INGREDIENTS FOR MASS REDUCTION - MAYFLOWER'S EXPERIENCE WITH LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLES

摘要

The product range within the Mayflower Group is extremely diversified, ranging from sports cars to fire engines. Many of these products use alternative materials and techniques for ensuring that the vehicles are not just strong and stiff, but are also mass efficient and cost effective. This technical paper reviews six case studies, which show how different materials and manufacturing routes are used for each vehicle. Starting with the Land Rover Discovery, many of the panels are supplied by MVS in Ac120 and Ecodal 608, lightweight 6xxx series aluminium alloys which have excellent corrosion resistance and can be pressed with dry film lubricant. Aluminium panels are also incorporated into the Plymouth Prowler and Walter Alexander bus bodies for dent resistance and lightweight properties. The Aston Martin DB7 convertible requires high stiffness for NVH performance and rather than using additional heavy bracketry, structural adhesive is applied to the sills to achieve the required stiffness For highly stressed areas of the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and Bentley Arnage including damper towers and structural cross members, HSLA Tenform XF300 steel is used. Finally, Dennis fire tenders are manufactured using Cromweld 3CR12 stainless steel, which has high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. In summary, it is shown how different materials are used for 6 very different products in order to achieve strong, lightweight vehicles.