DIN2304 - the new bonding standard for the automotive industry!DIN2304 - the new bonding standard for the automotive industry!

[Introduction] Automobile manufacturing is a systematic project, and bonding is an important part of it. Any possible bonding problem will lead to large-scale economic losses. Therefore, a rigorous and professional standard system is required to ensure Production quality. As a bonding guideline widely used in the industry, DIN2304 stipulates a series of management specifications from technology to organization to ensure product reliability. For the automotive industry, the implementation of this standard is essential for lean management and "zero-defect" production. Very helpful.

Recently, a company filed a recall plan with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to recall some cars in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations on the Management of Recall of Defective Automobile Products". The reason for the recall is that the panoramic sunroof panel of the vehicle has insufficient adhesive, causing the bonding strength to not meet the requirements. The sunroof panel may fall off while the vehicle is driving, posing a safety hazard.

In fact, many consumers are not surprised by the frequent problems of automobile bonding failure, because many automobile interior parts and even front windshields and side windows often have more or less bonding problems. These problems not only reduce consumers' trust in car companies, but also cause huge economic losses and personal safety issues. In this case, why don't many car companies strictly control the bonding production quality during production?

It turns out that many OEMs have always listed stamping, welding, painting and final assembly as the four major vehicle production processes, but have always lacked attention to bonding, treating it only as an auxiliary process and lacking corresponding quality systems and organizations. system for control. Many automotive designers also lack corresponding bonding knowledge and one-sidedly believe that production quality can be guaranteed as long as the glue is applied correctly, ignoring many related aspects such as strength verification, reliability verification, fatigue and aging verification, etc.

As the most important connection technology in the 21st century, bonding technology is the key to lightweight design of future automobiles. Because bonding can not only realize the connection of traditional steel, aluminum and composite materials, but also greatly reduce the weight of the entire vehicle by reducing the number of connecting parts. As the country imposes increasingly stringent fuel consumption requirements on cars (as shown in the figure below, fuel consumption per 100 kilometers will drop to 5L after 2020), lightweighting and bonding technology will surely become the core of the next car company's competition.

Many foreign car companies have already actively deployed lightweighting and bonding technologies. For example, the famous BMW Leipzig factory in Germany has introduced a fully automated glue production line to achieve mass production of all-carbon fiber composite cars i3/i8. This production line completely subverts the traditional automobile manufacturing process, eliminating the welding process and using a robot automatic glueing process to assemble the body frame. Not only that, due to the excellent anti-corrosion properties of carbon fiber and adhesives, the car body surface painting process that originally required 4-5 layers was simplified to 2 layers, greatly saving production and time costs. Such a complex and highly automated bonding process adopts the corresponding guidance standard of DIN 2304.

Not only the bonding of body structural parts, but also the bonding of window glass, interior parts, etc. also requires a mature and reliable bonding system to ensure the bonding quality. Although most automobiles have a mature quality management system QMS (such as TS16949, etc.), it does not stipulate the specific technical content of the relevant processes. Although it provides a basis for quality assurance, it is too general and cannot be used as a basis for quality assurance. special means. Therefore, it is necessary to refine it into specific technical specifications and specify the corresponding process organization structure to ensure the correct application of bonding technology.

The three core elements of DIN 2304 are:

· Classify bonded joints according to safety requirements

· Division of responsibilities for bonding supervision

· Verification of loads/stresses sustained by bonded joints throughout their life cycle

Through a series of standardized management of DIN 2304, the corresponding bonding production process can be shown as follows:

in conclusion:

 As the application of bonding technology in the automotive industry gradually increases, quality control of bonded joints is a difficult problem facing every enterprise. Through a series of standardized quality management and organizational management, production stability and reliability can be greatly improved. This is the only way for Chinese car companies to achieve "overtaking in corners" and is also the only way for Chinese car companies to go global. The DIN 2304 bonding system standard will also help Chinese car companies achieve a "qualitative" leap.

 ØNote  : Yifa Bonding and Composites Research Institute is the exclusive strategic partner of German Fraunhofer IFAM in China

Conduct EN17460 and DIN2304 certification audits, project support and consulting in China; carry out three levels of bonding: EAE European Bonding Engineer, EAS European Bonding Technician, EAB European Bonding Operator (European Bonding Operator) certificated by Fraunhofer Training and examinations, as well as training and examinations for composite design Composite-D, manufacturing Composite-M, maintenance Composite-R, and technician Composite-S. Special training courses related to customized bonding and composite material applications are also provided.

As of October 2023, Yifa has trained more than 5,500 engineering and technical personnel at all levels with bonding qualifications at home and abroad. Assisted more than 300 customers to obtain EN17460 (formerly DIN6701) and DIN2304 qualification certificates issued by Fraunhofer IFAM.