Apparatus for welding loosely pre-assembled motor vehicle bodies (51) comprises a station (1) for locating and welding the body, a conveyor line (3) for transporting the loosely preassembled bodies (51) to the station (1), at least two pairs of locating gates (8) situated at the two sides of the station (1), each pair of locating side gates (8) being provided with locating devices (9) engageable with the body (51) and adapted to the specific geometric shape of a particular type of body, gate conveyor means for bringing a pair of side gates (8) corresponding to the type of body which is in the welding station (1) into correspondence with an operative position in the welding station (1), and at least one welding device (10) for welding the body. At least one drum (6) rotatable about an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the body in the welding station and carrying on its periphery a plurality of locating gates (8) suitable for various types of body is provided on each side of the conveyor line.

Apparatus for welding motor vehicle bodies

A method and apparatus for selectively removing target sections from a continuous coil of sheet metal and connecting those sections to one or more sheet metal take-up winders. Depending upon the thicknesses or amount of defects in each detected target section, the corresponding target can be connected to an appropriate continuous sheet metal winder which therein contains a specific classification of sheet metal. Defects, such as errant sheet metal thicknesses, can be removed from a continuous coil and placed on a raw sheet metal coil separate from a finished sheet metal coil containing substantially no defects.

Method and apparatus for removing target sections of sheet metal from a continuous coil and placing those sections in separate continuous coils in a continuous operation

A sleeve-shaped printing sleeve for a form cylinder of a printing machine is fabricated from a blank of metallic material by cutting the blank to a width corresponding to the form cylinder and to an intermediate length which exceeds the circumference of the intended printing form cylinder. Additionally, the blank is provided with aligning indicia in the regions between each edge of the intermediate-length blank and the corresponding edge to be defined by cutting. Thus, these regions lie outside of the printing area. The blank is bent circularly, held in exact register in a bending/welding device, and cut to the length required for the intended form cylinder by laser beam cutters. As a result of this cutting operation, two waste pieces are produced. The waste pieces are removed and the now defined plate edges forming the beginning and end of the printing form are positioned opposite one another without overlap and welded together, preferably by a laser.

Process for fabricating a sleeve shaped printing form

Disclosed is a composite bodywork part made of at least one steel element (2) and at least one light metal element (1), preferably a large light metal element Said composite bodywork part is improved in such a way that a connecting area (3) with the steel element (s) is formed on the edge area of the light metal element (1), said connecting area flatly overlapping at least partially the associated areas of the steel element (2) in the form of a flange in assembled position and the light metal element (1) and the steel element (2) being fixed directly on each other on the flange-like overlapping area (3) by means of laser seams The invention also relates to different embodiments of the composite bodywork part, eg for the roof area, as door sills, for doors and hoods of a vehicle and in the area of the shieldings and panellings

Composite bodywork part made of steel and light metals

A component to be machined is placed on the table of a laser cutting machine and is cut by the thermal energy of the laser beam whilst the table is displaced w.r.t. the laser beam to trace a predetermined cutting trajectory, comprises the following steps:- (a) the transmission of a measured thickness of the component to a control unit; (b) the regulation and correction in the control unit, of the optimal focussing position for the laser beam as a function of this thickness; (c) the regulation of the cutting speed as a function of the measured thickness; and (d) the regulation of the laser strength in the laser oscillator as a function of the measured thickness. USE/ADVANTAGE - For controlling the machining of a component in a laser cutting machine. The method produces a high quality cut surface by real time control of the laser cutting parameters without provoking thermal damage such as burning. It allows regulation of the optimal focussing position of laser beam and the selection of the best combination of cutting speed and laser strength for the component undergoing machining.

Machining of components by laser beam - with optimisation of cutting parameters for high quality surface finish

Flat thin plates as well as thin plates formed by deep drawing are needed in the manufacture of motor vehicle bodies and other vehicle components. The joining of two plates by laser welding at their edges imposes high demands on the dimensional and positional accuracy of the plates to be welded and on the guidance accuracy of the laser. First of all the two plates to be welded are restrained in a fixed manner with their edges in alignment and are positioned with a distance between the two facing edges (9, 10) to be welded. A track-guided laser head (13) or two laser heads track-guided together then trim the two plate edges (9, 10). The two laser-trimmed plate edges are then brought together until they abut by displacing at least one of the plates restrained in a fixed manner; a laser head (9) controlled by the same track guidance then welds the two plate edges (9, 10) together. The welding device for deep-drawn pressed parts has two slides (2, 3) on whose supports (4, 5) interchangeable contour beds (11, 12) are arranged, the clamping surface of which corresponds to the desired spatial form of the pressed parts (6, 7) to be welded.

Method and devices for butt welding thin plates together, especially those made of steel, by means of a powerful laser beam

Verfahren zur herstellung von schweissverbindungen an karosserieteilen und anderen blechteilen und robotersystem

In the fabrication of welded joints on body sheets of motor vehicles and suchlike sheet-metal parts by means of laser beams, the problem occurs that the body sheets are partly not dimensionally stable and partly spring back after the sheet has been worked into the desired shape, as result of which gaps partly arise between the sheet-metal parts to be joined. In an apparatus for laser welding with a robot having pressure grips, one advantage of laser welding, namely the high speed, cannot be utilised on account of the retaining and release of the grips. The laser welding of vehicle body parts and suchlike sheet-metal parts in a short time and with little mechanical complexity is possible owing to the fact that at least the sheet-metal part (38) which is not dimensionally stable is fixed in its desired shape by a master bed (38a), is brought into a mutual desired position with the other sheet-metal part (38b) to be welded, the sheet-metal parts (38, 38b) are tacked at discrete points to form a dimensionally stable body part, and then the sheet-metal parts (38, 38b) are firmly and tightly joined to one another by a laser seam weld, in the course of which the sheet (38b) facing the laser head (12) is melted through and the sheet (38) remote from the laser head is at least melted on.

Manufacturing process for coachbuildings and coachbuilding parts for lorries and other vehicles

Verfahren zum stumpfschweissen von duennblechen, insbesondere aus stahl, mittels eines energiereichen laserstrahls und vorrichtungen zu dessen durchfuehrung

Hubert Biehler

Papers

Method and devices for butt welding thin plates together, especially those made of steel, by means of a powerful laser beam

Verfahren zur herstellung von schweissverbindungen an karosserieteilen und anderen blechteilen und robotersystem

Manufacturing process for coachbuildings and coachbuilding parts for lorries and other vehicles

Verfahren zum stumpfschweissen von duennblechen, insbesondere aus stahl, mittels eines energiereichen laserstrahls und vorrichtungen zu dessen durchfuehrung