Surfalex has been developed for the most demanding skin applications. It is designed to offer the best trade-off between forming, strength, roping, and hemming. Constellium describes Surfalex as a highly formable aluminium skin that is intended as the latest innovative advanced aluminium alloy for use in automotive applications.

Surfalex is based on a 6016A alloy composition. While 6xxx alloys often face the issue of "roping" (in which lines appear after a certain amount of deformation), Surfalex promises to suppress the roping phenomenon. Constellium even developed new software to quantitatively evaluate just how much roping has taken place.

This new skin, which was first showcased at the Automotive Engineering Expo (AEE) 2015 in Nürnberg, Germany, is intended for use on complex parts. The AEE, which is held every two years, brings together automotive engineers and manufacturers with suppliers into a single event that spans the entire production chain. Automotive components, production facilities, hardware and software, quality assurance, materials, and surface technology (such as Surfalex) are all brought together in a comprehensive trade exhibition.

Surfalex, for its part, is said to offer superior formability during the stamping process without compromising on design. In metalworking, stamping consists of cutting and forming metal into various shapes with the use of a stamping press and dies. Parts like hubcaps and fenders, for example, are created through this process.

Receiving the Innovation Star 2015 status gave Constellium the opportunity to be included in Expo's Innovation Alley. This area of the expo is where a limited number of select products are displayed, and is included in original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-guided tours. The significance of this is that automotive industry specialists were able to engage with Constellium's experts, gaining new insight into how Surfalex can be best employed to benefit their business and drive automotive innovation.

During the expo, Constellium employees made several presentations in the arena under the title "Aluminium Excellence for Lighter Cars." They focused particularly on the latest product trends within the automotive industry.

As Dieter Höll continued: "The automotive market is a key priority for Constellium and we are committing to relentlessly serve our customers with new advanced alloy solutions thanks to our technology center C-TEC and our partnerships with renowned labs and universities around the globe. We have a unique innovation engine".

Surfalex was not the only innovation from Constellium being showcased at the expo. Lionel Chapis, Managing Director of Automotive Structures at Constellium, and Frank Gensty, Director Engineering, Automotive Structures and Industry at Constellium, took the opportunity to talk about "High-strength Crash Management Systems." They outlined how the latest generation of aluminium crash management systems are setting new industry standards and driving development forward.