Body in White Sheet Metal Joining: Comparison between Weld Spot and Clinching in an Environment Perspective 2012-36-0433

Nowadays quality and efficiency in the process is no longer a question of competition among automakers. Another factor that has been highlighted in the automotive industry and has become a strategic is the sustainability. Processes considered “green” can generate value for the company with less environmental impact, and they are seen favorably by both market and customers. The process to be examined is widely used by automakers to manufacture their bodies in white, the resistant spot welding process. Considering that, this process generates a considerable impact in the environment mainly for the generation of gases, some manufacturers in recent years has replaced it by the clinching process, which also performs the union of sheet metal, but for metal forming. The process of spot welding generates dust, fumes and pollutants gases, which will be transported to the external environment somehow. Therefore, in addition to the non-emission of gases from the clinching process, it has some advantages such as the possibility of union between different materials, no changes of the anticorrosive protection plate, no generation of the heat affected zone (HAZ), increased resistance to fatigue to small effort and others. Considering all these factors, it will be compared both process, checking the environmental and economic advantages in each of them aiming to seek sustainability.