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