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TRANSCRIPT
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Title slideThe future use and adoption of Remote laser Welding for First Tier Automotive Suppliers
AILU Cambridge 20th February 2008
Charles Marine – Stadco GroupRichard Hewitt – WMG (UK)
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• The Tier 1 parts supply marketplace is very competitive, fixed term part pricing leaves little margin for fluctuations in material and operating costs
• We must identify new processes, suited to our products which will reduce our piece part costs whilst maintaining quality performance
• From the evidence we have collected to date, remote laser welding offers opportunities to the multi part mixed volume nature of our business, once some challenges have been addressed
• Stadco and WMG are leading a DTI funded project, partnered by a major OEM, global steel supplier and laser component and system suppliers to review the technology and the feasibility of remote fibre laser welding and applications in the BIW part supply industry
Introduction
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• Introduction to Stadco
• Remote Laser Welding in Body in White
• Remote Laser Welding–Opportunities and Challenges
• Introduction to WMG
• DTI - Remote Fibre Laser Welding Project
Agenda
Richard Hewitt
Charles Marine
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Stadco is a Tier 1 supplier of automotive Body-in-White products and services.
Core capabilities are aluminium and steel pressings, assemblies and product and facility design.
Solutions from niche to high volume are provided.
Who we are
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Steel pressings
Aluminium pressings
Low volume manual assemblies
Largest pressings up to 4m
Small pressings& in-process fixturing Complete Body-in-White
High volume assemblies
Roof Panels
B/C Pillar
Our Products and Customers
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St Petersburg (SOP 2009)
Saarlouis
Coventry
CastleBromwich
Shrewsbury
Powys
European Locations
Longbridge
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140 million pressings per year
Double action auto tandem, single action auto tandem, manual tandem, progression. Transfer press introduction planned for St Petersburg.
Pressings
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Body closure assemblies in steel, aluminium and composite.Flexible production facilities produce major structural modules. Concept studies in conjunction with OEM to reduce cost.
Assemblies
15 million assemblies per year
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Remote Laser Welding in Body in White
• At Stadco Saarlouis, we apply 500,000,000 spotwelds a year, equivalent of 140,000 vehicles/year
• Resistance spot welding is a technology we know well, we understand its process and parameters and we know how to control its quality and output
• We are actively looking at new technologies to give our business a competitive edge and our customers a better product
• The technology which we believe may change how vehicles are designed and built is REMOTE LASER WELDING
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Fixed Focus
Scanner
Remote Laser Welding Systems in BIW
Fixed Optics
Adjustable Focus
Scanner
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Remote Laser Welding - Opportunities
• Faster processing speed – laser welding is 5 times faster than spot welding for an equivalent strength weld
• Single sided access – laser welding does not require access to both sides of the part, resulting in higher process content per weld station.
• Lower Investment Costs – studies have shown that for the equivalent process content a laser welding cell has 80% fewer robots and less tooling stations
• Reduced floorspace – studies have shown that for the equivalent process content a laser welding cell occupies 50% less floorspace
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Remote Laser Welding - Opportunities
• Lower Operating Costs - studies have shown that for the equivalent process content a laser welding cell has 10% lower operating costs
• Flexible Manufacturing – laser welding cells can be configured to allow beam switching between robots to maximise the laser speed and beam utilisation
• Flexible Facilities – the flexibility of the laser allows production cells to be configured for multiple assemblies with minimum changeover time – a flexible manufacturing facility
• Product Design– Flange dimensions can be reduced, resulting in an overall vehicle weight
reduction– Vehicle rigidity and strength can be increased due to stronger laser welds
Product Design– Higher strength materials can be welded resulting in lighter components with
fewer reinforcements
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Focus IIC214
5 Door
Focus IIC307
3 Door
Focus IIC307
5 Door
Focus IIC307
Wagon
Benchmarking Study
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Spotwelding
RH
LH
Remote Laser Welding
•Robot Qty reduced by 80%
•Floorspace reduced by 50%
•Less Tooling
Benchmarking Study
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• Business case - remote laser welding investment is significantly higher than spot welding, need to identify all investment and operating cost drivers to make a comparison
• Panel fitup important – not suited to all assemblies
• Degassing of zinc vapour – solution required in material selection, tooling or pre processing
• Tooling specification – clamping and location solutions required to maintain optimum fitup and welding access.
