Lightweight construction Forward-looking connection solutions

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Lightweight materials such as sandwich structures have been difficult to join with conventional connection techniques so far. Bossard has now developed a solution for this problem with multi-material welding.

The topic of "lightweight construction" is one of the most important and innovative drivers in development and production across almost all industries. The focus everywhere is on reducing weight, resources (sustainability), and costs, and on recycling. Not least in the broad field of the automotive industry and especially in e-mobility, lightweight materials such as porous fiber composites, expanded polypropylene (EPP), or sandwich constructions (with honeycomb or foam cores) are increasingly being used.

EPP foam, in addition to providing high structural strength at low weight, good energy absorption, and thermal insulation capabilities, offers especially numerous design options.

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How to connect sandwich structures?

What to do, however, when lightweight materials need to be joined? Especially when some of the strictest requirements and regulations for fastening and connection technology must be met in the tension between "maximally safe" and "as light as possible"?

The goal is to process plastics (almost) like regular sheet metal, but: Lightweight materials make it challenging to either join them together or attach a solid mounting or connecting element to them. With compact materials, conventional connections, such as classic screw fittings usually with pre-drilling, are often used. However, in a sandwich construction, it is much more difficult to anchor a screw, for example, due to its core structure.

With our modern alternative to adhesives, rotation welding and embedding, we offer an innovative solution for joints in lightweight construction.

Christian Busch, Business Development Manager Bossard Germany

The solution: Multi-material welding

"The answer is provided by Multi-Material Welding technology," says Christian Busch. The Business Development Manager responsible for Multi-Material (MM) Welding technology at Bossard Germany continues: "With our modern alternative to adhesives, friction welding, and embedding, we offer an innovative solution for connections in lightweight construction. We are not only optimizing production processes but also saving effort, time, and especially costs – without having to compromise on quality, durability, and reliability."

Connection process takes less than 1 second

Keyword EPP foam: MM-Welding technology also enables the creation of new designs and constructions by directly integrating the connection geometry into the component. But how does this technology work? The principle: insulating, waterproof, dirt-repellent, robust, flexible, lightweight, cost-effective, and recyclable - with the Multi-Material-Welding technique, the specially developed polymer fastener is partially liquefied by ultrasound. In a sandwich construction, it then creates a form-fit connection on the top side through an undercut – on the core and the underside, a kind of "micro-clawing" occurs. After the connection element immediately solidifies, it forms a solid screw point with the entire structure. And this is durable and immediately able to bear loads right after the joining process. This process takes literally only one second or less than 0.7 seconds, which in turn results in very favorable production processes with very short cycle times.

AI software ensures quality

Important: The quality of the connection is measured during the connection process itself. This is ensured by Big Data, artificial intelligence, and the software "MM-Welding Smart-Solutions," which guarantees seamless process monitoring. According to Christian Busch: "Thanks to this approach, testing through destructive examination is no longer necessary."

In focus: Customer-specific solutions and further developments

To increasingly serve customer-specific demands individually, Bossard continues to work on new technologies for multi-material welding. To date, there are seven:

The LiteWWeight Pin for fast and strong fixing on sandwich structures. This is a family of fasteners with a lightweight one-sided accessible assembly process, designed for fast and strong fixing on sandwich structures with internal honeycomb patterns or similar.

The LiteWWeight Lotus is a fast and secure connection concept for fiber components and textile structures. Typical applications include: car floor coverings, heat shields, wheel arch linings, roof linings, NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness).

The LiteWWeight Lotus Abalone significantly accelerates the assembly of the male clip component of floor mat fastenings. No punching or cutting is required, and the joining of two separate components is eliminated. This clip can also be attached to the floor/carpet after the sound insulation has been applied to the back of the floor/carpet.

The LiteWWeight zEPP is a fast and efficient connection technology for all EPP materials.

The LiteWWeight Double Pin is designed for fast and strong fixing, suitable for plastic direct screw connections with metric internal thread or even with a through hole. The fastener consists of a sleeve, as a slider, and optionally a metallic insert, which can be selected depending on the application.

The InWWerse Fastener: Based on MM-Welding ultrasonic technology, threaded carriers with InWWerse Fastener are securely anchored on thermoplastic materials. Here, the substrate material, fastening element, and process control can be adjusted so that even with thin wall thicknesses, no visible markings are detectable on the opposite side. The anchoring is not based on adhesion but on a micro-positive connection with the thermoplastic component material. This ensures the fastest possible further processing, and complex pretreatment processes can be avoided. These connecting elements are used, for example, in the exterior cladding of electric vehicles. During production, adhesives can be omitted, and surface cleaning with environmentally problematic products is no longer necessary – fully in line with the sustainability goals of an automotive manufacturer.

The InWWerse Disc is a connection solution for the fast and secure joining of traditionally non-weldable plastic components.

Even thin wall thicknesses can be securely joined without creating a "read-through effect." Minimal penetration depth and preservation of Class-A surfaces.