FUTURE-TRENDS IN METAL FORMING-EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND PROCESSES IN AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

Global competition in the automotive market has made a significant impact in the materials, processes, tools, and equipment used to make components. Steels are being replaced by other materials, such as aluminum, composites, and plastics, that meet the demand for a higher performance per weight ratio. From a processing viewpoint, the customers demand production of parts to near-net shape with little or no machining. Competition in business depends on understanding the needs of the customer in the coming years in the area of metal forming. A workshop was conducted using a novel approach to address the above issue. This presentation describes the approach and the results of the study.