Laser Heat Treating of Automotive Dies - Business Case and Cost Savings

Automotive die original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) throughout Europe are delivering dies faster, with superior quality, and at lower cost than U.S. OEMs are when they deliver the exact same automotive dies. The reason for this is laser heat treating a process that has become near-mainstream in Europe, yet is barely practiced in the U.S.

Laser heat treating’s adoption in Europe has been universally successful and the adoption of this technology by U.S. OEMs is inevitable. Barriers to adoption of laser heat treating among U.S. automotive die OEMs include the fact that this technology is still not well understood in the U.S.; that data on laser heat treatment’s cost savings, quality, and schedule improvements have not yet migrated to U.S. decision-makers; and that there is a scarcity of reliable laser heat treatment job shops in the U.S. But clearly, laser heat treatment is poised for rapid adoption in the U.S. OEM community.

This article presents a basic technical introduction to laser heat treating and shares the results of a case study on the cost savings in automotive trimming/form dies.