Aluminum push in autos tests metal of NanoSteel

Ford Motor Co. drew the attention of truck owners and the automotive industry last month when it unveiled a new version of its best-selling F-150 pickup built largely out of aluminum.
It also drew the attention of some Rhode Island companies with interests in whether the new truck becomes a hit or disappointment.
Chief among them is advanced-alloy designer NanoSteel in Providence, which sees its technology helping maintain steel’s historic dominance as the primary material for making automobiles.
As technology has improved in recent years, aluminum has become more popular among carmakers, especially as manufacturers have turned greater focus to fuel efficiency.
“This discussion of aluminum versus steel has been around for as long as I have been in the business and probably back to my father’s and grandfather’s day,” said Craig Parsons, president of NanoSteel’s automotive division.
What’s drawn so much attention to the Ford F-150 design, aside from the model’s status as the most popular in the world, is that it’s a full-size truck, a conservative market normally focused on strength and durability above all else.
In the past, manufacturers may have never considered using aluminum panels for fear they wouldn’t be tough enough.
The chief benefit of aluminum is its light weight and flexibility compared with steel. In cars reductions in weight contribute to faster acceleration, better braking and better fuel economy.
Ford says the new 2015 F-150 will be about 700 pounds lighter than the current model, with much, although not all, of that weight reduction coming from the use of aluminum.
To add context to the hype surrounding the F-150, Parsons points out that, while body panels and other pieces of the new 2015 version have gone aluminum, the truck’s frame remains steel.
But, perhaps more importantly, it’s not the most advanced steel available.
Each year steel and aluminum makers come up with new advancements in metallurgy and production techniques, but it takes auto manufacturers several years to design, test and roll out each new model.
Along with strength, the primary tradeoff with aluminum is usually cost, roughly two to three times as expensive as steel, according to Parsons. And the cost of switching to aluminum includes not just the material itself, but reconfiguring assembly lines and supply chains to use it.
“Aluminum is something they have known how to do, but has never been the most logical or cost-effective,” Parsons said. “A lot of people are watching what Ford did. Ford took a big leap converting the F-150 to aluminum, but spent tens of millions of dollars to modify its supply chain.”
Parsons said going forward he expects aluminum usage in cars to grow, but more from the current 3 percent range to the 5 percent range.
As for where NanoSteel fits in, the company is coming to the end of trials with both foreign and domestic mills to perfect making their sheet steel on a production basis so carmakers can employ it.
NanoSteel first began designing super-strong, nano-structured protective coatings, then moved on to foils and eventually sheet steel. The primary challenge has been to get the alloy so it can be elongated and formed into the geometries used in vehicles, something they believe they have now achieved.
The nano-structured steel achieves weight savings through greater strength than traditional steel, which allows designers to use less of it to achieve the same structural characteristics.
When NanoSteel is production ready, Parsons said it will offer nearly the weight savings of aluminum, at less than half the cost.
That could put NanoSteel in the mix for the midrange and lower-cost, new vehicles that make up the bulk of the market, even if aluminum’s use expands in the high-end market.
“There are always going to be high-margin vehicles where they can afford [aluminum], especially on things like outer skins, but [NanoSteel] is going to be in the structure,” Parsons said. “The cost margin makes it a no-brainer to stand with steel.”
While NanoSteel is putting the F-150 in context, at least one Rhode Island supplier is happy about all the hype.
Hope Valley Industries, in Exeter, which manufactures floor mats and other accessories, said it has secured a contract to make items for the F-150.
Hope Valley Human Resources Director Julie Zito said the new orders from Ford have prompted the company to expand and begin hiring this year. •