Proposal Abstract

The automotive industry sector is a vital part of the European economy. The EU is the largest automotive production region in the world with 34% of global manufacture and the industry comprises 7.5% of all manufacturing sectors within the Union. The increasing demand for improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions at lower, competitive costs, have prompted the automotive industry to seek ways of reducing the weight by using new lightweight materials, new joining processes and new manufacturing concepts. Due to pioneering work in the industry, the use of lasers for production welding of Tailor-Welded Blanks (TWBs) and Body-In-White (BIW) structures is now common practice.

Current weld quality monitoring and inspection techniques for these applications are often difficult in their application, performed off-line, and are therefore time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, current NDT inspection and tear-down, in which a fully assembled car is put through a controlled crash, is only a sampling test, as not all parts can be inspected individually. Because of the implications on the human and economic costs of the currently applied procedures, major vehicle manufacturers would prefer to have an NDT record for each weld. It is also the intention of performing this testing on-line, as 100% inspection using current off-line procedures is economically not viable.

This pre-competitive project will develop a new, fast, monitoring and NDT inspection system, the OLIWAM system, to be used on-line, providing a 100% inspection rate for thin-sheet laser welded automotive components. The system's software will allow for on-line evaluation of the results, with remedial actions, if any, taken immediately, significantly reducing repair costs and scrap rates. Generic concepts for up to a further four NDT inspection systems will also be developed to further facilitate fast, reliable on-line detection of weld imperfections.

Strategic Objectives Addressed

1. Laser welding is used in the automotive sector, particularly for the production of Tailor-Welded Blanks and Body-In-White assemblies. The high speeds available with the laser, makes this process compatible with production line assembly. On-line non-destructive testing of these welds to guarantee minimum imperfection levels is currently not possible. This project will develop automated equipment capable of on-line detection of the types of weld imperfections found in the two applications mentioned above.
2. The OLIWAM system will employ a series of NDT and process monitoring techniques, adapted to the materials and joint geometries required and the imperfections typically found. It will analyse the received data at high speed and provide go/no go status for the welds produced.
3. Implementation of such systems, providing 100% weld inspection, should reduce human casualties as a result of unexpected failure of safety critical structures. 100% on-line weld inspection should also contribute to reduced manufacturing costs, by allowing repair to take place at the most appropriate point in the production line or prevent defective parts continuing along the production line.