IIW White Paper

On the other hand, when looking at the welding process utilised for joining chassis parts, it is clear that many welding processes are converging with gas metal arc welding. This is because it is recognised that gas metal arc welding has many strong points, such as applicability to many types of joints, good balance between productivity and cost, and adaptability to robot welding. Consequently, it is believed that gas metal arc welding will be the major method from now on. Laser-arc hybrid welding is expected to succeed in mass production. Thought there are some doubts about this becoming the major method for chassis part welding, such as the loss of flexibilities in torch operation and arc force direction, there are many merits far exceeding arc welding, including low distortion. If production efficiency is balanced between before and after processes by high-speed welding, however, laser-arc hybrid welding will be surely applied to some fields. A new technique, friction stir spot welding, in now being introduced. Resistance spot welding and arc welding have been the major processes so far suitable for robotised welding. This is one of the reasons that enabled them to be propagated in the world. The friction stir spot welding is also flexible and suitable for 3-dimensional welding. Although friction stir welding is used for straight line continuous welds in train and airplane manufacture, its application in automotive production lines will depend on its flexibility and application to robotised welding. Although the application of the friction stir spot welding is currently limited to aluminium panels, its application to steel panels is being investigated, so it is expected to be successful in the future. vehicle weight and reduction of loss of efficiency through friction. Research and development of efficient welding technologies for high-tensile, ultra high-tensile, galvanised steels and other lightweight materials e.g. aluminium, tubular construction. Research and development of efficient welding technologies to support changing vehicle safety requirements. Development of next generation environmentally friendly powertrains such as hybrid and battery powered vehicles. 9.7 Mining, minerals and materials processing sector The mining, minerals and materials processing sectors have been growing rapidly over the past 20 years in many parts of the world, in response to increasing world commodity demands. In Australia, for instance, this growth has been at 5% p.a., with that country currently generating thirty three-billion-dollar-plus per year mineral exports (coal A$11B, aluminium A$8B, iron A$5B, gold A$5B, copper A$2B, zinc A$2B). Many initiatives of the various sectors of the minerals industry have resulted, over the years, in a corporate focus on business performance, with a resultant decrease in exploration and longer-term research around the world. This decline has threatened the long-term viability of the industry by limiting the utilisation of new sources and restricting the growth of knowledge and capability to produce. The current recent global downturn and reduction in demand has seen, however, a new focus by companies on the need for improved productivity and capital returns. While the boom in mining and minerals may have been overtaken by the global credit crunch, most industry and economic experts agree that the way forward is through innovation-led productivity growth. Welding, as an essential enabling technology in a wide range of mining infrastructure and equipment manufacture and maintenance applications, can contribute significantly to this new focus. 9.6.4 Hot topics Need to reduce CO 2 emissions to fight global warming through improved combustion, reduced

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Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies

Improving Global Quality of Life