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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).

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.

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.