Level, low-stress metal sheets for battery housing covers Contract leveling for the future of e-mobility

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voestalpine Automotive Components Dettingen GmbH & Co. KG is a leading automotive supplier based in Dettingen an der Erms, Germany. Automotive Components is a specialized business unit of the Metal Forming Division at voestalpine AG. 

Working as a global partner, the company aims to provide the automotive industry with the best possible support as it pursues new solutions in lightweight automotive construction. voestalpine offers an impressive range of services in terms of materials, production technology, and cost efficiency—from blanks through to ready-to-install components. With a team of around 5,000 employees at 14 production sites worldwide, the voestalpine Automotive Components Cold Stamping & Assemblies Group is a strong partner for innovative lightweight solutions designed with the future of mobility in mind.

The company is tackling a number of special challenges in production, such as complying with tolerance requirements and standards in the automotive industry as well as implementing the zero-defect strategy, which is crucial to its ranking as an A, B, or C supplier.voestalpine's machinery includes presses with a capacity of 100 to 3,000 metric tons, which are used for the production of sheet metal parts. The company's customer base is made up of big-name car and truck manufacturers around the world. Processes in production include punching and forming coils and laser cutting processes for blanks. Ninety-five percent of production takes place on the coil line, which is followed by 3D forming. But in order to achieve its zero-defect strategy, voestalpine has certain parts such as battery housing covers leveled by the professionals at KOHLER Maschinenbau GmbH.

Leveling the playing field for sustainable solutions

Working with KOHLER has proven an efficient way to eliminate leveling issues—even for uneven material measuring as much as 13 mm (approx. 0,51 in). voestalpine's aim is to meet the highest quality requirements and optimize downstream work processes such as lasering, drilling, and various reworking jobs on the surface and outer contour, so the S700 steel sheets with a thickness of 6 mm (approx. 0,24 in), a width of 950 mm (approx. 37,4 in), and a length of up to 2,560 mm (approx. 0,1 in) are leveled at KOHLER's contract leveling center. S700 is a high-strength, hot-rolled steel product that was specially developed for cold forming processes and has a minimum yield strength of 700 MPa. 

The requirements: levelness tolerance of up to 0.5 mm/m

voestalpine requires a leveling precision of 0.5 mm per 1 m (approx. 0,02 in per 3,28 ft), which means that the S700 steel parts resting on a perfectly ground stone slab should only protrude 0.5 mm (approx. 0,019 in) from this slab. “Without KOHLER, we couldn't achieve the flatness tolerance our customers need. We haven't had any more levelness issues since KOHLER started leveling the steel plates for our battery case covers. We're really happy with the results and have 250 metric tons of steel leveled every month. Saving time isn't our top focus—our main concern is getting our sheet metal level enough to achieve the requirements of our zero-defect strategy,” stresses Hans-Martin Reinhardt, who heads up the pilot series prototyping center at voestalpine Automotive Components Dettingen GmbH & Co. KG.  

Hassle-free leveling without an in-house part leveling machine

In general, all metals with a distinct yield point and an ultimate elongation of at least five percent can be optimally leveled. If these values haven't been determined ahead of time, KOHLER Maschinenbau GmbH offers individual leveling trials at its leveling center in Lahr, which houses all the right equipment. The center of expertise has a variety of Peak Performer part leveling machines on hand to level sheet metal with widths of up to 2,500 mm (approx. 0,1 in) and thicknesses of between 0.2 and 54 mm (approx. 0,008 and 2,1 in) and more. If, as with voestalpine, investment in in-house leveling technology is out of the question, KOHLER offers high-quality contract manufacturing with a broad range of part leveling machines, innovative features, and tailored service ranges. Customers can count on optimum and, most importantly, consistent leveling results, leaving them free to focus on their core areas of expertise—even when working with perforated sheets, thick sheets, or parts with complex geometries.