Tailored Products
Customized steel solutions
How it all began
The idea of tailored blanks was born in Duisburg in 1983 with the decision of Audi AG to produce the Audi 100 with a fully galvanized body. The only problem was the size of the floor panel. Hot-dip galvanizing lines were unable to process panels of this width. The decisive idea came from the Thyssen Stahl AG: to join two blanks together by laser welding. That was the solution.
Laser welding for weight reduction
At the beginning it was only about welding two similar sheets, but today steel sheets of different thickness and/or strength are joined together. The process has evolved continuously to the extent that today we have a large family of tailored products.
In the past 20 years ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks has made these products into a success factor for the automotive industry. The weld is the link between high safety requirements and affordable weight reduction. Thanks to the combination of different steel grades and thicknesses, parts are strong where they need to be. They are also lighter. And they require less material and fewer production operations.
Advantages at a glance
- Weight reduction
- Reduction of costs per part
- Improved crash performance through the use of high-strength materials
- Lower capital cost – having only one part to stamp means only one die set is needed
- Elimination of overlapping joints improves corrosion behavior
- Optimized nesting and optimum material usage
- Elimination of sealing compound offers advantages in recycling
- Improved forming behavior