Method of forming vehicle parts using laser welded blanks

Abstract

A method of simultaneously forming a plurality of vehicle parts includes placing a common welded blank having a first portion joined to a second portion via a weld into a die set, and then simultaneously forming a first part in the first portion of the common welded blank and a second part in the second portion of the common welded blank. The first portion of the common welded blank can have a first thickness being different than a second thickness of said second portion and/or comprised of a first material grade being different than a second material grade of the second portion to simultaneously form the first and second parts with different thicknesses and/or different material grades. In an arrangement, each of the first and second portions can be shaped to be approximate halves of the overall common welded blank for simultaneously forming complementary parts.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.