Light-weight structures produced by laser beam joining for future applications in automobile and aerospace industry

Light-weight components are of crucial interest for all branches that produce moving masses. The aim to reduce weight has to be accompanied by high production efficiency and component performance. Laser beam joining offers the possibility to manufacture joints of all light metals and their combinations. This paper will give examples for structures built with aluminium, titanium, magnesium and their combinations and explain how the requirements of the industry could be fulfilled by applying laser beam joining. For aluminium the weldability of the so-called non-weldable alloys by use of powder filler will be explained for aerospace applications, Another example will deal with increased process stability during laser beam welding of aluminium. Especially for future car manufacturing applications, Al-steel and Al-Mg joints will be presented for optimised material use. Stiffened titanium structures for aerospace applications will demonstrate the potential of a combination of laser welding and straightening for precision manufacturing. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Ali rights reserved.