The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), awarded the “Automotive Excellence Award” to Honda R & D Americas, Inc. and Gestamp for their work in implementing advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) innovations in a hot stamped rear frame. The award was presented today at the 15th annual Great Designs in Steel (GDIS) seminar in Livonia, Mich.
Shawn Crichley, principal engineer, vehicle design-body and Brad Klein, senior engineer from Honda R&D Americas, Inc. along with Kou Khang, platform director from Gestamp, received the award for their GDIS 2015 presentation, titled, “Special Presentation: Advanced High-Strength Steel Breakthrough Technology.”
The goal of the project was to reduce rear frame mass and design complexity, while maintaining performance through implementation of hot stamped high-strength steel. The result was a 20 percent weight reduction compared to previous models and full realization of the rear frame crush mode.
“In 15 years of GDIS, winners of the Automotive Excellence award have demonstrated significant contributions to steel in the marketplace and the Honda and Gestamp project was no exception,” said Jody Hall, vice president of the automotive market, SMDI. “The project implemented an innovative hot-stamping process with localized soft zones to create crush initiation sites. This combination allowed them to achieve mass reduction and reduce part count, while maintaining all performance metrics.”