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Concept Development of Truck Components Suitable for the Formblowing and Hardening Process of Boron Steel

Svensson, Andreas and Sävenstrand, Filip (2008) MMK820
Innovation
Abstract
This report is a result of a Master Thesis made at Volvo 3P and the Department of
Advance Engineering and Concepts. The thesis is a part of the education in Mechanical
Engineering at the Department Design Sciences, for the Division of Machine Design at
Lund University.
Volvo 3P is involved in a project regarding a new patented manufacturing method that is
under development. The manufacturing method is developed by Accra Teknik AB, and
is called Formblowing. The method is comparable with Hydroforming but instead of a
water pressure, only air pressure is needed in the shaping process. The initial piece is a
roll formed profile of boron steel which gets heated before it’s placed into a tool, and is
there shaped into the desired... (More)
This report is a result of a Master Thesis made at Volvo 3P and the Department of
Advance Engineering and Concepts. The thesis is a part of the education in Mechanical
Engineering at the Department Design Sciences, for the Division of Machine Design at
Lund University.
Volvo 3P is involved in a project regarding a new patented manufacturing method that is
under development. The manufacturing method is developed by Accra Teknik AB, and
is called Formblowing. The method is comparable with Hydroforming but instead of a
water pressure, only air pressure is needed in the shaping process. The initial piece is a
roll formed profile of boron steel which gets heated before it’s placed into a tool, and is
there shaped into the desired design with relatively low pressure. After the shaping
operation, a hardening process is performed and high strength boron steel is created. For
Volvo a method like this could enable reduction of weight, increased durability, better
energy absorption at crash zones and benefits regarding vehicle packing.
The thesis provides an overview of this manufacturing method, containing process and
material knowledge. With this knowledge a study was performed on what components
on the truck that could be interesting to manufacture by this new method. The method
has obvious advantages, but also disadvantages which are pointed out in this report.
To get an idea of what type of application this manufacturing method could be applied
to, 17 different components on the truck is briefly discussed. Nine of these components
are presented with a more detailed analysis, and some are also presented with a proposal
adapted to the formblowing method. Two of the most suitable concepts were then
selected for further development to design a proper concept solution. The two chosen
components were the Rear Underrun Protection (RUP) and the Muffler Anchorage.
The design development is carried out with help of comments from Accra and basic
computational analysis. The two components have two different functions, and
represents therefore different benefits of the formblowing method. A final concept
proposal was created for each chosen components and the final result shows that one of
the concepts is interesting for the future, but needs to be further developed and analysed.
The manufacturing method needs to be fully developed before any real conclusions can
be made. It shows great potential at this stage, and can definitely be a powerful
manufacturing method in the future. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Svensson, Andreas and Sävenstrand, Filip
supervisor
organization
course
MMK820
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Manufacturing method, Formblowing, Hardening, Boron Steel, Product development, Vehicle
language
English
id
1497199
date added to LUP
2009-11-09 10:20:38
date last changed
2010-02-01 14:40:04
@misc{1497199,
  abstract     = {{This report is a result of a Master Thesis made at Volvo 3P and the Department of
Advance Engineering and Concepts. The thesis is a part of the education in Mechanical
Engineering at the Department Design Sciences, for the Division of Machine Design at
Lund University.
Volvo 3P is involved in a project regarding a new patented manufacturing method that is
under development. The manufacturing method is developed by Accra Teknik AB, and
is called Formblowing. The method is comparable with Hydroforming but instead of a
water pressure, only air pressure is needed in the shaping process. The initial piece is a
roll formed profile of boron steel which gets heated before it’s placed into a tool, and is
there shaped into the desired design with relatively low pressure. After the shaping
operation, a hardening process is performed and high strength boron steel is created. For
Volvo a method like this could enable reduction of weight, increased durability, better
energy absorption at crash zones and benefits regarding vehicle packing.
The thesis provides an overview of this manufacturing method, containing process and
material knowledge. With this knowledge a study was performed on what components
on the truck that could be interesting to manufacture by this new method. The method
has obvious advantages, but also disadvantages which are pointed out in this report.
To get an idea of what type of application this manufacturing method could be applied
to, 17 different components on the truck is briefly discussed. Nine of these components
are presented with a more detailed analysis, and some are also presented with a proposal
adapted to the formblowing method. Two of the most suitable concepts were then
selected for further development to design a proper concept solution. The two chosen
components were the Rear Underrun Protection (RUP) and the Muffler Anchorage.
The design development is carried out with help of comments from Accra and basic
computational analysis. The two components have two different functions, and
represents therefore different benefits of the formblowing method. A final concept
proposal was created for each chosen components and the final result shows that one of
the concepts is interesting for the future, but needs to be further developed and analysed.
The manufacturing method needs to be fully developed before any real conclusions can
be made. It shows great potential at this stage, and can definitely be a powerful
manufacturing method in the future.}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Andreas and Sävenstrand, Filip}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Concept Development of Truck Components Suitable for the Formblowing and Hardening Process of Boron Steel}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}