TWB installed North America’s first dedicated aluminum tailor welded blank line in 2014. This comes at a time when aluminum usage in light vehicles is dramatically increasing. Aluminum penetration for use in automotive closure parts such as hoods, fenders, doors, and even complete bodies is projected to increase between 2.5-7.5 times (as a percent of total parts). TWB is committed to providing the best solution for meeting this demand while helping manufacturers reduce cost.
Production Process Developed
TWB has developed the friction stir welding process for the aluminum tailored blank market, which provides the most robust weld properties for automotive body panels. TWB currently has the only fully automated friction stir line in North America for tailored blanks.
Friction Stir Welding
- Solid state welding process
- 2D welding available
- Able to join dissimilar alloys
- Scalable for high volumes
- Low Distortion with fine grain microstructure and excellent properties