The present invention relates to a method for butt welding at least two metal sheets, namely a first metal sheet and a second metal sheet, wherein, in particular, a tailored blank is produced from the metal sheets.

A laminate structure and method of forming is provided. The laminate structure includes a first metal sheet having a first thickness, a second metal sheet having a second thickness, and an adhesive core having an adhesive thickness. The adhesive core is disposed between and bonded to the first and second metal sheets. The first and second metal sheets are made of an aluminum based material and the adhesive core is made of an adhesive material also described as a viscoelastic adhesive material. The laminate structure is configured such that a ratio of the sum of the first and second thickness to the adhesive thickness is greater than either to one (8:1). The laminate structure including the viscoelastic adhesive core is characterized by a composite loss factor at 1,000 Hertz which is continuously greater than 0.1 within a temperature range of 25 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.

In a manufacturing method of a tailored blank including a first steel plate and a second steel plate to be joined by butt welding, the first and second steel plates are butt welded with a laser beam. The laser beam has a power density q1 in a first region, a power density q2 in a second region, a power density q3 in a third region, and a power density q4 in a fourth region. The power density q1, the power density q2, the power density q3, and the power density q4 satisfy a relationship of q1>q2>q3>q4.

A reinforcing member for cold forming according to an embodiment comprises: a blank member; and a reinforcing patch member provided to cover at least a portion of the blank member and coupled to the blank member by a plurality of welded portions, wherein the entire region of a heat-affected zone formed around the welded portions in the blank member is positioned in a region corresponding to the reinforcing patch member, and a heat-affected zone formed around a first welded portion from among the welded portions may contact the central point of a second welded portion adjacent to the first welded portion or may be formed to be spaced apart from the central point of the second welded portion.

A method for producing an overlap composite material from sheet metal is described, wherein a first sheet of a first metal and a second sheet of a second metal, which has a lower strength than the first metal, are positioned one above another in an overlapping manner in an edge region, and are then joined by rolling. The first sheet has a wedge-shaped edge in cross-section. The second sheet is to be positioned with its edge on a side surface of the first sheet formed by the wedge-shaped edge. The side surface formed by the wedge-shaped edge of the first sheet has a greater width than the side surface of the edge of the second sheet positioned on the said side surface of the first sheet, and, after positioning, the sheets are joined by rolling.

Proposed is a resistance spot welding method to join parts to be welded which are a plurality of overlapping metal sheets, including: dividing a current pattern into two or more steps for welding; before actual welding, performing test welding; and subsequently, as actual welding, performing adaptive control welding, in which the two or more steps for welding include a step of securing a current path between the sheets directly below the electrodes and a subsequent step of forming a nugget having a predetermined diameter, and a welding interval time is provided between these steps. This method thus yields a good nugget without causing splashing even under special welding conditions.

Steel sheet low in cost and improved in fatigue characteristics without causing a drop in the cold formability, characterized in that it comprises an inner layer and a hard layer on one or both surfaces of the inner layer, a thickness of the hard layer is 20 μm or more and 40% or less of the thickness of the steel sheet, an average micro-Vickers hardness of the hard layer is 240 HV or more and less than 400 HV, an amount of C of the hard layer is 0.4 mass % or less, an amount of N is 0.02 mass % or less, a variation of hardness measured by a nanoindenter at a depth of 10 from the surface of the hard layer is a standard deviation of 2.0 or less, an average micro-Vickers hardness of the inner layer is 80 HV or more and less than 400 HV, a volume rate of carbides contained in the inner layer is less than 2.00%, and the average micro-Vickers hardness of the hard layer is 1.05 times or more the average micro-Vickers hardness of the inner layer.

A tailor-welded blank is made of two steels, one steel of Alloy A and one steel of Alloy B. Alloy A comprises 0.10-0.50 wt % C, 0.1-0.5 wt % Si, 2.0-8.0 wt % Mn, 0.0-6.0 wt % Cr, 0.0-2.0 wt % Mo, 0.0-0.15 wt % Ti, and 0.0-0.005 wt % B and wherein Alloy B comprises 0.06-0.12 wt % C, 0.1-0.25 wt % Si, 1.65-2.42 wt % Mn, 0.0-0.70 wt % Cr, 0.08-0.40 wt % Mo, 0.0-0.05 wt % V, and 0.01-0.05 wt % Ti.

A fixture assembly for supporting a plurality of blanks during a welding operation. The fixture assembly includes a frame. A plurality of electromagnets are positioned on the frame for supporting the blanks and for drawing the blanks toward the electromagnets to secure the blanks into a desired position. A plurality of intensifiers are moveably connected to the frame for selectively overlying the top face of one of the electromagnets for clamping the blank against the electromagnet to intensify a magnetic force provided by the electromagnet. A plurality of electromagnet adjusters are each coupled with the frame and with at least one of the electromagnets for moving the electromagnets relative to the frame. A plurality of adjusting pins are each connected to the frame and moveable relative to the frame for adjusting a position of the blanks.

A method for manufacturing structural steel components with local reinforcement is provided. The method comprises selecting at least a zone of the component to be reinforced, providing a steel blank and deforming the blank in a press tool to form a product, wherein the blank and/or the product comprises a groove in the zone to be reinforced, the groove comprising an inner surface and an outer surface. The method further comprises depositing a reinforcement material on the inner surface of groove and locally heating the reinforcement material and the groove of the steel blank or product, to mix the melted reinforcement material with the melted portion of the steel blank or product.