Abstract
Tailored blanks are welded sheets of different thicknesses, materials and/or coatings which are formed by deep drawing after the welding process. At present, laser welded steel tailored blanks are common parts in nearly every modern car body. They enable weight reduction, load specific panel design, and reduction of the number of parts as well as deep drawing tools.
Besides these well known benefits of steel tailored blanks, aluminum tailored blanks would effect a further reduction of car body weight. In this paper, the mechanical properties of laser welded aluminum tailored blanks are shown. Static and dynamic tensile tests, stretch forming and hardness measurements show basic differences between 6xxx-and 5xxx-alloys.
Concerning tailored blanks with non-linear welds, a strategy for the welding of narrow contours as well as the mechanical properties of curved welds are described. The production of tailored blanks with closed weld lines (e.g. for shock absorber housings) affords an optimization of the weld parameters at the weld end to avoid craters and crater cracks, which lessen the strength and the formability of the blanks. It is shown that strategies for the weld end lead to an increase of the strength of the weld end up to that of the base material.