In the automobile industry, for a few years, car manufacturers have been using a new material for their bodies, aluminum . The main reason why they use it is because, thanks to its lightness, it complies with the CO2 emissions indicated by the European Union.
In this article, where we are going to review the information published on the aluminum machining blog , we will make a small analysis of the qualities, advantages and disadvantages of using aluminum in car bodies.
Qualities:
- It has a lower weight than steel, which allows us to obtain great lightness .
- High electrical and thermal conductivity , much more energy is needed in the fusion welding process than in steel welding.
- Low hardness .
- When aluminum meets oxygen, an oxide layer is created on it, called alumina, which is what makes it very resistant to corrosion .
- It is essential to temper the material before doing any operation on it to avoid breakage, due to its fragility.
- It has a lower mechanical strength than steel.
Advantage:
- Due to its lightness, it achieves a higher performance of the car, obtaining a shorter braking distance and greater acceleration.
- The body of a vehicle created with this material is much harder than that of steel, it has programmed deformation parts that can make the energy that is created in an impact much less, with this, vehicles made with aluminum provide us with great security.
- We can obtain lower consumption due to the low weight of aluminum vehicles.
- We manage not to damage the environment, thanks to the fact that aluminum can be obtained through a recycling process without using hardly any energy and without losing its properties, thus managing not to damage the environment so much.
Disadvantages:
- The alumina that we have mentioned before that forms on the outside of this material makes the joining process more difficult when welding.
- It is very expensive, the cost of a ton of aluminum is three times higher than that of steel.
- When we work with aluminum, repair methods and very expensive welding and handling techniques need to be applied.
In conclusion, with this article we wanted to inform you of the importance that aluminum is having and will have in the future in the automotive industry.