Nippon Steel Provides High Tensile Steels for Honda’s N BOX

Nippon Steel announced on Friday the firm got order of high tensile flat steel products for Honda Motor’s N BOX. Nippon Steel provides cold rolled high tensile steel with 590 mega pascal of strength for the side panel, which is the world first application for the parts. Nippon Steel also provides hot rolled high tensile flat steel with 780 MPa for suspension arm and 1,500 MPa high tensile hot stamping steel for center pillar. The hot stamping steel application is the first case for Honda’s domestic production.

Strength of flat steel for side panel was maximum 440 MPa due to the ductility and the beauty of the appearance. Nippon Steel succeeded to develop 590 MPa cold rolled flat steel with same level of workability as 440 MPa steel through the trip type multi phase steel making technology. The steel contributes to around 1% lower weight for the body structure.

Suspension arm material is mainly 440 MPa steel due to complicated processing. Nippon Steel developed high performance burring steel with 780 MPa strength. The new steel allows around 30% lower weight for the part.

Hot stamping is technology to increase the strength to more than 1,500 MPa by cooling during stamping process. Nippon Steel provides the specialized steel with aluminium plating for processing line at Honda group’s Honda Engineering.

Nippon Steel tries to contribute to lighter weight challenge by automakers by developing high tensile steel solutions to meet technological hurdle for each part.