tailormade functional steel
Our goal was clear from the beginning: Making steel an even more intelligent material. The result of our intensive research has a resounding name: tailormade functional steel, or tfs for short! The product is hot-dip galvanized, organic-coated steel with conductor tracks embedded in the coating layer. These features make the steel an intelligent material,
The innovation of tfs lies in the manufacturing process and the resulting layer structure: The starting point is galvanized steel strip. Several insulation layers are applied in a coil coating process. Blanks are cut out of the steel strip in desired sizes, and conductor tracks are screen-printed onto the blanks. A top coat is then applied over the conductor tracks to protect them from any ambient effects. Integration of the tracks into the coating layer saves space and enables invisible functions and innovative designs.
Conductor tracks are tailored to customer requirements and adapted to functional requirements such as heating power and component geometry. Complex designs can be implemented thanks to the dimensional stability of the material and formability of the coating layer. The maximum blank size is currently 1250 mm x 2500 mm.
For the first time, tfs technology offers the possibility of digitizing steel as a material to create the possibility of recording data directly on the steel surface and forwarding it in real time. Steel is becoming a smart product.
As a leading global steel and technology group, voestalpine is proud to stand behind tfs. With a comprehensive network of partners, tfs provides a complete solution. From the printed blank to state-of-the-art electronics and cloud integration, tfs offers an innovative product with a minimum of organizational effort.
In November 2023, tfs technology won the Upper Austrian Prize for Innovation in the category of large enterprises. This award honors outstanding technological development and innovativeness in Upper Austria. The innovative solutions and diverse applications of tfs technology were highly convincing for the members of the jury. This award underlines the role of voestalpine Stahl GmbH as a leading company in the field of technological innovation in Upper Austria.
Unnecessary cable clutter, plug connections and large amounts of electrical waste products are a thing of the past with tfs. The conductor tracks are integrated directly into the coating layer to reduce the number of required components, conserve important resources and protect the environment. Electronic components can easily be separated from the steel substrate at the end of their service life and recycled.
Please contact us at any time if you have any ideas or inquiries.