Unique Corus portable strain measurement system helps optimise NedCar press shop tooling for production of Mitsubishi Colt
23 Nov 2006
Following the launch earlier this year of its unique portable strain measurement system called PHAST™, Corus has announced the successful use of this new technology on-site at NedCar’s assembly plant in Born, the Netherlands. It is being used to help optimise final press shop tooling for the manufacture of the Mitsubishi Colt. Corus developed PHAST™ to help carmakers ensure reliable production quality of complex formed body panels during vehicle development and production processes.
Corus supplies steel to NedCar, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors Company, which is used to make the body-side pressings on the five-door Colt model. As part of its commitment to offer added value services to its customer, a team of Corus engineers from the company’s Research Development & Technology centre in IJmuiden, Netherlands, worked closely with NedCar manufacturing engineers in Born to help them better understand how the steel performed during press shop processes. Importantly, by using PHAST™ technology, Corus was able to suggest improvements to the tooling that reduced the number of incidences of scrapped pressings, saving NedCar both manufacturing time and costs.
The Corus PHAST™ system is unlike similar products in the market in that it is the first that combines expertise in 3D measurement technology with materials knowledge. This offers vehicle manufacturers a complete package to enable them to optimally process today’s modern automotive steels with increased confidence. Using PHAST™ involves photographing a test-prepared panel from different positions using a digital camera. The software then links all the photographic measurements automatically, calculating the strains in the pressed part to an accuracy of ± 0.5 per cent strain. The results are typically available within 1-3 hours, and are used to make often small changes to the press tool geometry that means subsequent problems in volume production are avoided and panel quality is improved.
One of the key benefits of PHAST™ over traditional methods of strain measurement is that the system is easily portable and can be used on-site with the customer. Commenting on the successful deployment of the PHAST™ system at NedCar, Koen Wulfers, Corus RD&T customer support engineer said: “PHAST™ was originally developed to provide a rapid response to production press shop problems. The work at NedCar once again demonstrates the major benefits available to carmakers by Corus providing critical on-site body shop support that helps optimise material usage and performance”.
The PHAST™ system has also been successfully used by Corus to provide on-site body shop support to Ford’s
Ends
Press release and pictures can be downloaded from websites: www.automotivepr.com and www.corusautomotive.com
Corus Automotive media enquiries:
Marco Ferrari +44 (0)207 494 8050 mferrari@automotivepr.com
Corus :
Dick Hamels +31 (0) 251 497953 dick.hamels@corusgroup.com
