Panel Manufacturing Process

Steel: Our panels are pressed from cold rolled steel made to German Automotive Industry Standard VDA 239-100. Steel meeting VDA 239-100 is specially designed for high formability and excellent surface quality and so is ideal  for use in the automotive industry.

Stamping: The sheet steel is cut to length and then placed between a matched set of dies (a punch and a die) within a power press to create the required panel shape.

Pressing: The panels are put in a press that applies thousands of tonnes of pressure, forcing the punch into the die and stamping the metal into the desired, often complex, shape of the car panel. 

Assembly: After pressing the panels are trimmed and all fixing holes and penetrations are cut with robotic plasma cutters. Any 2 sided panels are married together and welded along with other items such as captive nuts, studs and intrusion bars in doors.

Coating: Once panels are fully assembled and welded they are washed, pre-treated and then fully submerged in a prime coat bath process called Electrophoretic Painting, Electrocoating or E Coat and then baked in an oven.

Electrocoats readily conform to complex configurations and yet maintain engineered tolerances on parts ensuring intended operating functions. Some examples of there performance include internal surfaces, deep recesses, weldments, fasteners, small parts, large parts, and uniform coating (with no sags or runs).

The fundamental physical principle of this technology is that materials with opposite electrical charges attract one another.

More Info at www.esb-group.comall

Video Examples: Winnebago's E-Coat Process

Winnebago E Coat What is E Coat

Caledoniacoachworks.co.uk E Coating classic car restorations