Improved formability and strength to achieve manufacturing reliability
The design of cars is undergoing unprecedented change as a result of emissions legislation and advances in technology enabling autonomous driving. These design changes affect automotive seating and interiors.
Seating manufacturers need steel solutions for their new designs. Tata Steel’s experts can support you to realise the optimum steel solution. Our expertise in steel properties and behaviour in manufacturing and in-use supports optimal grade selection to achieve in-use safety performance, lightweighting and reliable manufacturing of parts.
For all enquiries please contact automotiveuk@tatasteeleurope.com
Unlocking the potential of steel for seating
Our comprehensive range of steels for seating, including advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and supporting engineering services, offer seating manufacturers:
- Lightweighting opportunities
- Improved processability of demanding parts
- Optimised design for space efficiency
Advanced high-strength steel for lightweighting
Lightweighting to reduce CO2 emissions is a priority in seating design. Tata Steel offers a range of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) such as thin gauge dual phase steels.
Manufacturing support from our Customer Technical Service
Consistent manufacturing of components from advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) through deep drawing or with deep collars can be challenging. This can be simply because AHSS require different tooling set up to HLSA grades. Our customer technical service works with customers to provide support in depth knowledge of steel grades to optimise tooling set up. We take a proactive approach to support. Working in partnership with you, our qualified and experienced engineers, chemists, metallurgists and production specialists are here to share their knowledge and serve your needs.
Space efficient designs enabled by high-strength formable steels
Seating design must be delivered within the constraints of the vehicle package. Electric vehicles have a different floor construction to internal combustion engine vehicles to accommodate the battery packs usually under the floor or located in the tunnel area. These body-in-white changes mean the seat frames need to be more compact but still have the same functionality leading to an increase in the complexity of frame geometry. Our cold-rolled advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) provide enhanced formability in grades specifically for lightweight seat frames.
A comprehensive portfolio of steel grades for seating
We offer a wide range of hot-rolled (thick gauge) and cold-rolled (thin gauge) steels for seating and interior components in the high-strength steel (HSLA) grades predominantly used in seat frames. Additionally our range of steel grades includes:
- AHSS such as dual phase steels
- uncoated boron steels
Our material experts are here to support the deployment of our products in seating and interior applications. For all enquiries please contact
automotiveuk@tatasteeleurope.com
Local service centres and direct delivery
We supply steel to customers throughout Europe. We also support customer programmes across the globe. Our steelmaking site in the UK is close to a major port – with direct access to a global transport infrastructure. We supply our seating and interior customers:
- Wide coil directly from our mills
Slit coils and blanks via our steel service centres
Expertise to optimise your steel design and manufacture
Tata Steel supports the automotive industry with advanced engineering services to fully exploit the benefits of advanced steels. We have extensive seating application knowledge and our services include:
- Aurora materials database with ready-to-run input decks to save hours on CAD simulation preparations
- Value analysis/value engineering to optimise designs for your preferred balance between performance, weight and costs
- Material yield optimisation analysis and recommendations for your press shop
- Life cycle analysis – to determine the impact of material and processing types from material and seat production through to use phase and recycling.
For all enquiries please contact automotiveuk@tatasteeleurope.com
Our materials database, Aurora® Online, gives you fast and easy access to reliable material data. Its comprehensive, up-to-date material files, data sheets and ready-to-run input decks, enable you to set up accurate, reliable simulations.
EN-Automotive-Contact-General sales TSUK
Enquiries and customer services
Please contact us for further information, questions and enquiries.
Tata Steel
Llanwern Works
Newport
NP19 4QZ
United Kingdom