- LASER WELDING METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SEMI-FINISHED SHEET METAL PRODUCT FROM HARDENABLE STEEL COMPRISING AN ALUMINUM- OR ALUMINUM-SILICON-BASED COATING

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a custom-made sheet metal semi-finished product capable of hot forming. At least two steel plates (1.2 '') having different material grades and / or thicknesses are joined together by butt welding by laser welding. The at least one sheet is made of press-hardenable steel and has an aluminum or aluminum-silicon based metal coating (1.1, 2.1). According to the invention, the steel plates 1, 2 ''are welded to one another with a gap G having an average width b of at least 0.15 mm defined by the seat edges to be welded together. The material of the filler wire 8 is introduced into the gap G such that the ratio of the filler wire volume introduced into the gap G with respect to the volume of the steel sheet material melted by the laser beam is at least 20%. The method according to the invention does not need to remove the coating from the edge of the sheet to be welded to each other in advance, thus providing a significant cost advantage.