The first fledgling steps were taken by BorgWarner at the end of 2001 with the support of an independent, specialized service company. In a series of tests, the developers identified the ideal material choice. Thus the sheet metal parts for the rotating housing had to accept shaping and punching and withstand extreme load at the high end of the rotation speed range. The job then was to weld this to the hub. Here the external services company had employed a TRUMPF laser machine from the outset.

“Welding temperable steel is made difficult by its carbon content. That is why we decided on a steel that lends itself to welding. Then we harden the steel later, after carbonization,” Moch explains. The trick: More material was left in place along the components’ edges and this excess was turned down again after carbonization and hardening. “Thus two materials with excellent welding properties are married here,” the engineer added.

After BorgWarner had successfully welded the initial prototypes using a TRUMPF laser, it became quite clear that the assembly line at the newly built plant in Arnstadt would have to be outfitted with laser sources from Ditzingen. “The fact that our equipment builders also had experience with integrating TRUMPF lasers was another important consideration in the decision-making process. In addition, we benefited significantly from the laser manufacturer’s technical expertise in regards to the specific application.” Today six CO₂ laser beam sources are at work in eleven welding positions. Five of those sources serve two stations each, alternately. This means that while the laser is welding at one workstation, a completed part is being removed from the other station and new semi-finished components inserted. Market specialist, Meidt believes that these capacities will not be sufficient for very long. “We expect that by 2012 last year’s production figure of about 500,000 units will have more than doubled.“