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Design for assembly (DFA) is a prominent strategy for manufacturing cost reduction in automotive industries. DFA in automotive component design is a complicated process since several competing targets have to be considered simultaneously in designing various functions and features. It requires specialized design knowledge as well as extensive quantitative analysis, comparison and evaluation. Analytical Hierarchic Process (AHP) is one of the tools that can assist such design and evaluation processes. It has been successfully applied in various processes when multiple competing goals and characteristics are involved. In this paper, we propose the application of AHP for DFA in automotive component design and present a case study involving car front end component design.

With the increasing demand for safety, energy saving and emission reduction, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) have become very attractive materials for automobile makers. Welding of AHSS remains one of the technical challenges in the successful application of AHSS in automobile structures, especially when durability of the welded structures is required. In this study, 2.0 mm uncoated DP780 was investigated. GMAW welding parameters for lap joints of this steel were developed in order to obtain different weld geometries defined by weld toe angle, weld leg sizes, and weld penetration. Metallurgical properties of the joints were evaluated using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Static and fatigue tests were conducted on the welded joints. Effect of weld geometry and HAZ softening on fatigue performance including fatigue life, crack initiation site and propagation path of the joints will be analyzed.

With the increasing demand for safety, energy saving and emission reduction, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) have become very attractive materials for automobile makers. The usage of AHSS materials is projected to grow significantly in the next 5-10 years with new safety and fuel economy regulations. These new materials have significant manufacturing challenges, particularly for welding and stamping. Welding of AHSS remains one of the technical challenges in the successful application of AHSS in automobile structures, especially when durability of the welded structures is required. In this study, 2.0 mm uncoated DP600 and 2.0 mm uncoated boron (heat treated) steel lap joint configuration was investigated. Metallurgical properties of the DP600 to boron steel dissimilar steel lap joints were evaluated using optical microscopy. Static and fatigue tests were conducted on these joints.

Fuel economy and federal safety regulations are driving automotive companies to use Dual Phase and other Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) in vehicle body structures. Joining and assembly plays a crucial role in the selection of these steels. Specifications are available for the resistance spot welding (RSW) of lower strength sheet steels, covering many aspects of the welding process from the stabilization procedure to endurance testing. Currently, specifications in the automotive industry for RSW with AHSS are limited. It is well known that welding of a thickness ratio greater than 1:2 poses a challenge. To utilize thinner gauge AHSS panels on body-in-white, welding schedules to join the thin to thick sheet steel stack-up are needed. Most of the existing published work was conducted on uncoated sheets and welded to the same thickness.

The automotive industry is in constant pursuit of alternative materials and processes to address the ever changing needs of their customer and the environment. This paper presents findings from a study using a laser hybrid process (laser with MIG) to join aluminum-silicon coated boron steel (USIBOR). In this report the influence of heat from the laser hybrid welding process and its effect on the coated boron steel is discussed. In order to understand the affect from laser hybrid joining process, bead on plate experiments were conducted using 1.0 mm, 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm thick coupons. Further, two lap joint configurations were also investigated using the 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm thick coupons. Based on the test results, a significant reduction in tensile strength was observed at the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ).

Manufacturing industries have implemented design for manufacturing and design for assembly guidelines and techniques for many years. These lead to better designed products and lower manufacturing and assembly costs. In recent years, due to environmental and economical reasons, there is a growing interest in developing effective methods for product design considering product disassembly, component remanufacturing and material recovery. As a result of which numerous design guidelines for disassembly and algorithms for disassembly sequence generation are proposed. However, only a handful research articles presented integrated approaches to design for assembly and disassembly. In this paper, an integrated method is proposed to analyze the ease of assembly and disassembly using analytic hierarchic process (AHP) approach.

Joining methods for spaceframe architectures using extruded structural elements are getting popular. At present, the development of lightweight vehicles, in particular aluminum intensive vehicles, requires substantial development of manufacturing processes for the joining and assembling. Joining methods, such as electric arc resistance, and laser beam fusion welding together with nonfusion ultrasonic welding rise as possible alternatives for high volume joining of aluminum. In this study, metal inert gas (MIG) welding was used to join heat treatable extruded 6063 T6 aluminum alloys. The purpose of this study was to find optimum MIG welding parameters for joining 6063-T6 extruded aluminum. Also, the MIG welding equipment used in this study is OTC TP 350 DF weld power supply and DR-4000 robotic system. The welding process factors considered were power input (voltage, current, and torch speed), pulse frequency, gas flow rate, torch angle and arc intensity.

Aluminum alloys are becoming more lucrative in automotive structural applications. In recent automotive history, 5xxx and 6xxx aluminum alloys are being used in various structural applications. Various joining methods are also popular for joining 5xxx, and 6xxx series alloys. In this study, gas metal are welding (GMAW) also referred as metal inert gas (MIG) welding is used to join a non-heat-treatable alloy. The objective of this paper is to develop optimum weld process factors for double lap joint configuration for non-heat-treatable 5754 aluminum alloy. Ultimately, these optimum weld factor settings (also referred as weld schedules) will be used in the plant level for joining 5754 alloy materials. Also, the MIG welding equipment used in this study is OTC TP 350 DF weld power supply and DR-4000 robotic system. The weld factors selected for this study to understand the influence on lap shear load failure are power input (torch speed, voltage, current, wire feed), and gas flow rate.

To reach safety, emissions, and cost objectives, manufacturers of automotive body structural and chassis components shape thin gauge, high strength steel tube with a bending, pre-forming and hydroforming process. Challenging grades and bend severity require a careful optimization of the bending procedure. A joint project between Ford and ArcelorMittal Tubular Products investigated suitable bending parameters for severe bends using commercially available thin-walled DP780 and HSLA350 tubes. This paper summarizes the measurement methods found to be capable of capturing small differences in bending formability and details the influence of bender variables such as boost, pressure die, center-line bend radius and bend angle on the wrinkling, thinning and springback of these tubes. As a result of this work, recommendations were made as to effective bender set-ups for these tubes.

Aluminum materials are very attractive for lightweight applications. Aluminum usage in automotive vehicles has increased over time as manufacturers search for affordable weight reduction applications and high-performing, low-investment construction methods. Further application of aluminum is likely with the discussion of increased tailpipe emission requirements and increased fuel economy regulations. Currently, the Audi A8, Audi R8, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo and Jaguar XJ8 are aluminum intensive vehicles that are in production. In this paper, manufacturing methods in forming and joining technologies for body construction is discussed. Various forming technologies for body in white construction and body closures are discussed as well as joining technologies for body closures and body structures. Application of materials and processes in the current automotive applications as well as economic analysis for spaceframe and unibody body construction is discussed.