Lasers in Automotive – Innovations for Lightweighting and Fuel Economy

Major global automotive trends are leading to changes in materials

? Mega trend: Lightweighting

? Continuous improvements in emissions and performance, with increased safety standards and political pressure leading the way

? Various materials and new alloys will be employed

? Next generation steels and aluminum alloys, resins and plastics, magnesium, carbon fiber, etc.

? OEM’s are trending towards a mixed material solution

? More material mixes will be used in the coming decade as automakers move to meet increasing fuel economy, emissions and safety regulations

? Joining of these new materials is the key to future assemblies

? Processes and businesses will change, and products will be combined into subassemblies and modules

? There will be significant manufacturing challenges/differences compared to today

? The automotive industry must develop the technical expertise to successfully manufacture products joining various materials

? Both of the aluminum and steel industries next generation materials will move towards the upper right quadrant increasing strength and elongation

? Casting alloys are following this trend with addition of increased temperature and fatigue life

? By 2020, the next generation materials will start to appear on vehicles with wide acceptance anticipated for 2025

? Companies that understand the methods to achieve the targeted properties will have a strategic advantage:

? Effect of cutting, blanking and piercing on edge properties

? Joining

? Forming and lubrication requirements

? Casting and grain structure

? Corrosion effects

? Key technical development is required to be ready to navigate through this period

? Increasing safety, emissions and fuel economy regulations are driving the lightweighting megatrend

? New materials required for lightweighting will be more expensive

? New products must be designed as effective as they need to be

? New processes are required to manufacture products as efficiently as they can be

? New technology applications are required to produce affordable vehicles

 Its unique properties make the laser an enabling tool for state of the art manufacturing

? No mechanical forces

? No inertia

? High precision

? Low thermal influence

? Fast control

? Easy automation

? Adaptable to different processes

? Adaptable to different materials

? The precision of remote laser welding enables new design opportunities:

? Reduction of weight

? Reduced flanges or flangeless designs

? Integrated functions

? Tailored parts possible, using different materials and thicknesses

? Laser Processing of Advanced Materials

? Laser Cutting and Trimming

? Laser Blanking

? Annealing and Heat Treating

? Laser Joining

? Ultra Short Pulse Laser

? Laser Ablation

? Marking

? Drilling

? Additive Manufacturing

? Cutting

? CFRP, Air Bag Fabrics

? Castings and Extrusions

? Laser Coil Blanking

? Softening of sectional areas for bending operations

? Improved crash performance of flange area

? Softening of belt at upper part of B-pillar

? Hardness adjustable to requirements

? Remote Laser Welding

Trifocal laser brazing for hot dipped zinc coating.

? Very good gap bridge ability

? Very good appearance (Class A body)

? Higher process speed

? Low heat input

? Low pore and spatter rate

? Smooth surface

? Short Pulse Lasers

Short laser pulses of extremely high power produce an energy density so high that the material undergoes a rapid transformation from a solid to a combination of vaporizing boiling liquid or gas that expels material, usually in the form of a vapor plume

? Laser Cleaning

? Fastest growing new application

? High processing speeds

? Very successful in weld preparation

? Effective in cleaning:? Oils (machining/fingerprints)

? Soaps/cleaning agent residue

? Rust inhibitors

? Oxidation

? Phosphate layers

Surface structuring for thermal joining of plastics to metallic parts without any adhesives!

? Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a process in which a three-dimensional object is created out of a digital model. The additive process builds up parts layer by layer.

? Several methods are available for this technology

? Laser Metal Deposition (also know as direct metal deposition)

? Laser Metal Fusion – LMF (commonly known as powderbed or 3D printing)

? Tooling produced with AM

– Stamping dies

– Conformal cooling tools for castings

– Investment/sand casting masters

? Low volume modification of components

? Repair of tools, molds and components

? Advances in laser technology

? Lower cost/kW of laser systems

? Higher beam quality

? Short pulse width (nanosecond)

? New process monitoring and controls

I would like to thank the following companies for supplying information, photos and videos used in this presentation. I would also like to thank them for providing the application labs supporting the development of our future products.

? Andritz Soutec

? IPG

? Jenoptik

? Laserline

? Trumpf