In recent years, with the continuous progress of science and technology, the advanced manufacturing technology represented by laser technology is promoting the renewal and innovation of automobile manufacturing industry, and its application in automobile processing is more and more extensive. Compared with traditional manufacturing technology, laser technology has many advantages such as non-contact processing, high precision, high flexibility, high efficiency, high automation and strong adaptability, in cutting, welding, marking and surface treatment, and other fields shine. In this paper, aiming at the rapid diversification and updating of automobile varieties, the demand of automobile plate has been changed from large-scale to customized production, and the laser high-speed blanking of automobile plate has been mainly introduced, the status and trend of laser on-line welding of body-in-white and welding of automobile parts in automobile application.

Laser high-speed cutting and blanking of automobile plate

As we all know, the future development trend of laser cutting mainly includes high precision, high speed, high power, large thickness, wide surface, three-dimensional cutting and special material cutting. At present, in the field of laser cutting, fiber laser cutting highlights a series of advantages: increasing power, increasing the thickness of processed plate, and cutting speed is also faster and faster (up to 100m/min) , which not only greatly shortens the production preparation cycle, at the same time, the production of the workshop has realized a high degree of flexibility, and the processing area has been reduced by half. Compared with the traditional machining method, the cost of laser machining is reduced by 50% .

Nowadays, the demand of automobile panel is more and more strong, and the rapid development of automobile industry demands more and more professional automobile panel blanking production lines. Among them, the key is the need to use laser technology to process automotive plate.

If the existing mechanical processing methods, a single equipment cost about 70 million, a single set of mold opening costs about 2.2 million, and mechanical opening time about 1-2 months. At the same time, the design challenges: Complex shape difficult to blanking molding.

With the continuous development of high-performance optical fiber technology, a new type of auto sheet blanking line has been developed.

On-line welding of body-in-white

The welding of Automobile body-in-white is regarded as an important link in the production process. The welding quality of Automobile body-in-white is directly related to the quality and service life of the whole vehicle. Compared with traditional welding methods, laser welding has the advantages of non-contact processing, high energy density, small deformation, narrow heat-affected zone, high welding speed, easy automatic control and no follow-up processing, laser welding of body-in-white greatly improves the manufacturing efficiency of automobile and reduces its production cost.

From the study of welding technology, the following areas need to be developed: Stability Control of Welding Process, Weld Defects Control, weld shape and microstructure control, complex structure welding process control and new laser welding technology.

Laser welding of automobile parts

In addition to the body-in-white welding and automobile plate welding outside, laser welding in the processing of automotive parts is also a great skill. There is no doubt that laser welding technology has now become one of the most advanced automotive manufacturing technology, in the Western developed industrial countries, more than 60% of the automotive parts are processed using laser welding technology, for example, laser technology can be found in the manufacture of airbags, car seat angle adjusters, seat slideway, trunk, gears and transmission, etc. . At the same time, laser welding in the power vehicle parts to achieve efficiency, safety, strength, environmental protection, flexible processing and other advantages are highlighted. Laser welding technology can greatly improve the overall performance of automotive parts, thereby further improving the quality of the whole vehicle.

For example, figure shows the laser diode Brazing of an automotive container. The laser power is 1-3 kw, the beam quality is 100-150 mm Rad, the spot size is 1-2.5 mm, 1.5 x 1.5 or 2X 6 mm 2. Nickel-based wire (CuSi3) is used for filler metal. Materials suitable for this welding process include steel plates and Galvanized Steel Plates Requiring High Weld Quality.

As one of the important parts of automobile, airbag is a device that inflates the airbag to protect the passengers before the second collision. The gas bag explosion is controlled by a gas generator, which is a key part of the gas bag. In view of this, the gasbag inner liner sealing requirements are very high, and in the inner liner processing, the need to avoid overheating, so that laser welding technology stands out. In this field, laser can provide appropriate welding technology, its core advantages include large weld penetration, up to 2-3 mm, high welding strength, small welding deformation, high welding automation and high welding accuracy; The laser welding airbag is a kind of non-contact processing, without welding auxiliary tools; in addition, the laser welding does not need welding rod or Filler, thus making no impurities and no pollution of the weld.