Type(s) of sheetmetal used in Honda chasis? 5

Cars bodys are made of different grades for different parts - for instance if a particualr stamping tends to tear in the die then they'll change the steel spec. Equally if a particular part fails on durability it is often cheaper to go to a better steel than to retool.

I don't know how to test a stamping in-situ to determine the grade. Cheers

Greg Locock

Thank you for the input. Do mostly all manufacturers tend to use mild steel for their automotive bodies because of its high elongation percentage? Do you know if any manufacturers use something like 3003-H14 aluminum alloy instead, or does it really vary so often that it would be hard to give a definite answer?

If you want to determine whether the sheet metal is aluminium alloy or steel use a magnet.
If you are trying to find out the grade of steel. a simple hardness test can work provided you choose an area that has not been work hardened.
There are different grades for different applications. These include formable grades where deep drawing is used to produce the shape, high strength low alloy grades for structural parts, dent resistant grades for body panels, martensitic grades for intrusion beams and bumpers, to mention a few.

jimwood,

When you say "automotive bodies", do you mean the exterior sheet metal panels (hood, roof, fenders, etc.) or do you mean the body-in-white, which is the main structure of the vehicle to which the rest of the components (powertrain, suspension, external panels, etc.) are attached?

GregLocock and gdodd both gave you good information. Many different grades of steel (or aluminum in the case of some vehicles) are used in the construction of the body-in-white, while fewer are used to stamp the external panels. Cold-rolled, mild steels are typically used in external panels and some body-in-white applications where the highest formability is required. Cold-rolled sheet also has the best surface appearance for exposed/painted panels. Structural parts of the body-in-white typically use hot-rolled steels (Bake Hardenable grades, HSLA, Dual Phase, etc.).

The following industry standards cover these types of materials:

SAE J2329 CATAGORIZATION AND PROPERTIES OF LOW CARBON AUTOMOTIVE SHEET

SAE J2340 CATEGORIZATION AND PROPERTIES OF DENT RESISTANT, HIGH STRENGTH, AND ULTRA HIGH STRENGTH AUTOMOTIVE SHEET STEEL

ASTM A 1008M STANDARD SPECIFICATION FOR STEEL, SHEET, COLD-ROLLED, CARBON, STRUCTURAL, HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY AND HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY WITH IMPROVED FORMABILITY

ASTM A 1011M STANDARD SPECIFICATION FOR STEEL, SHEET AND STRIP, HOT-ROLLED, CARBON, STRUCTURAL, HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY AND HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY WITH IMPROVED FORMABILITY

For more information, I recommend you visit the following websites:

Auto Steel Partnership at , especially the publications section. There is a huge amount of information here. One area with a lot of information on the various grades and where they are used is the Automotive Steel Design Manual ( Chapter 2. MATERIALS.

Other sites with good technical information:

and



(click on Product Information)


Information on aluminum can be found at the following websites:

It is also possable that the same body panel will be welded up from several different steels. It is a process called Tailor Welded Blanks.

I just wanted to say once again, thank you all for your input, I have found it all extremely usefull and informative.