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, price is a problem, as are joining and quality assurance. 4 Reducing ponent weight A focused strategy to reduce ponent weight requires a lightweight approach to design (force distribution, stresses), material (material selection), specifications (modified, realistic specifications) Key factors in lightweight design include [1]: force flows, material properties, ambient conditions 174。 safety requirements, reliability of joints, manufacture ability. Practical experience has shown that car makers39。 specifications based on steel need to be revised for lightweighting. Requirements valid for a steel steering shaft, for example, can result in severe oversizing of an aluminum shaft. Reducing ponent weight requires material patible designs bined with material patible specifications. 5 Lightweight ponents As part of its development program Krupp Presta is replacing conventional steel steering ponents such as steering rods , shafts or forks with corresponding aluminum ponents produced by new processes. Weight savings of 2030% are achievable depending on the basic conditions stipulated by the customer. Aluminum and magnesium die castings are already being used in steering columns , and further opportunities for weight reduction are being investigated. The lightweight steering column (Fig. 1) produced by Krupp Presta for the Audi A6 is a good example. By using magnesium die castings it has been possible to limit the weight of the steering column to just 5kg, a reduction of 1520% over conventional (steel) designs. 6 Steering column design Experience has shown that it is possible to design steering columns for cars more or less on the basis of their natural frequency alone. Additional engineering work may be required to design critical parts which must not break in the case of a crash or misuse (. theft). The main task when engineering a steering column is thus to achieve the highest possible natural frequencies while minimizing weight. Lowstiffness ponents are being analyzed and refined in an effort to achieve uniform