Abstract

The present work addresses different aspects of the manufacturing process optimization of structural components for the automotive sector. More precisley the development of a novel bumper beam is being pursued by combining steel and composite to achieve, ultimatly, a weight reduction of the current component. For this it has been fundamental to consider not only the requirements of the part, specially from the safety prespective, but also manufacturing criteria.

The study carried out has included everything from the design of the component up to the evaluation of a wide range of composite materials, both of thermostable and thermoplastic nature. Thus, different manufacturing technologies together with their process window and tooling desing has been accomplished in this work. In addition, several surface treatment technologies including cutting-edge ones such as laser texturing, have been combined with different strategies to ensure, in this way, the optimal performance of the solution.

Finally, the development of ad-hoc demonstrators has allowed identifying the most suitable design and materials. Also, it has been possible to quantify the performance of the components, process times and final cost. Finally, a 25% weight reduction has been achieved, maintaining the mechanical properties and cycle times down to 5 minutes.