Tailored Blank Welding of Stainless Steel to Make Lightweight Design Muffler (I) - Laser Butt Welding Characteristic of Stainless Steel Sheet -

머플러 부품의 경량화를 위한 STS강판의 TWB 용접 (I) - STS강판의 레이저 맞대기 용접특성 -

This research was conducted as a fundamental study to apply tailored blank welding technique into automotive production process. Specially we tried to apply the TWB technique to exhaust system. The materials used in this work were ferritic 439 stainless steel sheet with a thickness of 1.2mm and 0.8mm. Welding tests were conducted for BOP test and dissimilar thickness (0.8 to 1.2t) cases. Major process parameters were position of focus, travel speed, shielding gas and joint (gap) condition. As a result, there are nothing significant welding characteristic compare with TWB of carbon steel. Stainless steel shows the good weldability and mechanical properties (tensile, hardness and forming strength) also shows high level. Just problem is gap condition. However, also in this case, it shows not only good forming strength but also base metal fracture after tensile test. And to conclude, it is good opportunity to make lightweight design muffler using TB welding technique.