Material Qualification in the Automotive Industry

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The recent emphasis on fuel economy is expected to accelerate the evolutionary rate of introducing lightweight materials. CAR’s Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM) group identified material qualification as one of the major barriers to faster introduction of lightweight materials in an automobile along with other barriers such as joining technology, traditional paint-shops, availability of simulation tools, and global supply-chain. Material qualification is a process that takes place between a material supplier and the customer (usually an automaker or tier 1 suppliers). The objective is to make sure that the material meets the requirements of the customer. The whitepaper explains the material qualification process in the automotive industry and highlights opportunities to reduce the qualification barrier for faster introduction of advanced lightweighting materials such as high strength steel, aluminum, plastics and polymer composites and magnesium into the future vehicle.