Formed chassis structure in a stamping die on the press line

Omnistamp · Advanced forming & manufacturing · Monterrey, MX

Lighter structures. Stronger steels. Faster launches.

The engineering and manufacturing partner for AHSS and UHSS vehicle structures.

Frames · Cradles · Skateboards · Battery trays · Body structure

Start a project Explore vehicle structures

SimulateToolFormJoinInspect

Supporting OEM programs through Tier 1 partners

6OEM brands supported

29Services & technologies

10+Years in forming

4wkTo first prototype part

01The shift

Every kilogram now matters.

Lighter vehicles mean stronger steels, thinner gauges and geometries that push the forming limit.

How vehicle structures are changing
Topic	Then	Now
Mass	Typical car or SUV: 3,000 to 4,000 lb	Many current EVs: more than 6,000 lb Industry referenceSource: IIHS
Steel	Mild steel and HSLA	AHSS and UHSS, with press-hardened steel at up to about 38% of body-in-white weight (2025) Industry referenceSource: AHSS Insights
Gauge	One thickness per part	Tailored thickness with TRB and TWB Supplier-statedSource: Mubea Industry referenceSource: AHSS Insights
Floor	Fuel tank and tunnel	Battery pack under the floor Industry referenceSource: AHSS Guidelines (U.S. Steel)
Crash model	Nominal sheet thickness	As-formed thickness and strength mapped in Industry studySource: Auto/Steel Partnership via U.S. DOE
Tryout	Find problems in the die	Solve them in simulation first Industry referenceSource: AHSS Insights

6–8%

Better fuel economy from a 10% cut in vehicle weight.

Industry referenceSource: U.S. DOE

50%

The most that high-strength steel and other lightweight materials can cut from body and chassis weight when they replace cast iron and traditional steel.

Industry referenceSource: U.S. DOE

~85kg

Of extra steel per vehicle in the battery enclosure, about 10% more sheet metal than an ICE vehicle (2019 estimate).

Industry referenceSource: AHSS Insights (U.S. Steel)

MildMild steel

HSLALow-alloy

DPDual phase

3rd GenAHSS

MSMartensitic

PHSPress-hardened

Strength

The stronger the grade, the narrower the forming window. That window is where we work.

02Where structures are going

We don’t just form the part. We understand the structure.

Electrified platforms, stronger steels and tighter packaging. Pick a structure to see what it must deliver and where we help.

Explore vehicle structures

EV skateboard · 01 / 05

Battery enclosure

Protects the cells, seals the pack and stiffens the floor.

CrashStiffnessWeightSealing

Material trend: Ultra-high-strength and press-hardened frames around the pack, martensitic bottom structures.
Forming challenge: Large flat trays with deep corners and sealing flanges. Long UHSS members that twist and spring back.
Where we help: Formability and springback simulation, prototype trays and frames, fixtures for validation builds.

EV skateboard · 02 / 05

Rockers & side sills

The side-impact load path that keeps intrusion away from the pack.

CrashStiffness

Material trend: Martensitic grades for rocker outers. Press-hardened steels for the rest of the ring.
Forming challenge: Long sections where sweep, twist and springback add up over the length.
Where we help: Springback compensation in simulation, 3D scanning against nominal, prototype sections.

EV skateboard · 03 / 05

Front cradle

Carries the suspension and front drive unit and feeds crash loads into the structure.

DurabilityNVHCrash

Material trend: Dual-phase steels in production for cradles and subframes. 3rd Gen AHSS studied for strength-driven parts.
Forming challenge: Deep sections, thinning at tight radii and weld distortion across a large assembly.
Where we help: Forming simulation, tube forming, laser welding and fixturing for prototype cradles.

EV skateboard · 04 / 05

Rear cradle

Holds the rear drive unit and suspension, where mount stiffness drives NVH.

NVHDurability

Material trend: AHSS stampings and tubes joined into one stiff assembly.
Forming challenge: Mount positions that must hold after forming and welding.
Where we help: Process sequence, joining strategy and checking fixtures that hold mounts in tolerance.

