The invention relates to a method for producing tailored sheet-metal strips, in which at least one sheet-metal strip having a substantially planar surface is integrally connected along its longitudinal edge to at least one further web-shaped semifinished product made of metal, wherein the at least one further web-shaped semifinished product differs from the at least one sheet-metal strip in terms of at least one of its properties, and wherein the at least one sheet-metal strip and the at least one further web-shaped semifinished product are fed continuously to at least one joining station, characterized in that a web-shaped semifinished product having a three-dimensional structure, a hollow profile and/or a multiplicity of recesses and/or holes in succession along its longitudinal edge is used as the at least one further web-shaped semifinished product which is fed to the joining station. An apparatus for carrying out the method is furthermore claimed.

Method for joining a first and a second steel blanks, at least one of the blanks comprising aluminium. The method comprises providing a support being made of a magnetic material for each blank, the supports being arranged distanced apart by a central space; providing a coil winding around one support, arranging the first blank on one support and the second blank on the other support, such that a butt end of the first blank that is facing the second blank is brought into contact with a butt end of the second blank that is facing the first blank defining a contacting area that closes a path for magnetic flux. The method further comprises applying a laser beam onto the contacting area, while applying an alternating current to the coil winding, wherein an alternating magnetic field is created across the contacting area in a direction substantially in-line with the blanks.

The invention relates to a method for producing a composite sheet metal part having at least one metallic region from a composite sheet metal blank which has two outer cover sheets of metal and at least one layer which is arranged between the cover sheets and consists of plastics material. The invention provides an apparatus and method by which complex formed composite sheet metal parts can easily be produced in a few steps and which still have metallic regions which can be used for joining to further parts.

A structural member is provided that includes a steel sheet with a tensile strength of 980 MPa or higher overlying another metal plate and joined thereto by welding, where a break initiating near a welded portion is less likely to be produced. A structural member (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) includes: a first member (1), the first member being a steel sheet with a tensile strength of 980 MPa or higher; a second member (2) overlying the first plate (1), the second member being a metal plate; a plurality of welded portions (3, 31, 32); a plurality of heat-affected zones (5, 51, 52) each formed to surround the corresponding one of the welded portions (3, 31, 32), the heat-affected zones having a Vickers hardness lower than that of the first member by 50 HV or more. A pair of edge sections (4) of the first member (1) are provided between adjacent heat-affected zones (5, 51, 52). The pair of edge sections (4) of the first member located between the adjacent heat-affected zones (5, 51, 52) extend to cross a line (LC1) linking the adjacent welded portions (3, 31, 32).

A joint structure includes a first metallic material having a first projection, a second metallic material similar to and weldable to the first metallic material, and a different material having a first penetrating part and sandwiched between the first and second metallic materials, the different material being difficult to weld to the first and second metallic materials. The first projection is smaller than the first penetrating part and is spaced from the rim of the first penetrating part. The first projection is positioned in the first penetrating part and spaced from the second metallic material by a gap. The gap has a size of a predetermined percentage of the thickness of the first projection to which arc welding is applied. The first and second metallic materials are melted and joined together inside the first penetrating part to compress and fix the different material, so all three are fixed together.

A method for fusion welding of one or more steel sheets (1, 2) made of press-hardened steel, preferably manganese-boron steel is disclosed. At least one of the steel sheets has a metallic coating (4) which contains aluminum, and the fusion welding is performed while filler material (11) is being fed into the molten bath (9). In order to improve the hardenability of the weld seam (14), irrespective of whether the steel sheets to be welded together are steel sheets of the same or different material grades and/or steel sheets of different sheet thicknesses, a single laser focal spot (16) with different energy distribution is generated on the molten bath by means of one or more optical elements such that the laser focal spot (16) has a smaller laser focal spot area (16.1) and a larger laser focal spot area (16.2).

A blank (100) includes a main portion (110) that is made of steel having a tensile strength of 1450 MPa or more and a softened portion (120), the ratio of Vickers hardness of the softened portion (120) to the Vickers hardness of the main portion (110) is 0.7 or more and 0.95 or less, and the softened portion (120) is disposed at a position different from a position of the main portion (110) in an in-plane direction. A structural member (200) includes a first member (210), a second member (220), and a weld (W) at which the first member (210) and the second member (220) are welded to each other.

A hot-stamped article and method of manufacturing same use a tailor welded blank (TWB) method capable of controlling the microstructure of a weld portion to prevent fracture of the weld portion. The hot-stamped article is manufactured by welding a first sheet and a second sheet made of different kinds of materials to each other using the TWB method and hot-stamping a welded sheet. The first sheet and the second sheet have different upper austenite transformation temperatures (A3 temperatures), the first sheet and the second sheet are welded to each other via a weld portion, each of the first sheet and the weld portion has a composite structure comprising ferrite, bainite, and martensite, and the second sheet has a martensite structure.

This steel sheet is a steel sheet (100) formed by causing end surfaces of a first sheet material (111) and a second sheet material (113) to abut each other in an in-plane direction and welding the first sheet material (111) and the second sheet material (113) via a strip-shaped welded part (115), and in which a softened part (120) that is softened more than other parts in the welded part (115) is formed in at least a part of the welded part (115), and on a first end surface of the steel sheet in which an end part of the welded part (115) in a longitudinal direction is formed, a region in which the softened part (120) is not formed is provided in at least a part of the end part of the welded part (115) in the longitudinal direction, and a maximum value of a depth of the softened part (120) in a sheet thickness direction is, as a ratio to a sheet thickness of the steel sheet (100), 50% or less.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed is an aluminum coated blank that includes a first coated steel sheet; a second coated steel sheet connected to the first coated steel sheet; and a joint portion that connects the first coated steel sheet to the second coated steel plate at a boundary between the first coated steel sheet and the second coated steel sheet.