Joining & Welding

AHSS Joining (TRAINING) – Affecting the application of Advanced High-Strength Steels to part of a vehicle are considerations for Steel Chemistry, Effects of Galvanized Coating, Effects of Process Parameters, Carbon Equivalent, and Liquid Metal Embrittlement (LME). This course will discuss how to address these topics. > Links to A/SP Training page: https://www.a-sp.org/training/

Die Weld Repair Procedures (TRAINING) – A/SP has developed a series of OEM weld repair procedures for common stamping die materials. Each procedure is specific to the stamping process and repair issue. Procedures were created from OEM auto manufacturer input are intended to help in repair and restoration of stamping dies. > Located on A/SP Training page: https://www.a-sp.org/training/

AHSS Guidelines (TRAINING) – The AHSS Guidelines provide global best practices for forming and joining AHSS and 3rd Gen Steels, click here for a downloadable copy. The guidelines available through WorldAutoSteel enable those who are making automotive structures to master the fundamentals and get up to speed on specific application knowledge. Automotive designers, engineers and press shop personnel can all benefit from the Guidelines as they apply these steels to vehicle manufacturing. > Located on A/SP Training page: https://www.a-sp.org/training/

Mixed Material Joining – A/SP Research Results – AISI Webinar (RECORDING & PRESENTATION) – presented by Bryan Macek, Senior Technical Specialist FCA US LLC on behalf of A/SP. This informative presentation discusses the A/SP project designed to enable OEMs to leverage the full spectrum of structural materials to meet aggressive mass targets without impacting vehicle safety and durability. This A/SP research help OEMs characterize the performance of multiple joining technologies that can be used to integrate alternate structural materials in steel intensive executions in high volume production scenarios. > Links to AISI Auto Resource Page: https://www.steel.org/steel-markets/automotive/joining-webinar

Rapid Measurement of Liquid Metal Embrittlement – A/SP Research Results – AISI Webinar (RECORDING & PRESENTATION | PROCEDURE) – presented by Michael Karagoulis, Ph.D., Master Mechanic – Weld Development, Global ME Body-in-White, General Motors Corporation, on behalf of A/SP. A/SP has been working collaboratively between automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and steel manufacturers to develop rapid evaluation and measurement procedures to help the industry overcome the challenge of Liquid Metal Embrittlement (LME). LME can impact various weld types across a variety of materials. Collaborative development of rapid evaluation procedures looked specifically at weld cracking of galvanized advanced high strength steels, helping to speed validation and use of certain AHSS and 3rd Gen steel grades. > Links to AISI Auto Resource Page: https://www.steel.org/steel-markets/automotive/liquid-metal-research-webinar.

In 2023, A/SP released two new test procedures, LP2.1  Gleeble Based Test Procedure and ASP LP3.1 Rapid LME Test Procedure, which were instrumental in enabling the  A/SP Joining Team to move from assessing LME susceptibility to developing strategies to mitigate the potential for LME cracking in automotive joints using 3rd Gen AHSS. Furthermore, the Team is convinced that the results from the early LME testing were instrumental in leading to improvements in 3rd Gen AHSS formulations that are more resistant to LME cracking. Rapid improvements in resistance to LME cracking were observed from vendors whose initial submissions performed poorly but later submissions were remarkably improved. Read an article, entitled Liquid Metal Embrittlement Test Procedures, summarizes the work and findings that led to these test procedures, and provides links to download them for use and further research.