Tailored Strips
Tailored steel strip direct from coil
Uninterrupted welds of several hundred meters: our tailored strips are a unique product for innovative lightweight construction with steel – tailored coils suitable for processing in progressive dies.
Endless welds: Strip to strip to strip
For many years it was not possible to join steel strip more than three meters long by an uninterrupted laser weld. The reason was the heat arising during welding. The strips distorted, resulting in gaps in the weld. We have solved the problem.
Since 2007, our Gelsenkirchen site has been operating the world’s only line capable of welding slit strip of any length. The principle is in the classic tradition of tailored products: the slit strips are made from steel of different thickness, grade or finish. The result is a starting product which is matched from the outset to the stresses arising in the finished part.
Use in progressive dies
With the development of tailored strips we have opened up whole new areas of application for tailored steel solutions. In the past, laser-welded products were not suitable for processing in progressive dies because they were unable to process individual sheets. Progressive dies operate direct from coil, which is fed step-wise into the forming process. Our tailored strips now make the advantages of classic tailored products suitable for this process – to the benefit of our customers. Two premium automotive manufacturers are already using this new technology in production.
Advantages of ThyssenKrupp Tailored Strips
In addition to the classic advantages of tailored products, tailored strips offer the following additional opportunities:
- Processing in progressive dies
- Reduced material costs
- Reduced assembly costs
- Reduced investment in stamping plant
Product range
Tailored coils are currently available in widths of up to 1,600 mm. Our lines can weld slit strips in widths from 50 to 1,000 mm and thicknesses of 0.6 to 3.0 mm. But the potential of these strips is far from exhausted. We are constantly working to expand our production process to meet future customer requirements.