Assembly In Action: Weld Seams Improve Auto Body Stiffness and Reduce Weight
July 28, 2010
Automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën faced two
challenges when welding the body of the Peugeot 3008, which is made at its
assembly plant Sochaux, France. It wanted to achieve high body stiffness and
develop new design options.
To meet these challenges, PSA Peugeot Citroën has decided to lay a full-length weld seam on the doors and body reinforcements, rather than taking the traditional approach of performing individual spot welds. PSA uses three TruDisk 6002 lasers and one TruDisk 4002 laser to create the weld seam. Made by TRUMPF, the lasers have power ranges of 6 and 4 kilowatts, respectively.
“This enables us to achieve high body stiffness in our Peugeot 3008,” says Jean-Charles Schmitt, product and process laser manager at PSA. “Compared to conventional spot welds, full-length weld seams in car body manufacturing requires less sheet folding and thickness due to a specific laser design, and thus saves about 5 kilograms of weight per vehicle.”
The
weld seams also allow PSA to increase the size of the rear-quarter windows,
allowing better visibility for both driver and passengers.
The four TruDisk lasers used in production supply 10 processing stations, which are powered by a TRUMPF LaserNetwork. Schmitt says the LaserNetwork enables PSA to achieve capacities of almost 100 percent.
“With this network design, PSA does not need any backup laser source,” says Schmitt. “In case of a problem, we can easily switch the whole pool of stations on the three remaining sources, with little production loss.”
For more information on disk lasers, call 860-255-6000 or visit www.trumpf.com.
PSA Peugeot Citroën uses disk lasers to perform
full-length weld seams in car body manufacturing. It requires less sheet
folding and thickness compared to conventional spot welds. Photo courtesy
TRUMPF Group.
To meet these challenges, PSA Peugeot Citroën has decided to lay a full-length weld seam on the doors and body reinforcements, rather than taking the traditional approach of performing individual spot welds. PSA uses three TruDisk 6002 lasers and one TruDisk 4002 laser to create the weld seam. Made by TRUMPF, the lasers have power ranges of 6 and 4 kilowatts, respectively.
“This enables us to achieve high body stiffness in our Peugeot 3008,” says Jean-Charles Schmitt, product and process laser manager at PSA. “Compared to conventional spot welds, full-length weld seams in car body manufacturing requires less sheet folding and thickness due to a specific laser design, and thus saves about 5 kilograms of weight per vehicle.”
For welding the body of the new Peugeot 3008, the PSA
Group is using three TruDisk 6002 lasers and one TruDisk 4002. Photo courtesy
PSA Peugeot Citroën.
The four TruDisk lasers used in production supply 10 processing stations, which are powered by a TRUMPF LaserNetwork. Schmitt says the LaserNetwork enables PSA to achieve capacities of almost 100 percent.
“With this network design, PSA does not need any backup laser source,” says Schmitt. “In case of a problem, we can easily switch the whole pool of stations on the three remaining sources, with little production loss.”
For more information on disk lasers, call 860-255-6000 or visit www.trumpf.com.
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