MSC Smart Steel^®

Lightweight Multilayer Steel Laminate

MSC Smart Steel is a new multilayer steel laminate engineered as a direct substitute for low carbon stamped vehicle body parts.  While offering up to a 35% mass save compared with same thickness standard steel, MSC Smart Steel is produced as a coil, stamped in typical dies, spot welded with existing equipment and processed through standard electro-coat and paint systems – essentially minimal disruption to existing manufacturing systems.  This is the first ever spot weldable low-density composite laminate to be used in a body application.

MSC Smart Steel is a lower weight direct substitute for low carbon steel.   The concept involves creating a three-layer laminate whereby the outer skins are steel, and the middle layer consists of a low-density conductive polymer core, which allows MSC Smart Steel to be stamped and spot welded – an industry first!  Furthermore, the total laminate results in an overall density reduction of approximately 35% compared with same thickness monolithic steel.

The structure of MSC Smart Steel enables it to reduce mass while maintaining bending stiffness – an attribute that is critical to many areas of the vehicle.

MSC Smart Steel is a formable, weldable, lightweight and stiff substitute for steel that is compatible with existing manufacturing and painting processes that meets the OEMs cost targets to save mass.

In most instances, MSC Smart Steel can be processed without requiring modifications to typical dies, welders, or painting processes.

Designed with a high stiffness to weight ratio, MSC Smart Steel is a great candidate for stamped parts and is designed to be resistance spot welded like standard steel.

Candidates for MSC Smart Steel include stamped bumpers and vehicle body in white stampings that are typically produced from cold rolled steel. MSC Smart Steel is produced in coil form by Material Sciences Corporation (MSC).