Reaching climate targets in the upcoming years is an increasingly important consideration in industry: in many companies, sustainable product development is expected to help reach these goals. Accordingly, decision makers across the board are asking the question: which material will be best suited for product development and manufacture in the long run? Be it in mechanical engineering, construction, or the food industry – the search for sustainable materials and innovation is in full swing.
More than likely, this will include the comparison of aluminum and steel. The advantages and disadvantages of the two materials are no longer viewed as superficially as they were in the past. A major telecommunications provider, for example, has replaced its heavy aluminum rails with roll-formed steel profiles both to get closer to its climate targets, and to create a better component to meet their demands.
Aluminum or steel – which is the best choice for your component? Read on to learn more about the future potential of these two materials.
Hardly any industry can do without aluminum these days. The material, which has been rapidly industrialized since the 19th century, was used early on for the construction of light metal ships and has rapidly become a popular material in the automotive, aerospace, electrical, furniture, food and packaging industries.
This is due to the variety of advantages of components made of aluminum, exemplified here by aluminum profiles:
Because of its lightness and cost efficiency in the production of smaller volumes, profiles made of aluminum are popular for window frames, rail cars, car bodies and aircraft. Thanks to diverse and technically sophisticated processes aluminum parts can also be welded and brazed.
Steel is a very resistant material that was discovered more than 5,000 years ago. Statistics show that steel has been the most important raw material in terms of volume for many decades and is mainly used in the automotive industry, construction, mechanical engineering, metal processing and other sectors.
The most important advantages of steel include the following:
Generalized statements about cost efficiency can be difficult to make when comparing aluminum and steel. However, steel more often than not proves to be more cost effective in larger quantities.
Overall, the production of roll-formed components made of steel and extruded components made of aluminum is similarly economical. Depending on the design and quantity, the cost-benefit barometer tips in favor of one material or the other. The differences between the two processes become interesting in the light of the following aspects:
One pioneer in the automotive industry has already demonstrated that the switch from aluminum to steel can be both successful and worthwhile: Since the mid-2020s, we’ve been supplying large quantities of roll-formed tunnel connectors made of steel to the BMW Group, replacing a component previously made of aluminum. After joint testing, this has proved to be lighter, and due to large order volumes, less expensive.
Here are 3 tips to keep in mind when considering a change from aluminum to steel:
Is it, for example, advantageous to integrate holes in your component? If so, then it’s worthwhile to look into the advantages of roll forming, since the perforation takes place in the same manufacturing process. This is different with aluminum extrusion, where holes can only be punched afterwards, requiring an additional step in the production process.
Some people say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But we say there’s always room to improve and get closer to perfection! Is it advantageous if your component is more space-saving, more solid, more elastic or manufactured with reduced CO2 emissions? Then dare to ask the question if steel, aluminum or even a completely different material is the better choice than what you are currently working with.
Like the automotive industry, other branches look back on many years and decades of proven stamping techniques and numerous integrated aluminum parts, and rightly so. To open up to a new technology such as roll profiling you need a profitable basis of knowledge, experience, and lessons learned from past mistakes. In joint developments with experienced specialists, the suitable materials, ideal shapes and best machines can be determined, and the feasibility of the newly designed component can be checked.
Hopefully it’s evident after reading this post that deciding whether aluminum or steel is right for your component requires some careful consideration on multiple fronts. Roll profiling with steel goes hand in hand with a new level of flexibility and can enable you to take advantage of some fabulous new functions. In view of the ambitious climate targets many European and global companies are setting, steel is rightly moving into the spotlight thanks to its potential for reduced CO2 emissions. At the same time, aluminum still has its place: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to the ideal material for every component.
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