AHSS Archives - Page 2 of 4 - National Material Company

14 04, 2020

Automotive Steel Processing: AHSS and Galvanized Steel

Patton Quinn2020-05-14T15:38:03+00:00April 14th, 2020|News Blog|

Steel continues to be the frontrunner when it comes to car manufacturing because of its strong and dependable nature. According to worldsteel.org, there are several benefits of using steel in automotive production. Steel:

● Contains recycled steel and is endlessly recyclable.
● Has lower CO2 life cycle emissions than any other automotive material.
● Enables engineering of crash-resistant structures.
● Is a higher strength steel that enables lightweight vehicle construction that is stronger, safer, and more fuel-efficient
● Enables creative, flexible designs.
● Is easy to repair with existing techniques and equipment, making repairs more affordable.
● Is cost efficient compared to all other structural materials.

There are several common uses for steel in an automotive vehicle. Most of this steel is found in the skeletal body of the vehicle, often called the “body in white,” which is the foundation from which the rest of the vehicle is created.

Bumpers and Reinforcements

Bumpers are some of a vehicle’s first defenses against any major impact, thus they demand a very high level of force absorption. The durability and crash resistance of high strength steels make it a great option for bumper systems. Further driving its use is the ability to employ a thinner steel, promoting additional weight savings. UHSS bumpers are typically roll formed. For more detailed information on steel bumper systems for passenger cars and light trucks, visit this website: https://www.a-sp.org/-/media/doc/smdisteel/bumpers/smdi-steel-bumper-systems-manual-6th-edition—january-2019—final.ashx

There are many other areas of a car that need strong reinforcement. Sill reinforcements and cross-members, for instance, both require high energy absorption. Stiffness can be maintained when transitioning to thinner panels by changing the geometry of the parts. High strength steels are well suited for these forming challenges, with the reduced thickness leading to a lighter weight part.

Door Beams and Seating

Again, weight savings are a major consideration here. Side impact beams are now commonly made using the highest strength steels, leading to both increased safety and lighter weight products. While seats are not traditionally considered part of the Body-in-White, they are some of the heaviest items in a passenger vehicle. As such, they are prime candidates for lightweighting using high strength and durable steels.

Chassis and Frames

High-strength steel benefits the entire frame’s support capabilities. The chassis is subject to some of the most extreme stresses seen on any of a car’s parts, so it needs excellent fatigue resistance properties – such as those found in high-quality steel. Using high strength, high formability steels allows the vehicle designer the flexibility to create lightweight complex shapes while maintaining the structural integrity demanded by the application.

Advanced High Strength Steel

Forbes.com recently cited that […]

4 01, 2020

Steel Service Spotlight: National Material of Mexico

Nathalia and Jorge2020-04-01T21:22:12+00:00January 4th, 2020|News Blog|

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”

–Helen Keller

National Material Company (NMC) has maintained continuity since its inception – never changing ownership or strategic focus. This has allowed NMC to become an industry leading company. It’s true that this longevity gives NMC a competitive edge in the steel service industry, but it’s also true that NMC’s leadership has not only been built across time, but across cultural boundaries. National Material of Mexico (NMM), a global partner in Mexico that not only leads the Mexican steel service but has recently undergone an exciting expansion of their facilities.

About National Material of Mexico

Both NMC and NMM are part of the National Material Limited Partnership (NMLP) steel division, which is one of the largest independent steel service centers in the United States. NMLP operates 16 steel service centers and processing facilities in North America and ships over 2,000,000 tons of steel annually.

National Material of Mexico is one of the largest Steel Service Centers in Mexico, serving the automotive, HVAC, home appliance, motor and transformer manufacturers in Mexico. A large portion of NMM’s success lies in its supply of ultra-light and ultra-strong Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) to the Mexican automotive business.

It provides all the AHSS grades as well as other material processing services with hot rolled, cold rolled, grain-oriented and non-oriented electrical steel, galvanized, galvannealed, aluminized, prepainted and other coated metals.

Like its northern partner, NMC, National Material of Mexico’s premier standing in the Mexican steel service industry relies not only on its efficiency at the plants, but also on a timely supply of all materials to clients.

With the National Material Limited Partnership as a constant support system, the companies create synergies and partnership that streamline processes with tangible benefits to the clients.

NMM locations and joint-venture locations include facilities in:

Monterrey
Hermosillo
San Jose Iturbide
Puebla
San Luis Potosi
Celaya
Aguascalientes

With these strategically placed service centers, NMM aims at a “Just-in-Time philosophy” for direct sales and toll processing.

Expansion & The Future of NMM

In 2017, National Material Company announced the expansion of their plants in Mexico for a twofold reason: first, to meet increased demand and second, to focus on the futuristic Advanced High Strength Steel that is going into cars. As VP General Manager Carl Grobien explains:

“We opened up this facility in 1997 with one slitter. Now, we have two slitters, one for electrical steel and one for carbon steel. After so many years, the first slitter is more than 100% full and with the new generation steel, AHSS or Advanced High Strength Steel, going in to automobiles, our steel now goes into […]

4 01, 2020

AHSS Leads the Automotive Industry in 2020

Patton Quinn2021-02-18T17:40:43+00:00January 4th, 2020|News Blog|

No one has ever walked into a car dealership and said to the salesperson: “Hey, do you have anything made out of an unstable material?” When assembling vehicles, car manufacturers face a specific challenge: they need materials with seemingly contradictory properties: lightweight, but strong, and highly formable into rigid structures. This is a challenge in light of how metals deform. The strains from forming accumulate into localized areas on the part, leading to excessive thinning known as “necking.” These areas are thinner than the rest of the part, and are the most likely to have durability or fatigue problems during the vehicle life. Higher strength materials are more likely to experience “necking” during the production process, which, in turn, creates an unstable part. Most would agree that would never be a good quality in a car.

