Plastics & Metal Welding Assembly

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Lightweighting is the No. 1 challenge facing automotive engineers today. Manufacturers are scrambling to build vehicles that contain a variety of weight-saving materials, such as aluminum, carbon-fiber composites, high-strength steel, magnesium and plastic.

At a recent Fabtech convention, many visitors to our booth told us the same thing: “We’d really like a large fan in our facility, but we can’t—we weld.”

Movies and TV shows consistently promote lead characters who are able to complete their mission with little or no help from others. In the world of fastening, self-tapping screws fit this role better than any fastener, as they have the ability to create mating threads in metallic and nonmetallic base materials.

New plastics and coatings are giving automotive engineers a wealth of options for interior design. These materials offer the promise of additional functionality beyond just decoration or passenger protection.

In 1998, the odelo Group developed and began production of the world’s first full-LED rear light for automobiles. Although noteworthy, this achievement is but one of many for the company, which has manufactured rear and tail lights for all German premium-vehicle OEMs since 1935.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for many hard-to-treat and life-threatening infections, including pneumonia and blood poisoning. MRSA is especially troublesome in hospitals, prisons and nursing homes, where patients with open wounds, invasive devices and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of infection.

The need to reduce vehicle weight has spawned myriad new technologies for assembling aluminum, high-strength steel and other materials. These new technologies include self-piercing rivets, flow-drilling screws and friction-stir spot welding.