Remote Laser Welding - Challenges
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• Process monitoring not yet a proven production tool for real-time analysis, there is a need for robust Quality Control Planning
• Few system integrators offering turnkey full service supply
• Stringent Laser Safety requirements
• Education & training for maintenance & operators
• To maximise the opportunities of remote laser welding, product and process development is key. The OEM’s must buy in to this process
Remote Laser Welding - Challenges
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Remote Fibre Laser Welding Project
• Stadco Lead Partner
• Three year project
• British Government/Industry funding
• Partners from Industry & Academic Institutions
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WMG
• A stand alone group within the Faculty of Science
• Established 1980 by Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya
• In May 2005 WMG celebrated 25 years at Warwick
• Working in partnership with a majority of the world’s blue chip companies
• Mission statement;…to improve competitiveness through the application of value adding innovation, new technologies and skills deployment
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WMG Scale
• 450+ staff including 220 seconded industrialists.
• £100million annual programme, less than 10% of funding from HEFCE
• 7,000+ individuals worldwide on postgraduate and post experience education
• International excellence with satellite operations worldwide
• 25% of University’s research activity
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A joint initiative between WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group), JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) with supporting funding from AWM (Advantage West Midlands)
This is a unique collaboration between an academic institution and the automotive industry to secure the future competitiveness of the Midlands as a supplier to and a manufacturer of premium automotive vehicles.
PARD
There were around 20 projects that will deliver the tools and techniques to improve supplier quality and competitiveness over a 3-4 year period and protect the employment base.
Of which Advanced Body Joining & Low Volume, High Flexibility Manufacturing are two.
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PartnersPremier Automotive Group
BIW Guild
Other Partners
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Project Definition and Deliverables
• Project Summary for DTI Submission –‘The programme will develop a remotely pumped, high-brightness, modular, multi-kW fibre laser with enhanced beam quality and power efficiency, enabling a new remote laser welding technology demonstrator to be produced, with superior processing speeds and vastly reduced energy consumption for application in the automotive, aerospace and rolling stock industries.’
• This programme will:– Deliver a business case for the application of Remote Fibre Laser Welding for
Tier 1 Body-In-White Suppliers.– Deliver a Multi-kilowatt laser for application within the automotive sector.– Integrate this laser into a prototype turnkey production facility.– Demonstrate the application upon a production representative component.– Identify product and material improvement opportunities.
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Top LevelPlan
Process Window
Component Trial
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2007 2008 2009
Business Case
Q4 Q1
2010
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Business CaseCost Drivers
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RSW verses RLW Cost Analysis
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DTI-RFLW Process Window Evaluation
PROCESS MONITORING
& QUALITY
PRODUCT DESIGN
MATERIALS & COATINGS
TOOLING SOLUTIONS
LASER BEAM PEAK POWER & BEAM PROFILE
LASER BEAM DELIVERY SYSTEM
PRODUCT JOINT CONDITIONS
LASER WELDING PROCESS
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•Product Design, Materials & Coatings:Design criteria for remote laser welding
Optimum flange dimensions
Stitch quantity v spotwelds
Benchmark material compatibility
New material & coatings
Remote Fibre Laser WeldingProcess Window Evaluation
•Laser Beam Delivery System:Working envelope
Positioning accuracy
Beam delivery types
•Laser Peak Power & Beam Profile :Optimum Power
Beam Diameter
Focal Length
Stand Off
•Product Joint Conditions:Optimise for laser welding
Stitch shape and orientation
Stitch size and strength compared to RSW
•Tooling Solutions:Cell concepts & layouts
Tooling requirements – shield gas/gap control
Review current clamping concepts
•Laser Welding Optimisation:Weld performance through:
working envelope, Welding speed, Shielding gasses, Varying gap, Stitch shape and orientation.
Optimising robot and scanner movements
•Process Monitoring & Quality:Welding Process FMEA
Process monitoring equipment
Quality Control plans
Laser welding standards
Benchmark weld quality/performance
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• Evidence has shown that Remote Fibre Laser Welding is one of the joining methods of the future
• A number of OEMs, e.g. VW, BMW, Audi, Renault, Hyundi, Toyota & Mercedes have installed systems within their facilities. These are mainly the result of internal development with equipment suppliers, there are very few System Integrators currently supporting this development.
• The opportunities are great, and supports the investment into a production representative facility at WMG.
• The DTI funded project aims to answer the challenges faced, and to benchmark a Turn Key System suitable for the OEM and the Tier 1 Supplier: mixed product, variable volume scenario.
• The project will enable OEMs and BIW Tier 1 Suppliers to specify and support the application of Remote Laser Welding, within the automotive industry; steel suppliers to understand the material requirements and the equipment and system integrators to understand the specific requirements of this application.
Summary
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• Thank you for your attention
Any Questions