$Four photographs of steel at different stages during the tensile test: a) uniform deformation, b) diffuse necking, c) localized necking, and d) fracture.$

The first antidote to this challenge was introduced in the 1980’s when the steel industry developed interstitial free (IF) steels. These steels have a microstructure primarily consisting of a single phase known as ferrite, which is iron with typically less than 50ppm carbon in an interstitial solid solution. It has a body-centered cubic (bcc) structure at room temperature. ULC steels are highly formable, a desirable trait for auto companies that have a high demand for steel that can be molded into the new complex shape of cars. However, these steels are relatively soft which makes them poor candidates for the automotive body structures that need to withstand increasingly stringent crash resistance requirements. Steelmakers had to create new steel grades that combine mechanical strength with high ductility (the ability to undergo significant plastic deformation before rupture). Enter advanced high strength steel!

What is AHSS?

The metallurgy and processing of advanced high strength steel (AHSS) grades are somewhat novel compared to conventional steels. Their remarkable mechanical properties are the result of their unique processing and structure. They are classified into categories based on their microstructure or how they deform: dual phase (DP) steel, transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel, complex phase (CP) steel, martensitic (MS) steel, ferritic bainitic (FB) steel, and twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel. AHSS solves two distinct automotive needs by using two different groups of steels. The DP and TRIP grades of steel have increased values of the work hardening exponent. These possess higher strength levels with improved formability and crash-energy absorption compared to the current HSLA (High Strength, Low Alloy) grades. The CP and MS grades extend the availability of steel in strength ranges above the HSLA grades.

Additional steels are designed to meet specific process requirements. These include increased edge stretch […]

11 10, 2019

Galvanized Steel: Types, Uses, Benefits.

marshall2025-03-12T16:23:57+00:00October 11th, 2019|News Blog|

Part of an ongoing series on Galvanized Steel

Mosaic-style background of various galvanized steel textures with the words “Galvanized Steel: Types, Uses, Benefits” in the foreground.

What is Galvanizing?

Galvanizing, or galvanization, is a manufacturing process where a coating of zinc is applied to steel or iron to offer protection and prevent rusting. There are several galvanizing processes available, but the most commonly offered and used method is called hot-dip galvanizing.

Galvanized steel is among the most popular steel types because of its extended durability, having the strength and formability of steel plus the corrosion protection of the zinc-iron coating. The zinc protects the base metal by acting as a barrier to corrosive elements, and the sacrificial nature of the coating results in a long-lasting and high-quality steel product.

This versatility makes it applicable to a variety of projects and industries, including agriculture, solar, automotive, construction, and so on. Below, we aim to provide a comprehensive description of how galvanized steel is processed, different galvanization methods, its benefits, and how it is used in these various industries.

Get a Custom Quote for Your Galvanized Steel Needs

The steps in the galvanizing process are as follows:

The steel is cleaned in a degreasing solution
After being cleaned, the steel is pickled by being lowered into a vat of diluted hot sulfuric acid
The steel is then fluxed in an aqueous solution (typically zinc-ammonium chloride)
After the flux, the steel is galvanized through immersion in a vat of molten zinc
Afterward, the steel is inspected for consistency and a complete coating

A worker at National Galvanizing donning full safety gear as he stirs a molten zinc bath with stack of zinc ingots in the foreground.

What are the advantages of galvanized steel?

Many different industries utilize galvanized steel primarily because it has such a wide array of benefits for industries to take advantage of, including having:

Low initial cost compared to most treated steels. In addition, galvanized steel is immediately ready to use when delivered. It does not require additional preparation of the surface, inspections, painting/coatings, etc. sparing companies more costs on their end.

Longer life. With galvanization, a piece of industrial steel is expected to last more than 50 years in average environments, and can last over 20 years with severe water exposure. There is no maintenance required. The increased durability of the steel’s finished product also increases the product’s reliability.

The sacrificial anode ensures that any damaged steel is protected by the surrounding zinc coating. It doesn’t matter if the steel section is completely exposed; the zinc will still corrode first. The coating will corrode […]

30 07, 2019

NMC’s Steel Processing Capabilities

andre2019-09-12T20:08:50+00:00July 30th, 2019|News Blog, NMC Media|

As the leader in steel processing capabilities, supply chain management, and inventory control, NMC is the perfect choice for any customer in search of the best experience possible. A dedicated work force, state-of-the-art slitters, cut-to-length lines and warehouse storage capabilities make NMC the premiere steel manufacturing company in North America. Locations throughout The United States and Mexico offer a logistic advantage resulting in a more efficient service to conserve our customer’s most valuable resource: cost.