How to choose standard raw materials to ensure that the customized automotive metal bracket meets industry standards and regulations?

1. Understand industry standards and regulatory requirements
Ensuring that the raw materials meet industry standards is the first step in selecting materials. The automotive industry has a series of standards and regulations covering all aspects from raw material procurement, design, production to finished products. These standards and regulations ensure the safety, reliability and environmental protection of automotive parts during use. Common standards and regulations include:

ISO/TS 16949: This is the quality management system standard for the automotive industry, requiring suppliers to provide raw materials that meet quality management requirements.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards: Covers technical standards for various automotive parts and materials.

European REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances): These regulations require ensuring that the materials do not contain harmful chemical components and meet environmental protection requirements.

FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards): For the safety performance requirements of automotive parts, it specifies the material strength and reliability of parts.

Choosing raw materials that meet these standards and regulations is the basis for ensuring that the customized automotive metal bracket meets the requirements.

2. Choose materials that meet performance requirements
The materials used in custom automotive metal brackets need to have certain mechanical properties, especially strength, stiffness, fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance, in order to cope with various working environments of automobiles. Common materials include high-strength steel, aluminum alloy, stainless steel and magnesium alloy, each of which has its own unique advantages and disadvantages.

High-strength steel: Commonly used in parts that need to withstand high loads and impacts, such as brackets, suspension systems and body structures. When selecting high-strength steel, pay attention to its tensile strength, yield strength and fatigue strength to ensure that it meets the stringent requirements in automotive applications. In addition, the weldability, formability and corrosion resistance of high-strength steel also need to be considered.

Aluminum alloy: Aluminum alloy is light in weight and is suitable for weight-sensitive automotive parts such as frames and engine hoods. Aluminum alloy provides good corrosion resistance while ensuring strength. When selecting aluminum alloy, its strength, temperature resistance and oxidation resistance should be considered, especially the influence of alloy composition on material properties.

Stainless steel: Stainless steel has excellent corrosion resistance and is often used for parts exposed to extreme climate conditions. It is suitable for metal brackets that need to be exposed to water, moisture or salt spray for a long time. When choosing stainless steel, you need to consider its composition (such as different types of alloys such as 304, 316), corrosion resistance, strength and processing performance.

Magnesium alloy: Magnesium alloy is a lightweight material suitable for reducing the weight of the vehicle body. The selection of magnesium alloy needs to ensure that it has sufficient impact resistance and durability.

According to the specific application of the bracket, select the appropriate material and ensure that it meets the above performance requirements.

3. Material machinability and production process
In addition to the basic properties of the material, the machinability of the raw material needs to be considered. Different types of metal materials have different degrees of difficulty in processing. For example, aluminum alloys and stainless steel are easier to process, while some high-strength steels may require special processing techniques such as laser cutting or high-precision stamping.

Formability: The formability of the material directly affects the final shape and size of the bracket. When selecting materials, you need to consider the yield strength, ductility, and whether the material is prone to cracks during processing. In order to ensure the accuracy of the bracket, the material should have good stamping, bending and welding properties.

Weldability: Many automotive metal brackets need to be assembled by welding. Therefore, when selecting materials, it is necessary to ensure that their welding performance meets the requirements. For example, stainless steel has poor weldability and may require more complex welding techniques. The welding of high-strength steel also requires the use of special welding methods and equipment.

Surface treatment and corrosion resistance: In order to enhance the corrosion resistance of the bracket, many metal brackets need to be surface treated. The surface treatment ability of the material directly affects its durability. Common surface treatments include galvanizing, spraying, anodizing, etc., and the material itself should have good surface treatment adaptability.

4. Environmental protection and regulatory requirements
With the continuous tightening of environmental protection regulations, the environmental protection of materials has become an important factor in selection. For example, many countries require that metal materials in automotive parts must not contain more than a certain amount of hazardous substances (such as lead, cadmium, mercury, etc.). According to regulations such as RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances Directive), the materials in automotive metal brackets must meet the requirements of harmlessness.

The recyclability of materials is also an important consideration in modern automobile manufacturing. Many automakers require the use of recyclable materials to reduce the environmental burden after the car is discarded. Therefore, choosing materials with strong recyclability, such as aluminum alloy and steel, helps ensure that automotive parts meet the green and environmentally friendly design concept.

5. Selection and certification of material suppliers
It is very important to choose the right material supplier. Suppliers should provide quality certifications for relevant materials, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/TS 16949 and other quality management system certifications. In addition, material suppliers are also required to provide material certificates and test reports to prove that the supplied materials meet national and industry standards.

Ensure that suppliers can provide raw materials that meet quality control and environmental protection requirements and have the ability to produce and deliver stability. This not only ensures the quality of raw materials, but also ensures on-time delivery and avoids production delays caused by material problems.

6. Continuous tracking and quality monitoring
Even if standard raw materials are selected, quality control in the production process is still crucial. The entire process of material procurement, storage, processing and final products needs to be monitored. For high-strength or precision parts, regular material tests (such as tensile tests, hardness tests, corrosion tests) are performed to verify whether their performance meets the standards. For mass-produced stents, random inspections are also required to ensure that all stents are of consistent quality.