The application of laser welding technology in the automotive industry began in Germany. In the 1980s, European car manufacturers such as Audi, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Volvo in Sweden took the lead in using laser welding to weld sheet metal such as roofs, bodies, and side frames. In the 1990s, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler in the United States competed to introduce laser welding into automotive manufacturing, although it started relatively late but developed rapidly.

Subsequently, Italian Fiat adopted laser welding in the welding assembly of most steel plate components, and Japanese companies such as Nissan, Honda, and Toyota also used laser welding technology in the manufacturing of body panels. Since then, high-strength steel laser welding assemblies have been increasingly used in automotive body manufacturing due to their excellent performance.

The booming automobile market drives the development of laser welding industry

With the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, the requirements for product welding quality in many industries are constantly increasing. In this context, the application and popularization rate of laser welding in many industries is constantly increasing, especially in the processing and manufacturing of metal materials and components, whose penetration rate is at a high level. At present, the automotive industry is an important application market for laser welding in China.

Both the "Medium and Long Term Development Plan for the Automotive Industry" issued in the early stage and the "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)" have released an important signal: electric vehicles are a national established industrial strategy, and the direction of promoting their sustainable and healthy development at the policy level will not waver. These policies are promoting healthy and orderly development from multiple dimensions, and will long-term benefit the development of the new energy vehicle industry.

In 2015, China became the largest country in the sales of new energy vehicles. Now, the sales of new energy vehicles in China have always maintained a steady upward trend. Subsequently, the production of new energy vehicles and the lithium battery industry in China have developed rapidly. According to statistics from the China Automobile Association, in the first half of 2021, the sales of new energy vehicles in China exceeded 1.2 million, and the cumulative installed capacity of power batteries was 52.5GWh. The cumulative sales have remained at the same level as the entire year of 2019, and emerging momentum is continuously expanding.

At present, the speed of electrification in the global automotive industry is constantly accelerating, and governments around the world are providing policy support such as consumer purchase subsidies, stimulating the continuous increase in global sales performance of new energy vehicles. The Global Research Department of Bank of America predicts that the global penetration rate of all electric vehicles, including pure electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), will increase from 23% to 67% from 2025 to 2040.

SNE Research, a global emerging energy market research firm, predicts that global sales of new energy vehicles are expected to reach 15 million units by 2025 and 23 million electric vehicles by 2030, with market capacity growth expected to exceed ten times. The strong new energy vehicle market will accelerate the development of the laser welding industry.

Application of laser welding technology in automotive parts

A car is composed of approximately 20000 components, of which iron parts account for the vast majority. Although collectively referred to as iron, the frame that forms the body frame and the body parts that shape the car model are made of steel plates, transmissions, and other body parts, which are castings made by melting iron and injecting it into molds. Therefore, the welding process is an indispensable process in the automotive production and processing process, such as the frame, body, carriage, engine, car gears, roof, door, sliding parts of car seats, inner liner of car airbags, exhaust pipes, car clutches, etc., all of which cannot be separated from welding technology.

Compared to traditional welding technologies such as resistance welding and carbon dioxide gas shielded welding, laser welding technology has superior effects in new alloy materials. It has the advantages of fast welding speed, good quality, high production efficiency, large ratio of weld depth to width, bright and beautiful, small heat input, small welding Heat-affected zone, and welding is not easy to deform, which makes it efficient, economical, safe, strong, highly corrosive and other good performances in the processing of automobile parts. It can realize butt welding, overlap welding, body welding and part welding of automobile parts, effectively reduce the weight of the body, improve the assembly accuracy of the body Increase the strength of the car body and reduce the stamping and assembly costs during the manufacturing process of the car body.

Using laser welding can also save car production costs and improve production efficiency. With the expansion of global automotive market demand and the accelerated advancement of automotive intelligence, the combination of advanced laser processing technology and automotive production has become a trend. In the future, with the increasing demand for automobiles, especially new energy vehicles, the demand for laser welding in production lines will also continue to increase, and the market space is vast.

About HGTECH

HGTECH is the pioneer and leader of laser industrial application in China, and the authoritative provider of global laser processing solutions. We comprehensively layout the construction of laser intelligent equipment, measurement and automation production lines, and smart factories to provide an overall solution for intelligent manufacturing.

We deeply grasp the development trend of manufacturing industry, constantly enrich products and solutions, adhere to exploring the integration of automation, informatization, intelligence and manufacturing industry, and provide various industries with laser cutting systems, laser welding systems, laser marking series, laser texturing complete equipment, laser heat treatment systems, laser drilling machines, lasers and various supporting devices The overall plan for the construction of special laser processing equipment and plasma cutting equipment, as well as automatic production lines and smart factories.