EV skateboard · 05 / 05

Crash management

Bumper beams and crush cans that absorb energy before the structure does.

CrashWeight

Material trend: Martensitic grades for bumper beams and reinforcements.
Forming challenge: Tight sweeps in very high-strength steel, where springback and splits compete.
Where we help: Forming route and springback studies, prototype beams for your test program.

Body-on-frame · 01 / 06

Frame rails

The backbone. Carries payload, towing and crash loads end to end.

StiffnessDurabilityCrashWeight

Material trend: AHSS with tailor rolled and tailor welded blanks that put thickness only where the load is.
Forming challenge: Long, deep rails with twist and springback, and kick-ups that thin at the radius.
Where we help: Rail forming simulation, TRB and TWB studies, prototype rails and frame builds.

Body-on-frame · 02 / 06

Cross members

Tie the rails together and set the torsional stiffness of the frame.

StiffnessNVH

Material trend: Formed and welded tubes and closed AHSS sections.
Forming challenge: Ovalization and wall thinning at tight bends.
Where we help: UO forming, hydroforming and Liquid Impact Forming for tubular members.

Body-on-frame · 03 / 06

Suspension cross member

Locates the front suspension and takes the highest cyclic loads in the frame.

DurabilityNVH

Material trend: Thick-gauge HSLA and AHSS stampings.
Forming challenge: High forming forces, heavy flanges and springback in thick material.
Where we help: Servo press optimization, advanced tooling steels and die protection for heavy gauge.

Body-on-frame · 04 / 06

Body & system mounts

Brackets that isolate the cab and hold every system in place.

NVHDurability

Material trend: HSLA and AHSS brackets, many per frame.
Forming challenge: Every mount must land on nominal after the frame is welded.
Where we help: Checking fixtures, 3D scanning and vision inspection.

Body-on-frame · 05 / 06

Electrified frames

On electrified frames, the pack can sit between the rails. The frame now protects the pack.

CrashStiffnessWeight

Material trend: Higher-strength rails and cross members that protect the pack without adding mass.
Forming challenge: New load paths around the pack, tighter packaging and stronger grades.
Where we help: Early feasibility on new sections, then prototypes for validation builds.

Body-on-frame · 06 / 06

Bumper & hitch

Front beam and rear hitch structure that manage impact and towing loads.

CrashDurability

Material trend: Martensitic beams and heavy-gauge hitch members.
Forming challenge: Very high-strength sweeps up front, thick welded sections at the rear.
Where we help: Forming and joining routes, prototype parts for your test program.

Vehicle frame structure held in a welding fixture — Frame structure in a welding fixture

03Formed for performance

The part you test is the part you designed.

We don’t run crash, durability or NVH tests. We engineer the formed part for your targets and give your CAE team the as-formed thickness, strain and springback results.

Every grade has a window.We design inside it.

Your target: No splits, wrinkles or excess thinning, at rate.
What forming changes: Grade, radii, draw depth, blank shape and cut-edge condition decide what forms cleanly.
What we do: Forming simulation, blank and addendum development and springback compensation before tooling is released.
Industry evidence: Elongation generally drops as strength rises, and hole expansion and bendability matter more with AHSS. Industry referenceSource: AHSS Insights

Energy goes where the steel is.

Your target: Crush where it should, hold where it must.
What forming changes: Thinning and work hardening change how a section folds. A part that sprang back meets its joints in the wrong place.
What we do: We keep formed thickness and strain inside the design assumption and share formed-part results for your crash models.
Industry evidence: Adding forming effects to a frontal crash model raised predicted B-pillar acceleration by about 20%. Industry studySource: Auto/Steel Partnership via U.S. DOE

Fatigue starts at the edge.

Your target: Millions of cycles at mounts, welds and radii.
What forming changes: Trim edge quality, thinning at radii and weld distortion decide where cracks start.
What we do: We design trim, radius and joining sequence so the critical areas leave the press the way your durability model expects.
Industry evidence: Forming pre-strain changes fatigue properties such as stress-life and strain-life. Industry studySource: SAE 2002-01-0640

Quiet comes from stiff, accurate joints.

