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10 years of the Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre in Neckarsulm

Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 @ 17:00:01 GMT by audioc

Audi A8, Audi A2, Lamborghini Gallardo: for the past ten years, Audi has been devising new technologies that make cars lighter, more economical and safer at its Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre in Neckarsulm. Audi is the only car manufacturer in the world to use aluminium for volume production of cars based on the space frame principle. All Audi models with a body made from this lightweight metal are built in Neckarsulm. The production plant of the sporty Audi A8 luxury saloon and the trailblazing compact Audi A2 is also where the brand's aluminium and lightweight design expertise is based.Audi established the Aluminium Centre in Neckarsulm in 1994. Audi pooled its experience in lightweight automotive design in this facility, bringing together the expertise of the Development, Production Planning and Quality Assurance departments under one roof. Neckarsulm serves as a centre of expertise in the field of lightweight design and as a benchmark for the car industry worldwide. The centre was renamed the 'Neckarsulm Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre' two years ago. The new name reflects the fact that aluminium is now by no means the only material in which it specialises. As well as aluminium components, high-strength steels, tailored blanks, fibre reinforced plastics and magnesium will acquire growing significance for vehicle components at Audi. Developing lightweight vehicles featuring intelligent composite design is the way forward for this high-tech constructor.

A tradition in lightweight design

The company enjoys something of a tradition of building lightweight cars involving the use of lightweight materials. As early as 1913, the NSU plant in Neckarsulm produced a car with an all-aluminium body in the guise of the NSU 8/24. In 1923, Audi launched a six-cylinder engine that was made from light alloy. Again in 1923, the company experimented with a streamline aluminium body mounted on the chassis of an Audi Type K.

In 1977, Auto Union investigated the plastic vehicle body and its weightsaving potential. In the years that followed, lightweight design remained one of the core skills of the Ingolstadt car manufacturer. Six years later, Audi kicked off an intensive development phase with the material aluminium. An aluminium body was developed on the basis of the Audi 100. The development engineers were not content simply to substitute aluminium for steel while retaining the traditional monocoque design, as they believed that the sheer versatility of aluminium was not being exploited to the full.

Audi consequently developed a high-strength aluminium frame structure which, besides the body panels, consisted of aluminium extruded profiles and die-cast elements - the Audi Space Frame (ASF). By making consistent use of lightweight design, particularly for the vehicle body, Audi aimed to achieve a palpable reduction in fuel consumption without sacrificing comfort, performance and safety. The developers combined aluminium extruded sections with die-cast node elements for the first time. The new design also necessitated new production technologies. For example, the Neckarsulm-based specialists came up with improved light alloys and process engineering methods. In addition to welding and bonding, the joining technique of punch-riveting was used in the car industry for the first time.

Audi A8: the revolution in body manufacturing

The ASF concept was given its first public airing anywhere in the world at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show. A new era of car building had begun. The production version of the Audi A8 was then unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show one year on, a landmark development in the history of the car.

The luxury saloon triggered off a revolution in body manufacturing. The steel industry has also since been striving intensively to find alternative concepts for lightweight vehicle bodies. "Since the appearance of the first A8 a decade ago, that trusty old material steel has likewise undergone something of a transformation: a high-ranking manager in the steel industry once told me that the aluminium-built Audi A8 was what had decisively accelerated the development of higher-strength steel grades," remarks Prof. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, shedding light on the significant role that the A8 has played for the car industry.

"Aluminium will remain the key material for substantial weight savings for the longer term," insists Heinrich Timm, Head of the Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre. "A few more interesting Audi vehicles featuring predominantly aluminium bodies are set to appear in the future. In addition to assuming responsibility for series development, we focus particularly on technology processes, the optimisation of material properties and processes for the volume-production use of aluminium technology. We are also involving suppliers, universities and institutes," adds Timm.

Audi A2: the Audi Space Frame in volume production

Since the founding of the Aluminium centre of expertise in 1994, around 110 employees from the Development, Production Planning and Quality Assurance departments have worked on designing the bodies of the A2, the current A8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo and developing them for volume production.

The Aluminium Centre's first "own" product was the development of an aluminium car suitable for volume production. The Audi A2 irrefutably proves that the Audi Space Frame is compatible with volume production. Production of the A2 started at Neckarsulm in 1999, heralding in the second generation of ASF technology. This project owed its success in no small measure to the fact that Audi had already been able to acquire valuable experience in the production use of aluminium with the first A8.

The ASF of the A2 consists of 60 percent aluminium sheets, 22 percent aluminium castings and 18 percent aluminium extruded sections. While the Audi Space Frame of the A8 set new standards in its vehicle segment with its weight of just 249 kilograms (43 percent lighter than a steel body of the same type), the aluminium body of the Audi A2 tips the scales at just 156 kilograms, including add-on parts.

The developers moreover drastically reduced the number of parts on the A2's space frame. This was achieved by using complex components, predominantly profiles and multifunctional castings. The A2 was for instance the first aluminium car on which Audi had used a single-section side panel frame. Meanwhile the degree of automation rose from 25 percent on the first A8 to 80 percent on the A2 and the current A8. The laser-welding of aluminium body components signalled a world first in the production sphere. The combined length of laser-welded seams on the A2 is in the order of 30 metres.

The joining techniques of punch-riveting and MIG welding that had already been used successfully on the A8 were adopted. It was only possible to use these techniques thanks to the extremely low dimensional tolerances of the A2's components. As a result the production quality, precision and accuracy of body manufacturing operations improved still further.

