22nd European Expert Conference — EALA – European Automotive Laser Applications 2021

The use of lasers in automotive production has reached a high level of application maturity and quality, especially in car body manufacturing. However, in times of great cost pressure in this area, laser-based joining processes are being called into question as particularly costly – while other processes that are regarded as simpler and more cost-effective are also making steady progress and may offer alternatives. A completely different view is taken of the powertrain, most prominently in e-mobility, where under high development pressure, high-quality and highly efficient solutions are being sought for difficult and unusual joining tasks – for battery electric vehicles in the battery frame and at the connections of the battery modules and cells, in electric motors (also beyond the hairpin topic) and also in fuel cell production or other areas of the electric powertrain. In general, it remains clear: Laser beam technologies, be it welding, brazing, cutting or material modification, are extremely fast, highly precise, extremely flexible and can be used in a wide variety of applications - and they are also constantly being developed further in all these areas.