Your target: Stiff mounts, tight joints, no squeak and rattle.
What forming changes: Springback and weld distortion open gaps and move mounts away from where the CAE placed them.
What we do: We compensate springback and fixture the joining so mounts and flanges land on nominal.
Industry evidence: Mapping stamping thickness and residual stress into vibro-acoustic models made them correlate better. Industry studySource: FISITA 2016

Frame performance is section, gauge and joint.

Your target: Torsional and bending stiffness with the least mass.
What forming changes: Deeper sections and tailored thickness raise stiffness only if the forming route can make them.
What we do: We check every section and gauge proposal for formability, so the optimized frame is also a buildable one.
Industry evidence: Mubea states tailor rolled products offer more than 20% lightweighting potential per component. Supplier-statedSource: Mubea

Stronger grade, thinner gauge, same job.

Your target: Mass out of the structure without losing performance.
What forming changes: Higher strength narrows the forming window and amplifies springback.
What we do: We run grade and gauge studies with forming feasibility built in, including TRB and TWB.
Industry evidence: A gauge optimization that included stamping effects, with crash targets held, showed a 10% weight-reduction opportunity in the affected parts. Industry studySource: Auto/Steel Partnership via U.S. DOE

The cheapest part is the one you only tool once.

Your target: Fewer parts, fewer operations, fewer tooling loops.
What forming changes: Late feasibility issues mean die rework, delayed launch and scrap.
What we do: We define the process sequence early and build prototypes without production tooling.
Industry evidence: In WorldAutoSteel’s Steel E-Motive concept, the AHSS battery pack structure is 37% lighter than the average of the benchmarked structures, at 27% less cost. Concept studySource: WorldAutoSteel via AHSS Insights

04Design for X

Five trade-offs. One geometry.

We weigh them together, before the first die is cut. That is where programs win or lose time.

Design for
Weight
Which grade, gauge and section carry the load with the least mass?
Design for
Cost
How few parts, operations and tooling loops can do the job?
Design for · DFM
Manufacturing
Can the press, the die and the joining cell repeat it every shift?
Design for
Formability
Does every radius, draw and flange stay inside the forming limit?
Design for
Performance
Does the formed part keep the thickness and strength your CAE assumed?

05Reduced iterations · Fast launch

Fewer loops. Faster launch.

Users of forming simulation report die recuts falling from 12 or more to three or four. Every loop solved early is time handed back to your program. User-reportedSource: AHSS Insights

Tryout-driven

Design
Die build
Tryout (failed): Splits
Rework
Tryout (failed): Springback
Rework
Tryout (passed)
Launch

Simulation-first route

Design + DFM
Simulate & compensate
Die build
Tryout (passed)
Launch
Time back to the program

Illustrative. Actual loops depend on the part, the material and the tooling.

Enter at any program gate

Concept

Your risk: Grade and gauge choices lock in weight and cost.
Where we enter: Grade, gauge, TRB/TWB and forming-route studies.
You receive: Lightweight options ranked by forming risk.

Frame optimization

Feasibility

Your risk: Geometry that can’t be formed in the chosen grade.
Where we enter: Forming simulation and DFM review.
You receive: A feasibility report and ranked DFM changes.

Product & process development

Design release

Your risk: Changes after release hit tooling and timing.
Where we enter: Process sequence and die concept.
You receive: A process sequence and tooling concept.

Product & process development

Prototype

Your risk: No production-relevant parts for the validation build.
Where we enter: Prototype tooling, parts and fixtures.
You receive: First prototype parts in 4 weeks, with inspection data.

Prototyping & low volume

Tooling & tryout

Your risk: Tryout loops eat the schedule.
Where we enter: Simulation-first die development, springback compensation and 3D scanning.
You receive: Tryout results against agreed criteria.

Die rescue

Launch

Your risk: Dies that won’t hold dimensions at rate.
Where we enter: Die rescue, process stabilization and servo press optimization.
You receive: A root-cause report and a documented fix.

Die rescue