Techincal Objectives

• Address the need of several SME companies to maintain their position within an already fiercely competitive sector by introducing a new product with associated economic gains (projected as €65M over the first 5 years of product launch).
  
  
• Eliminate the main cause of weld failures and associated production stoppages in automotive BIW production, bringing with it a cost saving in the order of €7M per line per annum.
  
  
• Reduce the use of consumable copper electrodes, and more importantly, the use of large amounts of steel self-piercing rivets (on aluminium vehicles) - which are in the order of 2000 per vehicle; accounting for a consumable cost in the order of €90 per BIW.
  
  
• Extending the application of RSW in aluminium vehicle BIW construction, lowering production costs, and promoting the uptake of light-weight environmentally friendly vehicles.