Reducing weight through laser-assisted material process in automobile construction was the key presentation delivered by Fraunhofer ILT.

Lightweight construction concepts have become an indispensable part of today's production technology. The automobile industry, for example, uses press-hardened and ultra-high strength steels with a tensile strength of up to 2,000 MPa in a car's body in order to reduce weight.

Compared to steels with lower strength, these high-performance steels allow smaller sheet thicknesses leading to lighter components, which in addition exhibit equally good or even improved crash behaviour.

To process these materials, laser material processing is the method of choice. With project partners from science and industry, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT have advanced the development in separation and joining as well as heat treatment technologies. From laser processing of ultra-high strength steels to laser combi-heads for the processing of car body components and the local softening of cold-rolled steels, the Institute, its respective partners and the local government, will continue to contribute to the development of the metalworking industry.

AP Metalworking Equipment News, at EuroBLECH
Oct 27, 2016