YBRIDIO · Novel technologies for dissimilar materials joining

The requirements of innovation and efficiency are pushing industrial manufacturing methods to a new stage, where novel materials and components with enhanced properties are required. Polymers and polymer based composites are able to provide strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, impact resistance, etc. which are highly demanded from advanced technological sectors such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer goods and others.For this reason the main objective presented in this project is the development of innovative and reliable thermal joining methods to join dissimilar materials, such as metal-plastic hybrid parts, with the aim to produce high quality joints between dissimilar materials, ensuring the integrity of the structure throughout the design, production and life cycle performance. Therefore, Ybridio is focused on thermal joining methods, specifically laser transmission joining (LTJ) and induction joining (IJ), which have demonstrated excellent potential to be implanted in industry. Both techniques deliver the energy directly to the base material and transmit the heat by conduction to the polymer part, so that the entire surfaces of both materials are attached to each other without any adhesive.The Ybridio project aims to achieve the following results:•Development of innovative and reliable new thermal joining techniques to join two or more different types of materials creating hybrid structures, such as metal with polymer and with composite laminates•Improvement of the characteristics of structures and components, combining and complementing the properties of each material•Simplification of industrial plants and processes to reduce manufacturing cost•To create a specific control system based on IR and NIR cameras, to ensure the quality of the components during the manufacturing process•Recycling and environmental impact: thermoplastic-metal joints can be disassembled easily by applying heat again which allows easy separation