The automotive industry is one of the largest application areas for laser material processing.

Lasers have long played an important role in optimizing automotive manufacturing. For most vehicles, almost every area, whether inside or outside, will contain parts that have been laser treated. Laser processing offers excellent versatility and repeatability, and a single laser device can process a wide range of automotive components with great precision and speed.

Laser equipment is a highly automated, low-cost and low-maintenance tool for cutting, welding, brazing, marking, surface treatment, drilling and other applications on automotive production lines.

One of the main stages of automotive production with laser applications (especially in cutting, welding and brazing) is known as body in white (BIW) fabrication - this is the stage where the steel frame components that make up the basic structure of a road vehicle are cut and joined together.

Body, door, and frame components are typically made of different grades of pressure-quenched steel, such as stainless steel, mild steel, high-strength steel, high-low steel, or galvanized steel. Aluminum can also be used in certain components, and because of its lighter weight, it can help improve the fuel economy of the vehicle. According to statistics, the thickness of most steel body panels is about 0.6-0.8 mm, while the thickness of aluminum body panels is generally 0.8-1.8 mm.

Laser cutting, trimming and punching have also always been a part of body-in-white manufacturing. In addition, posts, frames, antenna holes, bushings, and holes that hold external components are common parts that can be cut or perforated with lasers. Fiber lasers are also often the tool of choice for such applications.