Automotive Design and Production

JUN 2013

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AD&P; > June 2013 > NOTABLE Then there is the issue of engineering. More and more B-pillars are being made with ultrahigh-strength hotstamped steel. Ryba points out that cutting that material will dull conventional mechanical tools in short order. Not a problem for the laser. Consider spot welds. As their name indicates, they are spots. But with a laser, Ryba says, "Shapes are not defned by the mechanical tool putting the weld down." So by using a laser to weld, engineers can determine where there might be an area that has particular forces working on it, so a shape other than a spot might be best to weld it. Lines, circles, whatever can be readily programmed and executed with the laser. Multiple shapes can be performed in short order. Really short order in the case where laser scanners are used. According to Ryba, in one case, it required 45 seconds to laser weld a part with a system using fxed optics. This was brought down to 7 seconds with a laser scanner. He admits that that was a unique situation, but that the amount of cycle time can generally be reduced by as much as half. It is not, he explains, that the welding itself is being performed any faster, but that p Note the various types of weld shapes on this door panel. The shapes are based on engineering requirements, not on the shape of the tool used for welding. That's because the welds are made with a laser. the time it takes to move the fxed optics—such as with a robot—from point A to B, B to C . . . is what makes the cycle time longer than is the case when the optics themselves are moving, as the light is being manipulated by mirrors.—GSV More Obvious A8 Aluminum In the May issue of the magazine the exploded image of the Audi A8 space frame was obscured with too much ink on the page. Here it is in a more visible format. In case you're wondering: The aluminum body weighs 509.25 lb., which Audi engineers estimate is 40% less than a comparable steel body. There are 13 diferent aluminum grades used in the construction, and there are sheets, extrusions, as well as an array of castings (25 in all). Although the article that contained the notclear image was about steel (no, there wasn't a ferrous conspiracy 12 involved), it is worth noting that there is an important steel component used in the A8 structure: hot stamped B-pillars. Because of the diference in properties of the steel and the aluminum to which it is attached, joining is performed through the use of adhesives and mechanical fasteners rather than through welding (coefcient of expansion, for example, could be problematic).

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