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Tata Steel Free to Market New Ultrahigh Strength Steel
09/01/2011 - A recent patent ruling has provided Tata Steel with a breakthrough in its plans to bring to market a new press-hardened, zinc-coated boron steel sheet, called ZnX®, which is suitable for hot forming.
A recent patent ruling has provided Tata Steel with a breakthrough in its plans to bring to market a new press-hardened, zinc-coated boron steel sheet, called ZnX®, which is suitable for hot forming.
The Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office in Munich recently revoked a patent that relates to the hot forming of zinc-coated boron steel and that Tata Steel, among others, had contested.
The company notes that there is a growing trend toward the use of press-hardened steels in automotive applications. The predominant process in this area, according to Tata Steel, is “direct” hot forming, where a blank (or sheet) of steel is heated and subsequently pressed and quenched, resulting in ultra strong components.
At present only uncoated and aluminized sheet steels are suitable for direct hot forming, but Tata Steel is developing a new zinc-coated boron steel product, ZnX, which is said to offer the same ultrahigh strength benefits, with the added advantage of active corrosion protection.
Jaap Piso, Tata Steel’s Automotive Sales and Marketing Director, said: “This ruling is a milestone as it frees automotive customers to work with us on the use of ZnX. Our aim is to be able to provide them with a new product that possesses the enhanced properties they want. Trials of ZnX to date have proved extremely promising, and we believe the product represents a significant step forward in our ambition to offer next-generation materials for car body engineering.”
