If you are a car enthusiast, you are certainly aware about several kinds of metals that were commonly used by auto manufacturers previously. Metal is utilized in the automotive industry to create most of the components in a car.
But what types of metals are currently being utilized by the automakers?
In order for any kind of metal to be considered suitable for use by automakers, it has to comply with several factors including:
*Cost
It is very possible to get metals that are lightweight yet extremely strong. Such metals generally are very costly. Automakers prior to utilizing any kind of metal often weigh its benefits and costs first. If the cost of the metal they opt to use surpasses the benefits they expect from it, they will not utilize that particular metal.
*Safety
The foremost concern of the automakers is to make vehicles which are both safe and affordable. A rigid metal material is not considered the best option in the automotive industry, because the objective of a vehicle should be to offer protection to the driver, yet a frame made using rigid metal can convey the impact easily to the driver.
New Metals Being Used in Cars
Despite automakers using an enormous number of metals to make vehicles including, steel, copper, aluminium and iron among others, they are currently also utilizing new forms of metals to create different parts of their cars.
Some of these metals include:
#1: Magnesium
Magnesium is an appealing metal material for automotive use currently as a result of its exceptional features including being light weight. When magnesium is alloyed, it produces the highest weight- to- strength ratio than any other structural metal.
#2: Martensite/Boron
Although martensite is considered the least formable form of steel, it is the strongest and hardest of all steel metals. This metal shares features with boron and possess a tensile power of approximately 1,600 MPa. When being used by automakers to make cars, martensite and boron are merged together with softer steels so that they can form composites.
#3: Mild Steel
Mild steels are a kind of metal that can be formed easily and therefore they are a top option for automotive parts makers using cold stamping as well as other dated manufacturing procedures. This metal possesses a maximum tensile power of 270 MPa.
#4: Aluminum 5000/6000
5000- series aluminum is fused with magnesium while 6000- series aluminum is alloyed with magnesium and silicon thus forming magnesium silcide. AL 5000/6000 are metal types currently being used by automakers to make cars since they are associated with a number of merits including being light weigh.
Bottom Line
The automotive industry is encountering tremendous changes every now and then and thus be guaranteed that the metal types being utilized to make vehicles currently will be completely different from those that will be used a few years to come.
