A TWB (Tailor Welded Blank) consists of materials different in thickness, tensile strength, and other properties, and is now widely used for fabricating automotive bodies. TWBs are used not only to save materials and reduce cost in stamping and assembling, but also to improve fuel efficiency by reducing the weight of automobile bodies and to improve the stiffness. This report presents the results of an investigation for optimizing the quality of welds in differential thickness TWBs composed of 590 MPa class high strength steel sheets with large thickness ratios. The mechanical and fatigue properties and press formability of high strength steel TWBs are also reported.

Tailor welded blank, Laser weldability, High strength steel sheet, Fatigue properties, Press formability