Heat treatment plants for structural components in the automotive industry

Due to the increasing complexity and daily-extended range of structural components for the automotive industry, their heat treatment is subject to continuous change. The application of new technologies for chassis and drives enhances the new development of components. They are nowadays preferably made of aluminium because of the quite favourable processing capabilities of this material and the very low weight of even complex aluminium parts. With regard to environmental protection aluminium is an important factor due to its recycling capability without quality loss. Moreover, the recycling of aluminium requires less than 5 % of the energy needed for energy generation from alumina. Furthermore, the moderate heat treatment temperatures entail lower energy consumption in comparison with other equivalent materials.