An Overview of Laser Welding of High Strength Steels for Automotive Application

High strength steel and their variations are found in abundance and are an excellent material selected for automotive applications. However, their usage in automotive applications requires the joining of components via conventional joining and welding techniques. Recently, there has been advancement in photons-based manufacturing technology where laser as a localized and robust heat source is employed to join similar or dissimilar material combinations. A brief overview of lasers employed in welding technology is outlined. Secondly, various types of steel important for automotive applications are introduced. Thereafter, laser welding of steel and the corresponding effect of parameters and their effect on weld geometry are discussed. It can be concluded that the variation of laser welding parameters can cause high thermal distortion and greatly affects the mechanical performance of the joint. Hence, an optimum parameter value should be investigated to obtain a strong joint. It is iterated that additional literature review should be carried out investigating various ways of improving weld quality, techniques, jigs development to avoid welding defects formation. Additionally, better observation and characterization through the state of art available materials testing could be employed to further gain insights and to have a better understanding of microstructural behaviour