Remote laser welding applications for car bodies

The application of laser processing to car bodies, which began with laser cutting in the late 1970s, has a history of more than 30 years. Figure 1 gives the chronological record. In the early applications, laser cutting was used for trial pieces and very constricted locations. Use in the volume production of vehicles began with ‘tailored’ blanks, in which flat sheets of press material were butt welded and then pressed as a single unit. In 2000, laser welding replaced resistance spot welding as the typical car body welding technique and examples of its use, including welding of roof sides and remote welding of boot lids and other opening parts, have increased slowly but steadily along with toughness improvements in continuous platform welding. In this article, we describe remote laser welding applications for car bodies, the latest laser applications, and discuss the advantages and problems of this technology for practical involvement in the industry from the point of view of the user.