In laser beam welding, sheets are butt-welded together. Different types of welding lines are available to produce a wide variety of blanks.

The laser beam weld displays the following properties:

• Small weld size, i.e. weld widths of approximately 1 mm
• Low weld convexity
• Forming properties practically unaffected by the weld
• Maintenance of cathodic protection effect during welding
• Low thermal load on the base materials during welding

Tailored blanks can be produced with linear or non-linear welds.The use of non-linear welds makes it possible to meet varying and in part contradicting demands on vehicle components.

Dimensions.
Sheet thicknesses: 0.60–3.00 mm
Weld lengths: maximal 2,800 mm
Steel grades: as per ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe product range

Increasing demands on passenger protection call for new solutions from the auto industry incorporating lightweight steel construction. The technology of hot stamping for body parts is being used increasingly in auto manufacture for this reason.

In this process, a sheet of MBW^® 1500 steel is heated in a furnace to approx. 950°C and then cooled in a stamping die at a rate of 30 K/s. As a rule, the part attains strengths of 1,500 MPa. These strength levels cannot be achieved with conventional deep drawing with the steels available today.

ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks has carried out various investigations into this subject. Initial vehicles featuring this technology went into production in 2007. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe supplies MBW^® 1500 with AlSi coating and uncoated.

Advantages

• Combining of different sheet thicknesses and steel grades, as before. Customers benefit from the proven advantages of tailored blanks.
• Possibility of welding manganese-boron steel to milder steel grades to produce, for example, B-pillars with very high strength levels and sufficient residual elongation at crash-relevant points.

ThyssenKrupp Tailored Tubes are hollow profiles which are made of different steel grades and can have different wall thicknesses, strengths and coatings. In the NSB^® NewSteelBody, ThyssenKrupp Tailored Tubes were processed into components by means of hydroforming.
In the meantime engineers at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe have succeeded in developing a new process for making near-net-shape parts even more economically.
This innovative production technology can be used to produce near-net shape profiles with varying cross sections and secondary design elements.

The following geometry options are currently available:

• Cylindrical tubes with thickness changes transverse to longitudinal axis
• Conical tubes
• Closed profiles with secondary elements
• Variable geometries

To make tailored strips, two/three strips of different steel grades and/or thicknesses/coatings are joined together lengthwise by means of laser beam welding. The material is then wound into a coil to be used as a starting product for a customer process.
The innovative aspect is the continuous welding of coils.

Various applications in the auto and profiling sectors

• Profiles for switchgear cabinets, furniture etc.
• Seat rails and backrests in the auto sector
• Exhaust systems
• Rockers/sills

Advantages in customer process

• Lightweight construction (material thicknesses can be selected to suit application)
• Reduction in number of process steps (elimination of reinforcements)
• Improved corrosion properties (use of different coating or material concepts at different points of the component)

For local reinforcement of specific zones, ThyssenKrupp Patchwork Blanks® offer the best solution. Reinforcements are welded onto a carrier blank by spot welding or remote laser welding. Patchwork blanks can be formed in one operation and offer different wall thicknesses to suit local load requirements.

Features of spot welding

• Sequential spot welding
• Finish welded
• Limited control of forming behavior

Feature of remote laser welding

• Fast sequential welding
• Various weld shapes and directions possible
• Free control of forming behavior and part properties

Tailored Orbitals are innovative starting materials based on the tailored product principle. Different diameters, thicknesses or materials can be combined in a single Tailored Orbital tube.
This creates a new category of starting material for tubes made of carbon or stainless steel.
A wide range of variants guarantees application options in various fields, both in the automotive industry and the general capital goods sector.

Possible applications:

• Chassis: dampers, suspension, …
• Seat: stiffening tubes, struts, …
• Cockpit: support tubes
• Exhaust systems: pipes, reinforcements, …
• General: lightly stepped tubes/pipes

Advantages
The advantages of the product lie in reduced weight and costs. The use of different materials in a single tube as a starting material for products enables new design approaches.

The use of several short tube segments in one larger Tailored Tube offers logistical advantages.