Innovative Press Hardened Steel Based Laser Welded Blanks Solutions for Weight Savings and Crash Safety Improvements

This paper summarizes our latest developments in the field of Press Hardened Steel (PHS) based Laser Welded Blanks (LWB). New PHS steel named Ductibor 500P has been developed to enlarge the range of LWB applications in combination with Coated Boron Steel (CBS). Laser welding of these materials is presented through static and dynamic test results of laser welded specimens. Mass analysis and crash simulations results for three different applications are presented and analyzed. For these applications weight savings ranging from 4.1 to 5.4 kg/veh were achieved.