[DeTomaso] NPC: Flash Steel

Fri Dec 11 19:06:02 EST 2015

Well, Larry…. You hit me with something I had never heard of.
But, I didn’t feel so bad when neither metallurgist at work said they’d never heard of it either!
And, after reading about it, not surprising.

Wouldn’t work worth a damn in the oil business. Too susceptible to stress corrosion cracking.
Oh, well… Thought maybe you’d found something we could use!
:-)

Kirby

> On Dec 11, 2015, at 11:28, Larry - Ohio Time <Larry at ohiotimecorp.com> wrote:
> 
>   Flash Bainite
> 
>   Radically cheaper, quicker and less energy-intensive to produce, Flash
>   Bainite is stronger than titanium by weight, and ductile enough to be
>   pressed into shape while cold without thinning or cracking. It's now
>   being tested by three of the world's five largest car manufacturers,
>   who are finding they can produce thinner structural car components that
>   are between 30-50 percent lighter and cheaper than the steel they've
>   been using, while maintaining the same performance is crash tests.
>   Those are revolutionary numbers in the auto space.
> 
>   Darren Quick did a good job explaining exactly [1]how Flash Bainite is
>   produced in our original story, but in basic terms, you take regular,
>   off-the-shelf AISI1020 carbon steel, and instead of heat treating it
>   for 10 minutes like costly alloyed steel, you put it through a
>   roller-driven system that induction-heats and liquid-cools the steel in
>   a matter of 10 seconds or so.
> 
>   Generally, when you choose steel you're trading off between strength
>   and ductility. The hardest steels are the martensitic types, but their
>   crystalline structure makes them brittle and prone to cracking when you
>   press or bend them, so they need to be hot pressed. Flash Bainite
>   breaks this rule by delivering a specific strength some 7 percent
>   higher than martensitic steel but staying remarkably bendable to the
>   point where it can be cold pressed into shapes. The quick heating and
>   cooling stages produce a unique mix of fine martensite, bainite and
>   carbides - if you want to [2]get all metallurgical about it, [3]knock
>   yourself out.
> 
>   With such characteristics, you could theoretically take anything you're
>   making out of martensitic steel and make it stronger and vastly
>   cheaper, or take many shapes you're cold pressing out of more ductile
>   steel and use vastly thinner Flash Bainite to get the same strength. It
>   sounded almost too good to be true, but recent testing from a number of
>   different parties appears to be validating the original findings.
> 
>   In July 2011, [4]US Army tests called it "an extremely energy efficient
>   and environmentally friendly process" and concluded that "the costs to
>   produce Flash Bainite should be extremely reasonable and could enable
>   widespread use for applications requiring very high strength and
>   adequate elongation, ductility, and toughness. Current opportunities
>   for flash bainite include armor and vehicle applications requiring
>   ultra-high strength steels for high specific strength, weight
>   reduction, and high cycle fatigue enhancement."
> 
>   In 2013, a few auto manufacturers (who can't be named due to NDAs)
>   began running a series of tests to see how Flash Bainite might perform
>   in an automotive setting. Could it be cold pressed into the kinds of
>   challenging shapes required by automakers? In short, yes. Flash 1600
>   (Flash-processed AISI1020) forms as well as the leading cold-stampable
>   "advanced high strength steel" DP1180 that's only 75 percent the
>   strength. Here are some sample parts displayed in March 2015, cold
>   pressed with no noticeable thinning:
> 
>   These parts were created in the same sizes and thicknesses as the OEM
>   parts, so there's no weight saving per se, but the simple and
>   energy-efficient nature of the Flash forming process makes them 1/3 to
>   1/2 less expensive than the process currently used in manufacture.
> 
>   As this data became available, other auto manufacturers have started
>   dipping toes in the water as well. The Flash Project's Gary Cola tells
>   us of another major manufacturer that used Flash processed tubing to
>   create car door impact beams, roof rails and other parts that were
>   built into full cars, then roof crush tested to high test results.
> 
>   "This OEM found that Flash 1500 could offer a 1/3 mass reduction and
>   cost savings over the 'industry standard' DP1000 known at the time to
>   be the strongest hydroformable tube," Cola says. "During this
>   development, it was discovered that Flash 1500 (Flash-processed
>   AISI1020) could be formed into very tight bends, almost as tight as
>   simply folding a sheet of paper."
> 
>   In Flash 1500 energy absorbing crush in this story's lead image, the
>   bends are twice the strength of the DP780 cans in cars today.
> 
>   Another major manufacturer "that makes 10 million vehicles per year,"
>   according to Cola, tested Flash-processed steel on a structural/safety
>   component of a car that is 3 mm thick and 3 lb (1.4 kg) in weight in
>   its current form. Using the flash treatment, a part was created that
>   weighs 2 lb (0.9 kg) at 2 mm thick, and passes all the same tests - and
>   the OEM estimated it could be made at a cost savings.
> 
>   There are [5]only three OEMs that can claim that kind of manufacturing
>   capacity in the world. Only one of them is headquartered in Detroit
>   where the Flash Bainite team is based, and it conveniently happens to
>   be locked in [6]a war of words with a competitor that has chosen to go
>   to aluminum truck bodies instead of steel. Cola notes, "while aluminum
>   is good for hoods, decklids and door skins, Flash offers higher
>   strength per pound for structural safety components."
> 
>   In short, Flash Bainite is starting to look suspiciously like the real
>   deal, pointing the way towards significantly lighter cars that are less
>   expensive and more environmentally friendly to produce, and every bit
>   as safe in a crash - and of course, that's just in the automotive
>   world.
> 
>   Another factor in Flash's favour is an extremely low capital cost of
>   entry for companies looking to get involved in the manufacturing
>   process.
> 
>   "The entry point for Flash equipment is about US$300K and a one car
>   garage, while large format equipment would only cost $5M to generate
>   about $75M in annual sales," Cola tells us. "Imagine if 100s of
>   fabrication shops around the country could make higher performing steel
>   than the Big Steel Industry can in their $400M seven-story tall
>   furnaces."
> 
>   Having said that, there's currently no large scale manufacture up and
>   running. Cola and the Flash Project team are working toward developing
>   their own commercial manufacturing operation, but hoping to license the
>   Flash technology to other entrepreneurs to get it out into the market.
>   If the business side is managed well, this looks like a genuinely
>   disruptive shift in manufacturing. We'll keep an eye on it!
> 
>   Larry (can you weld it?) - Cleveland
> 
> References
> 
>   1. http://www.gizmag.com/stronger-steel-in-a-flash/18882/
>   2. http://amp.digitaledition.asminternational.org/i/211830-nov-dec-2013/50
>   3. http://www.asminternational.org/documents/10192/17082024/Pages+from+HTPro_December_2013_amp17111.pdf/61afa899-7863-4f83-9d5e-a7caa5e22eba
>   4. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:De5vc6d6YPYJ:www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf%3FAD%3DADA588144+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
>   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry
>   6. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/08/16/how-general-motors-will-compete-with-fords-aluminu.aspx
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