Adhesives specialists at 3M believe there is a growing market for the use of adhesives for bonding in automotive body structures, citing several advantages over conventional spot-welding. As well as weight reduction and improvements to stiffness, 3M says that growing process robustness can simplify manufacturing especially as more assembly is conducted off-line and before paint.
Abs Master, a business development manager with 3M’s Automotive Adhesives business, told just-auto that adhesives are becoming increasingly important as vehicle manufacturers explore lighter materials.
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“Many lighter weight materials require specialist adhesives to bond them together,” said Master. “The latest generation is perfectly suited to Body-in-White bonding requirements. And interest from the auto industry is growing around the world as vehicle manufacturers come under increasing pressures to reduce fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.”
The clever innovation that can reduce vehicle weight is the ability to join thinner gauge – and lighter – materials with adhesives than is possible with spot-welding and maintain body stiffness. 3M is focussing its R&D on techniques that allow this to be accomplished alongside improvements in process efficiency and robustness.
“It also opens up the possibility of joining hybrid materials – say aluminium and steel – which you can’t do with spot-welding,” Master adds.
Master describes a bonding process with adhesives that also brings other advantages over traditional spot-welding. “With spot-welding there are point loads which are susceptible to stress and can loosen over time. That is something that creates rattles in older cars. An adhesive join acts more like a zip, spreading the load. It means the load can be higher and also that body stiffness can be enhanced.”
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By GlobalData3M believes that adhesives in vehicle structure bonding offer vehicle manufacturers advantages in terms of increasing the rigidity of structures to increase crash safety, durability and enhance NVH. “It will also be something that comes under greater consideration as vehicle warranty periods lengthen,” adds Master.
3M also says that adhesive bonding uses less energy – and therefore produces lower carbon emissions – than welding.
Spot-welding in automotive will be around for a while yet, but it seems likely that adhesives can garner a greater share in vehicle structures bonding.
“The advantages with adhesives are pretty clear,” adds Master. “And we’re seeing an explosion of interest and not just from the premium end of the industry. There are considerable material cost savings in terms of using less steel or other materials as well as the weight reduction and improved stiffness. It is also an important enabler in areas like carbon composites. The use of adhesives can go much further.”