Development of the new A8

The next development of the Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre appeared on the market just three years later, in 2002. The new Audi A8, still with the lightest body in its class, has enjoyed considerable market success. In 2003 the luxury saloon received the 'European Car Body Award', the most prestigious European innovation prize in the sphere of body manufacturing.

Findings obtained with the Audi A2 paved the way for further improvements to production techniques. For example, the proportion of cast alloys and multifunctional extruded sections has been increased significantly, and the number of parts needed to build the body has consequently been sharply reduced. The production process has been accelerated and the body has become more rigid and therefore safer as a result of incorporating fewer parts. The first A8 already represented a reduction in the number of parts by around one-third compared with a conventional steel body. Their number was reduced by a further 16 percent on the new Audi A8. Here are two examples: the B-post on the first-generation A8 consisted of eight sections, whereas it is made from a single cast section on the new A8. The side panel frame, which used to consist of seven parts, can likewise now be made from a single sheet panel. Audi has moreover adopted joining techniques from the A2 for the A8.

One innovation introduced was the laser-MIG hybrid welding technique, which for the first time combined the advantages of both joining techniques. The use of sensor technology to monitor the welding process simplifies the production monitoring processes. Thanks to the adoption of rapid-hardening sheet metal alloys, no separate heat treatment line is needed. This reduces the capital outlay and production time. The fact that the development and production aspects are closely linked at a single location has permitted immense progress in body manufacturing.

This joining technique has many advantages for the A8 driver: not only does its lower weight result in lower fuel consumption. The 61 percent improvement in its torsional rigidity compared with the predecessor model means that A8 drivers benefit from much greater agility and comfort, cementing its position as the most sporty luxury saloon in the world.

Lamborghini Gallardo: a new challenge

The development of the Gallardo for Lamborghini represented a further landmark. This was considered a particular challenge, as the aim was to develop a low-volume vehicle incorporating this demanding technology. The production of the parts and the task of defining the best joining technology were a big challenge to the developers, production planners and quality assurance personnel. Among other things, Audi used aluminium tailored blanks for the first time. The concept of the Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre again proved an excellent basis on which to handle the wide-ranging tasks in hand. Whether for large or small-scale production, with a high degree of automation or a high number of manual production processes, this centre of expertise is capable of finding the optimum solution to every set of requirements.

Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre: the name points the way

The Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre received its new name in March 2003. This was when Heinrich Timm took charge. He was one of the pioneers of the "aluminium-intensive vehicle" back in 1983. In 1997, the University of Vienna acknowledged his role as the principal creator and Developer-in-Chief of the Audi Space Frame (ASF) by awarding him the Professor Ferdinand Porsche Prize. Timm's vision is of economical lightweight design for volume production. And he is already thinking way beyond aluminium. "Our aim is to exploit the potential of materials for lightweight vehicles as effectively as possible and consequently to use the right materials in the right place. Aluminium of course remains the key material in lightweight design, but efforts to investigate the potential of other materials are being stepped up," explains Timm. The renaming of the Aluminium Centre as the "Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre" reflects that the future lies in embracing intelligent composite design for vehicle bodies.

Design strategies

A major advance in lightweight design technology can only be achieved through an elaborate combination of different processes in the fields of development and production - long before the first prototype has actually taken shape. An optimum structure must be determined in the earliest design phase.

Structural lightweight design is the area where Audi achieves a structure exhibiting higher load capacity with a minimal amount of materials by means of a better distribution of forces and a superior shape.

Material lightweight design involves specifically substituting heavier materials with lighter, stronger materials that are suitable for high-volume shaping and joining techniques.

Composite lightweight design is taken by Audi to mean the optimum combination of different materials on a case-by-case basis, resulting in high rigidity and load capacity, yet minimal weight, in the composite design.

Concept lightweight design involves the systematic selection of the individual components, with the developers taking account of the way the components are arranged (package) and the design.

The objective of environment, surroundings and conditions lightweight design is to query exaggerated load requirements. Here, the developers identify where more favourable geometrical conditions are needed for the lightweight components to be integrated.

Audi takes all materials that offer potential for lightweight design into consideration. High-strength steels, magnesium, aluminium (in the form of cast alloys, extruded profiles or sheet-metal alloys), plastics, fibre-reinforced thermoplastics/thermoset plastics and fibre composite plastics are now all mainstream materials in Audi's vehicle design activities. Assembly groups and components made from such materials as titanium, ceramic and carbon fibre are being investigated.

Aluminium lightweight design in production

As a pioneer of aluminium, Audi also sets standards in the field of production. The volume production of aluminium bodies at Neckarsulm is acclaimed industry-wide. "Over the past ten years, we have learned an awful lot about production technology and built up considerable expertise in handling this light metal. For example, the level of automation in our aluminium body manufacturing line is now 80 percent of that of a steel body manufacturing line," explains Neckarsulm plant manager Jürgen Lunemann.

Around 320,000 cars with all-aluminium body have now been built at Neckarsulm. This has given Audi a competitive lead of several years in research and production terms.

Expertise and motivation

There are currently around 110 employees at the Aluminium and Lightweight Design Centre, working on the refinement of Audi's lightweight design expertise. They have brought the A2, the new A8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo to production maturity. "Our highly qualified, well-motivated employees have been instrumental in securing our lead in lightweight design and in its development and production," declares Neckarsulm Works Council Chairman Norbert Rank. This points the way to how jobs can be influenced and safeguarded at Audi in the future. "This workforce will be capable of accomplishing quite a few more technological quantum leaps," adds Rank.

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