ANALYSIS: E-MOBILITY
How ready is laser material processing for serial e-mobility production?
Christian Geiger and Tony Weiss, of the TUM Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management, evaluate laser technology readiness for the mass- production of electric vehicles
Co-authored by Christian Stadter and Professor Michael Zaeh, from TUM Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management
To meet CO2 emission reduction requirements, a transformation of the mobility sector from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles to electrified vehicles is underway. To increase the acceptance of e-mobility in society, the drawbacks compared to fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, such as higher prices and smaller driving ranges, must be overcome. Research is focused on mass reduction by lightweight designs and on the development of energy storage devices with high energy densities, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) or all solid-state batteries (ASSBs) to advance zero-emission mobility solutions. With the advent of technologies in e-mobility, new materials, miniaturisation and individualisation of components can all be realised in new manufacturing processes for series production. Laser material processing
can contribute to reducing production costs and enabling designs due to its high level of flexibility, productivity and wear- free operation. At the Institute for
24 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE AUTUMN 2021
Figure 1: (top) metallographic cross-section of a joint made with green continuous-wave laser beam radiation and (bottom) process model for the concept of digital laser beam welding
Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), relevant laser technologies currently being researched were evaluated and their technology readiness levels (TRL) methodically determined. The TRL is intended to enable companies to determine at what point laser materials processing is ready for use in an industrial environment.
TRL evaluation The identification of threats and opportunities, as well as technology needs,
is a necessary step for companies to maintain their competitiveness1
. The
systematic analysis and the structured management of production technologies support manufacturing companies during this process and ensure market competitiveness, especially in emerging fields of application such as battery production2
to evaluate the
years of experience in the field of laser manufacturing technologies evaluated the maturity of processes, means of production and sensors used for laser materials processing to create a maturity profile that determines the required expenditure for R&D along a maturity scale. This scale includes basic
. In
2011, Reinhart et al. introduced a method based on the concept of the TRL3
maturity of technologies. Within the study that is presented in the following, experts with
research activities (TRL 1), feasibility studies (TRL 2), technology development (TRL 3) and demonstration (TRL 4), integration in production resources (TRL 5) and in environments (TRL 6), as well
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Geiger et al
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