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Front suspension of the rear bracket of a certain model
In the past decade, the automotive industry has experienced remarkable growth. In 2012, approximately 68 million new vehicles were registered globally, with over 19.3 million units produced and sold in China—making it the world’s largest market for four consecutive years. As environmental and energy concerns have risen, the global automotive sector has faced stricter demands for energy efficiency and emissions reduction. To meet and exceed these standards, the four major systems of a vehicle have played a crucial role, contributing significantly to sustainability efforts.
One of these key systems is the body structure, which has become a focal point for energy-saving measures. A primary strategy involves reducing the vehicle’s weight while maintaining safety. This includes minimizing the number of parts and simplifying their design from a structural perspective. From a manufacturing standpoint, streamlining processes and accelerating production are also vital. The connection between the body and other systems often relies on nuts and bolts, traditionally welded onto the body. However, modern designs increasingly use nut column components, which are integrated into the body structure, offering improved efficiency and reliability.
The figure below shows the front suspension rear bracket reinforcement of a specific model.
**Features of Nut Column Parts**
1. **Fewer Components**: A small assembly consisting of at least two parts can be simplified into a single nut-column stamping part, reducing both the part count and complexity.
2. **Simplified Manufacturing Process**: The nut is no longer manufactured separately, eliminating the need for projection welding, which reduces labor and process steps.
3. **Improved Quality Assurance**: By integrating the nut into the stamping part, verticality and joint strength are ensured during one forming process, reducing quality risks such as cold welding.
4. **Cost Reduction**: Eliminating separate nut production, welding, and logistics costs significantly lowers overall expenses. It also minimizes labor and management costs associated with quality control.
5. **Higher Technical Challenge**: Nut columns often require load-bearing capabilities, necessitating thicker steel sheets during forming. This increases the difficulty of the stamping process, requiring multiple steps for traditional methods.
**Technical Realization of Nut Column Stamping Parts**
Traditional single-step stamping for nut columns is costly, but the application of continuous drawing processes has made it more efficient. This method allows for multiple steps within a single mold, using high-speed punching machines to produce up to 2–4 parts per minute, significantly boosting productivity and lowering costs.
German technology leads in this area, with advanced mold design enabling precise formation of complex nut columns. For example, a German company uses 2.0mm thick steel to produce nut columns with a diameter of 15mm and height of 38mm, spaced just 180mm apart. Although domestic technology lags behind, recent advancements have shown great progress.
Our company’s localization project involved replacing imported German nut column stamping parts. By combining the nut column thickening continuous drawing process with traditional methods, we successfully achieved high-difficulty stamping.
**Part Technical Requirements**
- Maximum load: 85kN
- Maximum nut height compression: 0.13mm
- Steel thickness: 1.95mm
- Substrate: CR3
- Zinc layer: HD60G 60GU
- Nut column wall thickness: 3.0mm (thickness ratio: 1.54 times)
- Annual production: 200,000–300,000 sets
**Manufacturing Process Design**
We used the nut column thickening continuous drawing process combined with conventional single-step processing. The nut column was formed through multiple steps in a progressive die, while other dimensions were handled via traditional methods. This approach ensures precision and efficiency.
Key challenges included designing a complex progressive die with 17 steps, ensuring accurate stretch ratios, and applying ultra-high alloy plating for wear resistance. After 11 steps, the final part met all specifications and passed rigorous testing, including fatigue tests.
**Full Manufacturing Process**
1. Continuous nut column production using a 600t punch press, producing 15–20 pieces/min.
2. Two-pier squeezing to reduce nut column size.
3. Punching to adjust diameter and height.
4. Huff forming to finalize shape.
5. Final punching to achieve the required dimensions.
6. Blanking, bending, cutting, marking, forming, and chamfering.
**Application in the Automotive Body System**
High-difficulty nut column stamping technology has gained widespread adoption due to its alignment with energy-saving and emission-reduction goals. Since 2007, our company has produced over 10 similar parts for various OEMs. One such part was approved in June 2013 and is now in mass production. This project is expected to save over one million yuan annually, demonstrating that innovation drives cost reduction and efficiency gains.