Tailored Blanks

Car manufacturers are constantly looking for innovative ideas and high-quality production to increase passenger safety, reduce weight and thus reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

This is why the leading car manufacturers turn to LASIM S.p.A.,

which has been at the forefront of Tailored Blanks production since 2004, consisting of the butt welding of sheets by laser beam.

The flat steel sheets to be coupled and which were previously shaped according to the customer’s design can have a variety of features and thicknesses. This technological process enables the correct level of resistance to be achieved where needed and the right compliance where the impact needs to be absorbed in the event of an accident, ensuring a reduced deformability of the cell occupied by passengers, aimed at their safety in case of impact or roll-over.
Our plants produce more than 20,000 Tailored Blanks per day, using 3 linear welding systems and a curved welding island. Since 2015, Lasim has introduced laser welding of aluminised sheet metal, used for the production of hot stamped components (hot stamping), by means of an innovative processing technique which involves the ablation of the alumina coating near the laser welding section. The ablation is performed “on-line”, i.e. during the welding operation which drastically reduces the cycle time, thus giving the plant high productivity and excellent welding quality.
In summary, the Tailored Blanks offer the following important benefits:

  • Savings on the production costs of deep-drawn and panelled elements. In fact, the TWB permits the elimination of reinforcement brackets or additional components, avoiding the design, construction of the related production equipment (and their maintenance), moulding and sheeting, ensuring better product quality by reducing the so-called “chain of tolerances”.
  • Weight reduction, for the use of special steel sheets, with high mechanical characteristics and reduced thickness.
  • Increased structural strength because the use of this technology permits the elimination of various additional components, providing the finished part with the desired mechanical characteristics.