Alumobility, a global association committed to helping advance the adoption of aluminum by automakers, is conducting a webinar that will introduce, summarize and demonstrate the organization’s Body Side Outer (BSO) Panel design guidelines. The manual outlines, based on existing technical studies and OEM lessons learned in general, a step-by-step approach to designing and manufacturing a one-piece aluminum automotive BSO panel, that will provide the necessary quality and appearance while also offering the benefits of aluminum’s lighter weight.

Airing on September 8th / 5pm CEST and September 13th/ 11 am CEST the webinar supports the organization’s mission to advance the use of aluminum in automobiles through technical studies, collaboration, information, and sharing valuable insights. The webinar replay will also be available through the Alumobility website.

Alumobility is a global ecosystem of leading aluminum and downstream technology partners that supports automotive manufacturers in creating lighter, safer, smarter and more sustainable vehicles. The non-profit organization works toward one common goal: Informing the industry of the benefits of incorporating aluminum into vehicle design with a primary focus on the advantages of lightweighting. Aluminum solutions are up to 50% lighter than steel; this lighter weight contributes to enhanced automotive safety, performance and sustainability.

“Automakers understand the value of lightweighting and incorporating aluminum into their designs. At Alumobility, we provide the insight, expertise and techniques to enable automakers to leverage the myriad benefits of aluminum,” said Prof. Mark White, Technical Director of Alumobility. “We are conducting the Body Side Outer webinar and previewing content from the design guidelines to not only educate, but to ensure automakers and Tier 1 suppliers achieve their goals in the transition to aluminum.”

Alumobility focused its new design guidelines on the one-piece BSO panel because of its importance to automakers – it impacts a vehicle’s function, quality, and appearance. Also, a one-piece BSO panel can be difficult to manufacture in any material. A shift to aluminum requires detailed step-by-step guidelines compiled by industry experts to ensure automakers are equipped with the knowledge to meet the requirements for the design and manufacture of this complex sheet metal panel.

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Topics that will be addressed during the webinar by Alumobility member panelists Mark White, Technical Director, Alumobility, Dominique Daniel, Senior Scientist, Constellium, and Alexander Gaida, Senior Application Engineer, Novelis will include:

o Learning how to produce a one-piece aluminum BSO by following geometry and tooling process guidelines
o Gaining an understanding of the detailed geometry guidelines applied to an aluminum BSO
o Highlights of the stamping process guidelines and simulation tools to validate BSO geometry

This webinar is part of a series of studies, conferences and events to inform automakers about the value of aluminum’s lightweighting advantages and its many other benefits for lighter, safer, more sustainable vehicles.