming technologies, but
the commercially available ones are for boron steel.
Sweden’s AP&T and Germany’s Schuler both boast such
technology. Says ITL’s CEO, Jonathan Watkins:
“Aluminium hot forming has distinct differences from
boron steel hot forming, in terms of process control,
simulation, tooling and friction management. There are
many elements that need to come together to ensure a
Above: ITL’s
press line at its
Coventry
headquarters
Below:
A complex
pressing,
‘A’ pillar’,
demonstrates
HFQ’s
capabilities
10 March 2020 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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