Additive Manufacturing for Cost Efficient Hybrid Welding Jigs

The use of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) process Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) for the manufacturing of pre-series welding jigs for car body assemblies shows potential in terms of cost reduction and design flexibility. A conventional welding jig consists of standard parts and machined parts which can cause high costs in manufacturing. Although many simpler 2D parts which can be cut very economically are used as well, some of those parts have to be machined again in order to integrate all functional features. Additional manufacturing steps cause additional costs and prolong the supply process of those parts. A hybrid jig system that consists of part specific FFF components and standard elements has been developed for the welding of car body assemblies in the pre-series vehicle production. In order to analyse cost and time advantages, an economic assessment is used. It is aimed to determine whether the use of a hybrid jig system for welding operations of car body prototypes generates lower financial and time expenditures compared to conventional welding jigs. The assessment includes a detailed comparison between the manufacturing of a hybrid welding jig and a conventional welding jig for car body assemblies. Additive Manufacturing (AM) of the complex and specific parts with FFF offers time and cost advantages because material and process costs are lower than with milling, and process chains can be simplified. This paper presents the results of the assessment on the hybrid welding jig system and shows the overall potential in the pre-series vehicle production.