MULTI-MATERIAL BODY SOLUTIONS: Possibilities and manufacturing challenges

The body-in-white is a prime target for lightweighting and many automakers are pursuing unique and effective multi-material approaches, but improved design tools and processes may yield greater gains.

In the automotive industry, mass reduction and lightweight design is a continuing trend that does not show signs of declining. When examing where to reduce weight in a vehicle, the body is a preferential sub-system due to its large contribution to overall mass and the stability of body composition over a specific model range. The automotive industry is moving toward a greater differentiation in materials, as can be seen in the different multi-material vehicle bodies recently introduced. But while mixing materials may contribute to a good compromise between weight reduction and vehicle cost, it also proposes a number of challenges.