Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Guido H Mueller

Michael James Freeman

Dietmar Rotheut

Jose De Jesus Colin Espinoza

Mario Alberto Rubio Monroy

Juergen Wilhelm Hover

An assembly and method of forming the assembly are disclosed. The assembly may include first and second components, the first component including a non-mating region and a mating region. The mating region may have an offset in a direction towards the second component and have a welding surface contacting the second component. A weld located within the welding surface may join the first and second components. The weld may be a laser weld. The method may include positioning a first component including a welding pad offset from a surrounding region of the first component such that the welding pad is in contact with a second component to form a gap between the surrounding region of the first component and the second component. The first component may then be welded to the second component in an area within the welding pad.

Localized mating surface for laser welding

A method and an apparatus for joining first and second sheet metal parts includes a support where the first and second parts are positioned with an edge of the second part surrounded by a beading flange of the first part. A joining electrode is positioned adjacent to the beading flange and a counter-electrode is positioned adjacent to the second part. An abutment of a tong-type welding apparatus in placed in contact with the support, and the joining electrode and the abutment are urged toward one another to press or clamp the beading flange between the joining electrode and the support. An electric current is applied to the beading flange using the joining electrode and the counter-electrode to weld the parts together.

Welding method and apparatus

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Cologne, Germany

Guido H Mueller