Corus Automotive Service Centre

Corus Automotive Service Centre specialises in supplying complete tailored blank solutions. Its production facilities are some of the most advanced of their kind. The business has a guaranteed supply of precision feed-blanks from the adjacent Corus Service Centre, plus extensive on-site technical resources.

Corus Automotive Service Centre facilities include a CO2 laser welding cell for the production of conventional 1D tailored blanks. Alongside this is a facility for volume production of non-linear Nd:YAG (Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) laser welded blanks. Whereas conventional blanks are welded along a linear path, the Nd:YAG beam is delivered via fibre optic cables which allow for complex, curved welds. This gives designers greater freedom to specify precisely where thicker or higher strength material is required, which maximises weight and cost reduction. The use of non-linear welds can also improve component formability in the stamping process by reducing the strain level across the weld and by orientating it so that it runs parallel to the direction of the material flow.

The Nd:YAG system has a unique clamping and crowding mechanism on the welding table which positions the components precisely in place prior to entering the welding enclosure. Together with a 'real-time' seam tracking system this helps ensure weld accuracy to within the tightest tolerances.

Products

One of the key challenges facing the automotive industry is the need to produce vehicles that are stronger and safer, yet lighter and more fuel-efficient. Autolaser Technologies is helping manufacturers reconcile these conflicting demands through the production of tailor welded blanks (TWB"s).

Assembled from strategically chosen materials of different grades, thicknesses and coatings, TWB"s provide the precise properties required at specific points.

Key benefits include:

• A major reduction in component weight, which improves vehicle fuel efficiency
• Improved structural integrity and crash performance
• Consolidation of parts, which simplifies logistics, production processes and assembly
• Optimisation of material properties and utilisation
• Elimination of stiffeners and overlapping joints, which reduces costs and improves corrosion resistance

Services

We specialise in providing complete tailored blank solutions. Our production facilities are some of the most advanced of their kind an we have a guaranteed supply of precision feed-blanks from the Automotive Service Centre, plus extensive on-site technical resources.

Our CO2 laser welding cell enables us to produce conventional 1D tailored blanks. We also have a facility for volume production of non-linear Nd:YAG (Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) laser welded blanks. Whereas conventional blanks are welded along a linear path, the Nd:YAG beam is delivered via fibre optic cables which allow for complex, curved welds. This gives designers greater freedom to specify precisely where thicker or higher strength material is required, which maximises weight and cost reduction. The use of non-linear welds can also improve component formability in the stamping process by reducing the strain level across the weld and by orientating it so that it runs parallel to the direction of the material flow.

Our Nd:YAG system has a unique clamping and crowding mechanism on the welding table which positions the components precisely in place prior to entering the welding enclosure. Together with a 'real-time' seam tracking system this helps ensure weld accuracy to within the tightest tolerances.

Technical

We work closely with designers and engineers from the earliest concept stages of vehicle and component projects, through to prototyping and final production. Our liaison engineers and project managers are often seconded to customers to provide support where it is needed most or aid the introduction of new processes or products.

Our engineering support and consultative services can advise on material optimization, component design and formability, and they are experts in helping solve customers' tooling problems. They can also undertake parts prototyping and studies into manufacturing feasibility and cost estimation. Additionally, Autolaser Technologies has an on-site Quality Control Laboratory which carries out micro level measurement of weld geometry and dome height testing.

We can also draw on the vast technical resources of Corus to validate material solutions through the use of CAD design, structural and formability CAE, and finite element analysis (FEA). This work has resulted in many successful design and engineering solutions.