WorldAutoSteel, Brussels, Belgium, has launched the Advanced High-Strength Steels Application Guidelines (AHSS Guidelines) Version 5.0, the largest and most comprehensive update since its first publication in 2004. Previous versions covered metallurgy, forming, and joining. Version 5.0 includes new content highlighting the broader materials portfolio, advanced fabrication technologies, and optimized joining processes.
The AHSS Guidelines are available free of charge at worldautosteel.org to aid automakers and manufacturers in applying the latest in lightweighting with steel.
“These guidelines are the leading AHSS information resource for engineers and press shop personnel,” said Ronald Krupitzer, vice president, automotive market for the Steel Market Development Institute, a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute. “It represents the steel industry’s strong commitment not only to produce new generation steels, but to assist automakers in actively applying them.”
Applications of the latest steels will proliferate during the next 10 years as auto manufacturers seek to achieve improved safety and fuel economy requirements for their customers. Current vehicles have not nearly exhausted the breadth of AHSS grades available that can achieve lightweighting targets at less cost and five to 20 times less production emissions than alternative materials.
This rapid increase in demand requires users of AHSS to quickly learn the basics about AHSS and acquire specific application knowledge. AHSS Guidelines Version 5.0 gathers that knowledge and experience in two volumes. Volume I includes metallurgy, forming and joining. Volume II includes over 200 pages of case studies, which demonstrate actual manufacturing practices.
