This allows the design engineer to situate the steel within the part precisely where its attributes are needed most. Tailor-welded blanks improve an auto's crash performance and remove mass that doesn't contribute to performance. Ulsab uses tubular hydroforming for its right and left rail-side roof and sheet hydroforming for the roof panel. In hydroforming, steel is enclosed in a die filled with water. The pressure of the water and the squeezing of the press against the die combine to form the shape.
Passenger cars dominate Asian demand.
Only Toyota in Japan has used TWBs for several years. It produces them in-house. The U.S. Big Three auto manufacturers buy TWBs from independent suppliers. But in Japan, each auto company has its own group of suppliers or subsidiaries. A subsidiary of Nissan can't ship to another company.