Sika Automotive has announced it will be the headlining sponsor and presenter at the Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Asia (GALM-Asia) conference for 2018, July 31 through August 1, in Shanghai.

Light-weighting is still a key driver in the automotive market and Sika Automotive is a major player with bonding solutions for a wide range of body-in-white applications, including steel, aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and mixed-material construction. At the Asia edition of the GALM SERIES of Conferences, Sika Automotive is proud to feature its innovative solutions in a presentation, by Elyes Jendoubi, Sika’s Head of Automotive R&D Asia Pacific.

Jendoubi’s presentation “Engineering Future Vehicles: Leveraging Advanced Solutions For Maximum Benefit” is scheduled for 10:45 AM on July 31 and will cover the following key topics:

• Novel structural adhesives for the joining of mixed materials in BIW incorporating compensation for Delta / Alpha challenges
• Ultra-high modulus products for use in the “Cold Body Shop Concept” and component assembly processes
• Targeted solutions using engineered reinforcement concepts for component protection, occupant safety and NVH improvements

The continuing challenges of vehicle body light-weighting are being addressed by the use of high strength steel, aluminum, magnesium and other non-traditional materials such as CFRP. The use of such materials requires new joining solutions and new design concepts to solve emerging challenges: delta-alpha effect of using different type of materials, noise vibration harshness (NVH) issues due to intensive use of ultra-high strength steel (UHSS), use of thinner and lighter substrates, adhesion and contact corrosion on new substrates. Safety regulations further challenge automakers to maintain performance, but with less mass.

As a light-weighting solution provider, Sika Automotive will present some real-life manufacturing cases using SikaPower, SikaReinforcer and Sikaflex that deliver performance with less impact on CO2 emissions.

More details on the conference are available at galm-asia.com/eng