TRUMPF lasers weld door and window frames elegantly and effectively in a way that saves material. They can also be used for the optimum insertion of reinforcement plates. We offer our customers solutions in this area which considerably reduce the number of process steps and the lengths of the process chains. For example, TRUMPF lasers set weld points and seams with flexibility in every shape and direction. Material, weight and costs are saved due to the more narrow flanges on the doors.

In order to design vehicle bodies so they are increasingly lightweight, but still safer, structural components are increasingly produced by means of hot forming. 3D laser cutting machines give these high-tensile components their final contour.
As a flexible tool, the laser is also used for the local softening of press-hardened structural parts, This enables downstream joining or reforming steps as well as improved crash performance.

Lightweight design in the automotive sector is based on many new materials, compounds and the use of aluminium. TRUMPF has the optimum laser source and the corresponding expertise for all these materials and their processing procedures. Our application engineers in the TRUMPF Laser Applications Center will always find the correct parameters for your concrete application.

Welding and adhesive bonding technologies require clean surfaces. Surface cleaning before welding or adhesive bonding is very flexible using a laser. TRUMPF offers cleaning solutions for removing unwanted and non-functioning layers. This includes rust, oxides, oil, grease or silicone, among others. It is possible to process the most varied of geometries with TruMicro lasers, the corresponding scanner optics and TruMark lasers. Laser cleaning is localised at the seam point and replaces expensive, high-maintenance wash applications. The laser process can be easily integrated into automated production lines.

TRUMPF lasers remove functional layers to achieve a clean surface for welding or adhesive bonding, without affecting the base material. In order to prepare hairpin welding, for example, our customers use TRUMPF short-pulse lasers that ablate the layer of insulating paint, without damaging the copper underneath it. While welding the hairpins, an intelligent sensor system ensures precise seams and top quality. TRUMPF lasers are also used to strip cataphoretic paint or zinc coatings.

During structuring, the laser creates regularly arranged geometries in the layer or in the base material, so that the technical characteristics are changed in a targeted manner and a new functionality is developed. One example: scoring or applying small (oil) depressions for defined sliding properties. The individual element of such a structure is often just a few micrometres in size. Short laser pulses with very high pulse power generate such high energy densities that the material usually evaporates immediately (sublimation). Each laser pulse produces a small depression, melt is predominately prevented.