OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 2/2018 / OEM&Supplier Edition 2/2018

143 ing the actual friction element, the joining pro- cess, the automated friction element feed and a friction welding fastener setting tool suitable for robot integration. The equipment is de- signed as a modular system and provides maxi- mum flexibility for adaptation to the appropri- ate joining task. Benefits for industrial users The innovative joining technique EJOWELD ® makes it possible to join new materials and material thickness combinations which have not been feasible to date. This provides the possibility, in particular for car body designers, to join metallurgically dif- ferent materials reproducibly and with high strength. Merely two or three types of joining elements are required to join a large number of material combinations for multi-material de- sign which are commonly used in the auto- motive industry. The advantages for the user are the short pro- cess times (approx. 0.7 … 1.8 seconds per spot joint), simple adaptation to different materials and to the material thickness of the parts to be joined, and the high energy efficiency com- pared to hydraulic, pneumatic or electrically driven joining techniques. Further advantages are to be seen in the mass and interference- edge-optimised design of the friction welding equipment, which allows for integration with robots and use in the confined spaces of car bodies. A so-called application check is offered for the EJOWELD ® joining technology which enables the user to make a general statement about the feasibility of his specific joining task. It is essential to distinguish which materials and thicknesses are to be used and which space is available. Sign in to the EJOT website under ”CAD & More“ to be able to use our calculation service directly online. Process quality Online process control with a very high rate of measurement value sampling forms the basis for a dynamic control concept with a quality rate of 99.995%. This process correspondingly allows the identification and evaluation of all influences and adaptation of the joining pro- cess sequence. To be able to evaluate the fric- tion weld-ed joint as a whole, the joining specialists from EJOT developed a so-called joint quality factor to evaluate the performance characteristics of a joint. Ultrasonic testing can also be used as a non-destructive test method. Further possible applications EJOWELD ® is primarily intended to serve the manufacturing process of components or sub- assemblies for the automotive industry. This technique can naturally also be interesting for other metal-working companies in which the potentials for an optimised value chain are to be utilised. Another special possible application for EJOWELD ® lies in production processes which require energy-efficient joining tech- niques since friction element welding merely requires an electrical energy of only approx. one kilowatt hour for 1,000 spot joints. * Usibor ® is a registered trademark of ArcelorMittal, Luxembourg. The EJOWELD ® joining process EJOT GmbH & Co. KG www.ejot.com/industry Website E N G I N E E R I N G I N T H E F A S T L A N E As your partner for complex electronics and IT systems we are working at top speed on the automotive future. Our technological expertise and special customer focus enables us to deliver tailored and intelligent system solutions for the mobility of tomorrow. ESG Mobi- lity is an engineering partner, process expertise provider, technology consul- tant and IT expert all in one. DEDICATED TO SOLUTIONS. WWW.ESG-MOBILITY.COM