Abstract
With regard to the challenges in the automotive production sector, caused by political regulations of CO2 emissions, lightweight concepts are focussed by industrial development. Fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) represent an alternative material compared to monolithic steel. On the one hand FRP materials offer advantages like less density with high specific strength, on the other hand new production concepts and processes are needed. A possible approach is the combination of different forming processes for the production of new hybrid components. Polymer based and conventional sheet metal material characteristics differ strongly. Therefore an extensive material characterisation is needed as well as appropriate mathematical methods concerning the material modelling. This publication deals with the material characterisation of glass mat reinforced thermoplastic composite (GMT) and the finite element based design of a manufacturing process of hybrid components with metallic inlays.