IIW White Paper

Needs and challenges in welding and joining technologies 5. T he introduction of new or high-cost welding/joining technologies (such as laser beam welding, large scale robotic welding line etc.) into industrial production needs to be justified with economical consideration. New and advanced joining technologies are needed in some regions or nations, while others may need more fundamental developments to support existing technologies and still achieve higher quality and reduced production time. Hence, needs and challenges will be identified from these perspectives.

5.1 Innovations in welding and joining processes There is fast development of different joining technologies, which is obvious in the automotive industry ( Figure 5.1 ).

Joining the Porsche Cayenne BIW (mm)

Joining the Audi A3 BIW (mm

Joining the Golf V BIW (mm)

Other 1%

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MIG/MAG welding 1%

Resistance spot welding 45%

Gluing 25%

Gluing 37%

Gluing 37%

Resistance spot welding 53%

Resistance spot welding 53%

Laser welding/ soldering 45%

MIG/MAG welding 3%

Mechanical fixturing 3%

Laser soldering 1%

Tailored blanks 1%

Laser soldering 1%

MIG/MAG welding 3%

Laser welding 3%

Laser welding 14%

Gluing 7%

Figure 5.1 Joining processes used in automobile industry (Reproduced courtesy: TWI Ltd)

5.1.1 - Robotic welding Most of the joining operations will of course be made close to the major markets but also moved to the low- labour-cost countries like China. Every country will, however, relentlessly defend its workload by introducing more efficient processes. Robotic welding will continue to increase the productivity and quality to the fabrication industry. In 2006 robot sales increased by 10.3 %. The problem has been that current technology has not allowed for an efficient manner of applying robotic welding to large-scale, low-volume fabrication. In an EU-project NOMAD this restriction has been eliminated by:

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Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies

Improving Global Quality of Life